Museum of the History of the First Russian Resort "Martial Waters"

The history of Marcial Waters is inextricably linked with the name of Peter I, who wished to have his own resort in Russia, not inferior to European Pyrmont and Spa. In 1714, the worker of the Konchezer factory Ivan Reboev discovered a spring, the waters of which brought him healing. Peter ordered to build a palace near the spring and in 1719 personally visited the first Russian resort. The results were so favorable that he visited the resort three more times: in 1720, 1722 and 1724.

After the death of Peter, the resort was forgotten: by the end of the XVIII century the buildings were dilapidated, the palace was dismantled. To this day, only the church of the Apostle Peter, built by the will of the emperor, has survived. On March 22, 1946, the Council of People’s Commissars of the Karelo-Finnish SSR adopted a resolution on the organization of the Petrovsky Museum in the village of the Palaces of the Petrovsky District. On July 25, 1948, the Petrovsky Museum was opened to visitors. Initially, the exposition of the museum had only two sections: “Participation of the Karelian people in the Northern War” and “Peter I on Martial waters”. In 1955, the museum-reserve became part of the State Cravedic Museum of KASSR.

Today, the Museum of the History of the First Russian Resort "Martial Waters", a branch of the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia, includes: a house-museum (1830), a pavilion over the former source of therapeutic water (XIX century), a pavilion over the place of ore mining (XIX century), the Church of the Apostle Peter (XVIII century).

The main object of the show is the Church of the Apostle Peter - an architectural monument of the Peter era. The building was built in 1721 by order of Peter I, perhaps even according to his design and drawings. This church is the only architectural monument preserved from the buildings of the resort of Peter’s times and associated with the stay of the tsar in the region. In 2019, the restoration of the Church of St. Apostle Peter was carried out. The church has preserved the iconostasis of the early XVIII century, decorated with wooden carvings, two cast-iron ovens (1721), candlesticks from the royal workshop and other valuable artifacts.

The wooden building built in 1830 - an object of cultural heritage in 2019-2021 was restored and installed on an updated foundation. In the house-museum there were additional space for temporary exhibitions. The updated exposition presents documents, samples of clothes and items of the Peter era, as well as exhibits that are believed to have been created by Peter the Great himself. Also in the exposition you can see models of guns, weapons of the XVIII century, bilo, a bust of Peter the First mid-nineteenth century, as well as a unique memorial cast-iron plaque dedicated to the discovery of the spring in Marcial Waters.

Today, the Museum of the History of the First Russian Resort "Martial Waters" is a branch of the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia, as well as one of the most visited attractions of the Republic of Karelia.