The unique museum in Vetka hides equally unique exhibits

Thanks to his passion for old Belarusian traditions and a large personal collection, he was able to found a museum where you can immerse in the past of our country and learn the culture and traditions of our ancestors.

The history of the city, located along the Sozh River, goes back to the second half of the 17th century, when people who did not accept the Tsar's Orthodox reform had to seek refuge. Thus, followers of the old faith founded Vetka, where Old Believers of all professions flocked from different lands.

Another interesting fact: Vetka is mentioned in the monograph of Alexander Pushkin. The city was burned twice by the tsar's troops, but the Old Believers' fortitude was so great that they revived Vetka again and again, which later became the center of the Old Believers.

The city developed rapidly and in the 18th-19th centuries it also became the largest trade and craft center. The Groshikov family belonged to one of the richest classes of the city. It was the merchant and shipowner Timofey Groshikov who built a magnificent two-story mansion at the end of the 19th century, in which Vetka Museum of Old Believers and Belarusian Traditions named after F. Shklyarov was opened on November 30, 1978.

The priceless exhibits include publications from the 15th-16th centuries, books from the Kremlin cathedrals with records of the tsars, Old Believer icons and ritual ceremonies, printed and handwritten books, and items of ritual Vetka clothing.

The museum is widely known for its unusual icon "Nikola the Abominable", which wards off demons from a person. The museum also features a valuable collection of Neglyubka amulets. Neglyubka weaving is included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Belarus.

A unique 16th century copy, presented in its original, is a book by Ivan Fedorov, an apostle and Russian and Ukrainian first printer. Museum employees accidentally found this book in one of the ordinary rural houses. Also presented here is a beautiful 19th century manuscript found under the thatched roof of an empty house.

In 2020, Vetka Museum of Old Believers and Belarusian Traditions named after F. Shklyarov became a laureate of the National tourism competition "Discover Belarus" in the nomination "Museum of the Year", and in 2023 - a diploma winner in the sub-nomination "District (city) museums".