Samarkand regional museum of local history

The pearl of architecture of medieval Central Asia is the city of Samarkand, the cultural capital of Uzbekistan. The city is famous not only for its centuries-old monuments, such as minarets, mosques and madrasas, but also for many relatively modern buildings dating back a little more than one century. 

One of such architectural monuments is the Samarkand Regional Museum of Local Lore, which was opened in 1891. The museum is located in a building designed by architect E.O. Nelle, where merchant Abram Kalantarov once lived. Under the guidance of the architect, the construction of the house was carried out by some of the most experienced masters of Samarkand: usto Kamol, usto Saadi, usto Hafiz. The building was built in the eclectic style of the early XX century. 

The museum consists of sequentially arranged rooms in one row, which form an enfilade. Wallpaper for decorating rooms was brought specially from St. Petersburg, and the stoves were installed by German masons. After entering through the beautiful carved wooden doors, museum visitors enter the large living room, which has preserved its original decoration decades later. Instantly, the abundance and brightness of the colors that are painted on the walls, columns of the hall and its ceiling catches the eye. The ceiling is carved, wooden, decorated with oil paints. The walls are decorated with ganch carvings in the technique of “pardoz”. The windows of all rooms are decorated with carved lattices, which are called panjara, but unlike traditional lattices, which freely let in air, colored glass is inserted into the patterned openings here. Thanks to this technique, the halls shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow in daylight. The main decoration of the living room is a massive crystal chandelier that hangs from the ceiling in the very center of the hall.

The museum's exposition includes two extensive departments: the Department of Nature and the Department of History.

The Nature Department presents to the visitors of the museum a rich exposition, including the flora and fauna of the Samarkand Region, botanical and entomological collections, a collection of herbariums, landscape exposition, ancient manuscripts and documents, household items and weapons, ceramics and metals. 

The history department contains exhibits that tell about the history from ancient times to the XX century. There are amazingly intertwined exhibits that describe in detail the oldest habitats of primitive man, the formation of the ancient city of Sogd and its rich history, material and cultural monuments of the early, developed and late Middle Ages. In addition, an extensive collection of exhibits will enlighten tourists about the ancient traditions and customs of the peoples who lived on the territory of modern Samarkand.

The museum has European furniture that belonged to Napoleon and was brought to St. Petersburg by Alexander II. The furniture is made in the Empire style in the XVIII – XIX centuries. 

The building of the Samarkand Regional Museum of Local Lore is an architectural monument and is under state protection.