Volume 14. The Pskov state incorporated istoriko-architectural and art memorial estate

Pskov State United Historical and Architectural and Art Museum was founded in 1876 as Pskov church and archeological museum.

The museum possessed the rich collections of archeology, numismatics, manuscripts and early printed books and documents (Archives of) icons and other works of religious art. The museum had the collection of Russian and Western European paintings, drawings, figurines, porcelain, natural science collections.

Pskov was occupied during two weeks after Nazi Germany had attacked the Soviet Union (June 22, 1941). Before the occupation of the city museum workers managed to evacuate the part of museum collections. The greater part of the great museum collections was left in Pskov.

By the end of summer of 1941 the Germans transformed the collections of the Pskov museum into the «Museum of Pogankin». (Pogankin House - a stone building of XVIII-XIX century). For the German soldiers they arranged the museum exhibitions, which were presented to "Western European and Russian art, historical objects, clothing, ecclesiastical vestments, icons, utensils, books, etc., as well as remnants of the natural science collection and botanical material. The museum, which was a small staff of Russian officers, was available for the public daily from 10 to 12 hours.

In 1941-1944. Pskov museum was the main base storage of cultural and artistic values, removed not only from the Pskov region, but also from Novgorod, Tikhvin, Pushkin, Pavlovsk, Gatchina, Peterhof.

The storage of the Pskov museum had the "prehistoric antiquity, Western European and Russian paintings (including representatives of cubism and expressionism), porcelain, icons, small size, plastic, clothing, etc.

The museum had the library Pogankin, 600-700 icons from the churches and chapels throughout the Pskov province, a large number of ecclesiastical vestments, as well as the miraculous icon of Prince Vsevolod - Gabriel. Surviving German documents show that from the museum and stores valuable rarities were constantly disappearing.

In January 1942, Pskov was given the valuable curiosities captured in Tikhvin. Among them there was the miraculous image of Our Lady of Tikhvin.

In Pskov, in particular, there was a number of special divisions and groups of the German army, which took out the cultural and artistic treasures of Pskov and the entire Northwest region. For example, a large number of cultural and artistic treasures were taken out of the museum, ostensibly to display at an exhibition in Riga, were then sent to the central Germany.

In the first years after the Second World War, a part of cultural property taken out of Pskov museum were returned to Pskov. But the fate of many museum treasures is still unknown. Among them, for example, unique monuments - the icon "The Nativity of the Virgin" with scenes “Lives of Our Lady” of the XVI century and "Epiphany with the Tree of Jesse" of the end of the XVI century, the "list" of the end of the XVIII century. with the icon "Our Lady of Pskov Intercession, embroidered banner" Trinity "1630-ies., Khoros of XV century., numerous archaeological finds of X-XV centuries, two stone pagan idols, the works of Russian and foreign visual artists.

The lack of sufficient evidence base complicates the identification and return of cultural property in Pskov. As a result, some works of art belonging to the Pskov museum, are the other museums in the country. For example, in Pavlovsk they found icons from Pskov. Some paintings from the collection of Pskov were at the Museum of Fine Arts in Rostov-on-Don, and ancient works of art were at the State Historical Museum.