Merchant Totma: From Salt Works to Sea Discoveries

17 points7 km0 hours

This route introduces you to the unique salt-making trade that made Totma one of the richest towns of the Russian North. This old town of seafarers and explorers also preserves the memory of the Totma merchants who conquered Alaska and California. We'll begin the tour at “Totma Salt,” a cultural and historical landscape complex in the village of Varnitsy, Totma District, Vologda Region. It introduces the ancient salt-making trade, which played an important role in the town's development. Here you'll learn all about salt making and see open-air museum exhibits and the Kokorev Garden. The route was prepared as part of the “Vsyako Doyedem” (“We'll Get There Anyway”) project.

Route author

Yulia Drugashkova

Things to do

История
Парки
Ремесло

Route points (17)

Museum of Church Antiquities in Totma

Point on route “Merchant Totma: From Salt Works to Sea Discoveries”

Point 14

Museum of Church Antiquities

История • 📜 Learn the city's history • 🏛️ Museum

History

The Museum of Church Antiquities, located in the Dormition Church, opened in 1995. Its exhibition features works of Northern Russian icon painting, examples of wooden church sculpture, small sculptures in copper and wood, and liturgical objects.

Interesting Exhibits

The earliest icons in the museum's exhibition date from the late 15th century. Of great interest is the church sculpture, a phenomenon generally uncharacteristic of Orthodoxy but widespread in the Russian North. The craftsmen carved the sculptures from linden wood, coated them with ochre, and added sheets of gold leaf.

Viewing Platform

The Museum of Church Antiquities has a working bell tower whose viewing platform you can climb to admire the Sukhona River and the town from above. On the way up, the halls on the second and third floors host a variety of exhibitions.