Exhibition "The Guards of the Seas: History of the Lighthouse Service in Russia"
The temporary exhibition "The Guards of the Seas: History of the Lighthouse Service in Russia" is the first of the two exhibition projects implemented by the Central Naval Museum within the framework of preparation of the programme "mysteries of the blue elements", timed to the annual event "The Night of Museums". The project is managed in conjunction with the Navigation and Oceanography Department of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and a private Lighthouse Service Museum in Kronstadt.
Currently, there are about 350 lighthouses on the shores of the seas washing the Russian Federation; of them about 200 lighthouses and navigation markers can be attributed to marine heritage objects that are of historical and cultural value for Russia.
The emergence of lighthouses in our country is connected with the origin of a regular Russian fleet. The first steps in this direction were taken by Peter I. In 1702, three lighthouses were built in the mouth of the Don to provide due navigation of ships. From that time, the lighthouse construction was developing rapidly. Peter I sometimes attached to the decrees on construction of new lighthouses his hand-drawn drawings for the proposed structures. The first works connected with the construction of lighthouses in the Caspian Sea also date back to the reign of Peter the Great. By the year 1800, Russia had 13 permanent beacons in the Baltic Sea and one permanent lighthouse in the Caspian Sea.
At the exhibition, one will be able to see not only images picturing famous lighthouses, but also their models, including that of a floating lighthouse, flags of floating lighthouses and hydrographic vessels, a number of historical documents and even a key to the lighthouse lock. The exposition provides a broad panorama of the history of lighthouses, the oldest of which is the Alexandria (Faros) tower built in 283 BC in Egypt.
Partners of the exhibition - Navigation and Oceanography Department under the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Lighthouse Service Museum and a member of the Artists Union of Russia Anna Mikhailova.