Getting There
The museum is located on Alma-Ata, Samal-1, 44. It can be easily reached by public transport routes 2, 19 and 22.
What to Expect
In total, to date, the collection of the Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan has collected more than 200 thousand exhibits that tell about the history of the country, the stages of development of the Kazakh people and many other interesting facts.
The exposition of the first hall of the museum is devoted to paleontology and archeology. Here are the objects of excavations carried out throughout Kazakhstan: fragments of animal bones and petrified trees, spores and pollen of ancient plants and much more. The archaeological segment contains models of ancient structures.
In the second hall, “Historical Ethnography”, there are exhibits telling about the history of Kazakhstan from the 15th to the early 20th centuries: household items, weapons and armor, jewelry, leather goods, carpets and even a real Kazakh yurt.
The third hall is dedicated to the history and culture of ethnic groups living today in the vastness of the republic. Interesting rare documents and photographic materials, household items, works of art by various nations are exhibited here. In addition, the third hall houses the exhibition “Kazakhstan during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.”
The exposition of the fourth hall – “Sovereign Kazakhstan” – presents the history of the republic from the moment of its becoming an independent state in 1991 to the present day. Here you can see various symbols of Kazakhstan: coat of arms and flag, awards and banknotes.
In addition to the main halls, the museum has an “Open Fund”, the exposition of which acquaints visitors with the wonderful objects found in different parts of the country, and the “Museum of Anthropology”, which is unique for Central Asia.
History
The history of the Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan, recognized as one of the largest and most significant museums in Central Asia, begins many years before its opening in the city of Almaty – and even in a completely different place.
The date of the foundation of the museum, which was then called the “Museum of the Orenburg Region”, can be attributed to the 30s of the 19th century, and the place of foundation, oddly enough, was the city of Orenburg, which at that time was the capital of the Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Later, the city of Kyzyl-Orda became the capital, where the museum also moved, and after the recognition of Almaty as the capital of Kazakhstan, the Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan turned out to be where it is to this day.
The State Museum of the Republic was opened in the city of Alma-Ata in 1931. At that time, it was located in the building of the former Ascension Cathedral. The collection of the museum included exhibits from the funds of the Orenburg Museum, to which the collections of the Museum of the Semirechensk region, the Cossack army and the Republican anti-religious museum were added.
A great event for the State Museum of the Republic took place in 1985 – under the leadership of architects Y. Ratushny, Z. Mustafina and B. Rzagaliev, a new building was built for it, which to this day is considered one of the most striking examples of modern urban architecture.
The museum occupies 3 floors with a total area of 17.5 thousand square meters. m. On this territory there are exhibition galleries and 4 main halls, in which the permanent exhibitions of the museum are exhibited.
