The Memorial Museum of Peter I.
The house where Peter I stayed during his visits to Vologda. Truth or myth?
I live in one of the oldest cities in Russia, Vologda. It was founded in 1147. Vologda is known by the names of many great people: writers, poets, scientists, cosmonauts, military leaders. But one of the brightest personalities in the history of Russia who visited Vologda is the great emperor Peter I. The proof of this is a one-story building similar to an ancient casket. The townspeople in the 18th century called it the Petrovsky house. But there are people, mostly guests of the city, who doubt that Peter I stayed overnight in this modest house. I believe that historical facts prove the stay of Peter the Great in Vologda and this house. It is clear that, in the time of Peter the Great, the Vologda River was strategically important in the navigation and shipbuilding of Russia. The importance of the river was the reason that Peter I often visited its banks. Before the appearance of the "Window to Europe", trade with the West is carried out through the North. Moscow and Arkhangelsk were connected by the Vologda River. Therefore, many foreign merchants opened representative offices or settled in Vologda. Among the Vologda residents of foreign origin were the Dutch brothers Ivan and Adolf Goutmann. When visiting Vologda, Peter I always stayed in their small house located on the bank of the Vologda River. Although, looking at this modest and almost obscure house at first glance, it is hard to believe it. In addition, I must say that at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, Vologda was already a large city, and the local authorities could offer more comfortable residence for the emperor to live. But for some reason Goutmann`s house was dearer to the emperor than any chambers.According to historical facts, Peter I and the Goutmanns met in Holland, where the tsar went to study shipbuilding under the name of Peter Mikhailov. It is known that Peter I was forced to borrow money without calculating the funds. The Goutmanns rendered him this service. Probably, those visits at the Vologda Goutmann`s house were Peter's return gratitude for their help.But in 1731 the Dutch merchants left Vologda forever. The "Peter's house" was remembered only in 1872. In 1885, the first Vologda Museum was opened within its walls. The exterior of the house is designed in a rather plain style. The small windows of the house are strengthened with iron bars and decorated with stone plat bands. Above the entrance door there is a stone plaque with the Dutch coat of arms and the date «1704» - the signs testifying to the fact that the owner of the house was his country's official representative in Vologda.On entering a small hall visitors see Peter I`s portrait, other exhibits conjure up the atmosphere and images characteristic of Peter I`s epoch. Having visited the museum, no one doubts the authenticity of the fact about Peter I's stay in Vologda. The particular historical significance of the museum is also the fact that it keeps the memory of Peter I, Russia's greatest reformer.