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Vitoslavlitsy is an architectural and natural reserve of wooden architecture, located near Veliky Novgorod, the Yuryev (Svyato-Yuryev) monastery on the southern shore of Lake Myachino. Here, on incredibly picturesque landscapes, old wooden buildings are collected, miraculously preserved and transported   from nearby Novgorod villages in the 1960s.

Wooden architectural monuments - churches, chapels, huts, mills, farm buildings date back to the 16th-20th centuries. The reserve area is 33.4 hectares. The Vitoslavlitsy complex is part of the Novgorod State United Museum-Reserve (NGOMZ).

Opening hours of the Museum of Wooden Architecture Vitoslavlitsa  

Ethnographic Park Vitoslavlitsa is open daily. Summer working hours: May - August - from 10.00 to 20.00 (ticket office until 19.40). Opening hours in September and April - from 10.00 to 18.00 (ticket office until 17.40); Winter working hours: October - March - from 10.00 to 16.00 (ticket office until 15.40). Ticket prices: adults - 170 rubles, students (over 16 years old) - 120 rubles, children under 16 years old   - free.

History

The reserve was named after the village of Vitoslavlitsy, which existed in this place since the 12th century. During the times of the Old Russian state, a lively tract passed here, connecting Novgorod with the Yuryev (St. Yuryev) monastery. There were Panteleimonov, Annunciation, Arkazhsky (Arkadyevsky) monasteries nearby, partially or completely lost to our time. At the beginning of the 19th century, Countess A.A. Orlova-Chesmenskaya settled in these places and the area became known as Orlovskaya manor. Today, on the territory of the Vitoslavlitsy reserve, you can visit the countess's house and an outbuilding, built by the famous architect Karl Rossi. Some fragments of the manor park have also survived: alleys, and a pond with an island. In the 1960s, the picturesque historical landscape of the Oryol manor was chosen to create an open-air museum of wooden architecture. As a result of an ethnographic expedition in the Novgorod region, wooden buildings were selected, subsequently transported to the territory of Vitoslavlitsy and became objects of the museum.
The museum was founded on June 5, 1964, when the reconstruction of wooden monuments started. The opening of the Vitoslavlitsy Museum took place on May 16, 1967. The creator and curator of the museum is the architect-restorer Leonid Yegorovich Krasnorechiev, a leading expert in the architecture of the Novgorod lands. The restoration of the objects of the reserve was carried out according to his projects. Many monuments of wooden architecture that have undergone changes have been returned to their original architectural appearance, all alterations acquired by structures over time have been removed. The first object of the new ethnographic park was the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady from the village of Kuritsko, built in 1595. The first hut  was the hut of M.D. Ekimova from the village of Ryshevo, which construction dates back to 1882.

Exposition of the Vitoslavlitsa Museum in Veliky Novgorod

Vitoslavlitsy Park is designed as a village. The left side of the park is full of objects, many of them are located on the sides of the main street. The right side of the park is more secluded and wooded. On the territory of the Vitoslavlitsy park, guests feel as if they were in times long past. You can go into churches and huts, get acquainted with expositions telling about the life of Novgorod peasants in pre-revolutionary Russia. Guests are met in a hut by a hostess dressed as a Novgorod peasant woman. She leads a conversation in an interesting and perky way, showing her home, as well as the hayloft, stalls for animals and a vegetable garden.   Near the hut  you can buy souvenirs made of birch bark, wood, wool, clay and other natural materials.

Every year, new exhibitions open in the park, and the total number of architectural objects also increases. At the moment, according to the map with up-to-date information, there are 38 of them on the territory of the reserve. The Museum's utility yard is of particular interest. It is an operating stable with horses, goats, and sheep.   It is possible to order a horseback ride.

Events at the Vistoslavlitsa Museum

The Vitoslavlitsa Museum is an important platform for holding folk celebrations, festivals, and festivities that preserve the original Russian folklore traditions. Every holiday and every weekend events are held in Vitoslavlitsy, which can be visited by anyone. On Christmas Day, performances of ancient rituals are held. A fair awaits guests, where craftsmen who create birch bark and wooden painted souvenirs, toys-whistles from clay, hand-woven materials come. Concerts of folk choral songs, bell music, traditional musical instruments often complete festive events.