Krasnoturyinsk: Geology, Museums and Memorial Sites

Krasnoturyinsk can be explored through its geology, settlement history and memorial sites. The Fedorov Geological Museum tells the story of the beginnings of a geological collection, while the local history museum focuses on Turjinskije Rudniki and the daily lives of its residents. A memorial house, historic buildings and monuments add further points of interest. This allows you to learn about the city’s history through a range of themes and plan your stay around your travel group’s interests.

Geology and the History of the Settlement

The Fedorov Geological Museum was founded in 1894 in Turjinskije Rudniki, now Krasnoturinsk, by Evgraf Stepanovich Fedorov and Alexander Andreyevich Auerbach. It was the first geological museum in Russia with a practical focus. Its original purpose was to collect materials on the geological structure of the Bogoslovsk Mining District. The museum also opened to ordinary visitors in 1898; in 1899 it received the official name “Fedorovsky Geological Museum.” These milestones distinguish its initial collecting mission from its later opening to a wider public.

The collections also offer a concrete insight into the museum’s focus: its mineralogical cabinets held rock and mineral samples, as well as their thin sections. The Krasnoturinsk Local History Museum has a different focus. Its exhibitions present the beginnings of Turjinskije Rudniki and display everyday objects used by the settlement’s residents. The city of Krasnoturinsk grew out of this settlement in the mid-20th century. Geological materials and the daily lives of the settlement’s residents thus offer two different ways to explore the history of the place.

A House, Buildings and Collective Remembrance

The A. S. Popov Memorial House Museum is located in a wooden house dating from the mid-19th century, at 70 Popov Street. Alexander Popov was born there and spent his childhood there from 1859 to 1867. Here, the biographical connection is directly linked to a specific house and a clearly defined period of his life. When planning your visit, you can easily distinguish this experience from the collections on geology and settlement history.

The history of the buildings also provides distinct points of reference in time. The stone Church of Saint Maximus the Confessor was built in 1844–1851 and restored in 2000–2006. The stone Alexander Nevsky Chapel was built in the 1870s to commemorate the emancipation of the peasants from serfdom. The church focuses on its construction and later restoration, while the chapel is connected to the reason it was built.

A monument to A. S. Popov stands on Lenin Street in front of the building housing the Ural Federal University branch. The memorial complex for the residents of Krasnoturinsk who fell on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War in 1941–1945 commemorates a different, collective experience. It was opened on May 9, 1979. The sites therefore differ in whether they commemorate an individual or the city’s fallen residents.

Tours and Planning Your Stay

The Krasnoturinsk Local History Museum offers bus and walking tours of historic sites in the city and region. The two formats provide different ways to explore historic places as part of a guided tour. Check availability before your trip. This will help you decide whether to include a tour in your stay or spend your time on other aspects of the city’s history.

For families travelling with children, the Popov Memorial House, the history of the geological collection and the different memorial sites offer concrete themes around which to plan a trip. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Krasnoturyinsk, first consider which of these interests will be the focus of your stay.

Discover More Destinations

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Back to the regional travel guide: Sverdlovsk Oblast.