The Military Chamber is a historical pavilion located in the city of Pushkin in St. Petersburg (the former Tsarskoye Selo).
Today, the Military Chamber is a monument of architecture of the Neo-Russian style. It consists of a complex of buildings, in the center of which there is a courtyard.
The Military Chamber is a military-historical museum "Russia in the Great War", dedicated to the participation of the Russian Empire in the First World War.
The Military Chamber was originally built as a museum to house a collection of paintings, icons, weapons and documents on the history of the Russian wars, presented to Emperor Nicholas II at the anniversary Tsarskoye Selo exhibition in 1911 by Elena Andreevna Tretyakova (the widow of Sergei Mikhailovich Tretyakov, the brother of the founder of the Tretyakov Gallery Pavel Mikhailovich).
The State Military Chamber was founded on May 16 (3), 1913 and was built at the expense of E. A. Tretyakova. The civil engineer Semyon Yulianovich Sidorchuk was the builder and author of the project.
In the center of the complex of buildings there was an inner courtyard, which was intended for storing military-historical trophies.
Initially, it was planned to place a museum of the history of the victories of Russian weapons in the Military Chamber, the basis of the collection of which was a gift from Elena Tretyakova. However, with the outbreak of war with Germany in 1914, it was decided to create a museum of the Great War in the Sovereign's Military Chamber, placing in it a gallery of portraits of St. George's cavaliers and trophies brought from the battlefields. So the military chamber turned into a museum of the Great War.
In 1917, the construction of the entire complex of buildings of the Military Chamber was completed and the exposition of the "People's Museum of the Great War of 1914-1917" was created. In 1918, the museum was closed, some of its exhibits were removed from Tsarskoye Selo and dispersed to state repositories, while others were destroyed. In 1923, the complex of buildings was transferred to the Agronomic Institute.
During the Great Patriotic War, the military chamber suffered considerably, and after that it was used for residential and warehouse premises.
Since 2011, work has begun on the revival of the monument.
On August 4, 2004, the first museum in modern Russia dedicated to the First World War was opened in the restored Military Chamber - the museum "Russia in the Great War".
The military chamber consists of several buildings, has the shape of an irregular polygon with an inner courtyard.
The main dominant of the buildings of the chamber is the main two-story building, on the facade of which there is a relief image of a double-headed eagle. Adjacent to the building is an octagonal three-tiered tower with a high tent and a double-headed eagle on the spire.
The central entrance to the Military Chamber is made in a form reminiscent of the entrances to Russian huts (Pskov-Novgorod buildings of the 14-16 centuries).
Also, the complex of buildings of the Military Chamber includes round and square small towers, a brick wall with arched gates.
Museum in the Military Chamber
The museum "Russia in the Great War" presents several sections (expositions), each of which is equipped with an information kiosk with electronic screens, where you can get information about the main episodes of the war, its participants, uniforms and weapons of those years.
Among the exhibits of the Museum: the original regimental banner of the 112th infantry regiment of the Ural, military weapons, recreated the office of Nicholas II, the Supreme Commander in Mogilev, model of the French fighter aircraft "Nieuport 17" genuine staff car "Ford" (model "T". USA, 1908-1913 years), the uniform of the Royal family and uniforms of soldiers and officers from different countries, and awards, photographs, documents and personal belongings of the soldiers.
In the courtyard of the Military Chamber there are samples of military equipment, some of which participated in the war: two howitzers made in Japan by order of Russia in the 1910s; an armored car "Russo-Balt" (a copy).
Practical information
The military chamber is located near Alexander Park in the city of Pushkin, St. Petersburg.
The address of the military chamber: Farmskaya road, 5A.
Coordinates of the Military Chamber: 59°43'31.0" N 30°23'10.0" E (59.725278, 30.386111).
There are parking spaces near the Military Chamber cars.
The military chamber and the museum belong to To the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoye Selo".
Entrance to the museum is paid. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office of the Military Chamber or online in advance-on the website of the museum-reserve.
We recommend checking the working hours of the museum, as well as the conditions of visiting and the cost of tickets, on the website of the State Museum-Reserve "Tsarskoye Selo": tzar.ru.
You can visit Tsarskoye Selo with one of the excursions
You can find out about all the ways to get to Pushkin from St. Petersburg (the airport and the city center) here →
In Pushkin (Tsarskoye Selo) you can stay
The 5-star Pevcheskaya Tower Hotel offers restaurants, a bar, a rooftop observation deck, free Wi-Fi and parking.
Breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
The 5-star luxury spa hotel "Tsar Palace Luxury Hotel & SPA"is located in a historic building.
The hotelhas a spa center with a swimming pool, a hammam, a salt sauna, a snow fountain, steam baths and a gym; free Wi-Fi, a 24-hour front desk, 2 restaurants, a lobby bar, private parking and meeting and conference rooms.
The rooms are equipped with climate control, a mini-bar, a safe and a private bathroom.
A buffet breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
3-star hotel Ekaterina, located on the territory of the Catherine Palace and Park Ensemble.
The hotelhas a 24-hour front desk, a cafe, free Wi-Fi and parking.
The rooms are equipped with airconditioning, a TV, a work desk and free toiletries.
Breakfast is included in the room rate. Link to the hotel
All accommodation facilities in St. Petersburg, including in the city center and in Pushkin, can be viewed and booked here
