The Kaluga Museum of the History of Cosmonautics was created in 1967 as a major research and educational center. The driving force behind its creation were Sergei Korolyov, a prolific scientist and spacecraft designer, and Yuri Gagarin, the first man on the Earth to travel into space.
The unique exposition of the museum displays the rich history of Russian cosmonautics from the first artificial satellite, launched in 1957, to modern long-term orbital stations. Only a small part of the museum fund is on display at all times – overall, there are more than 60,000 exhibit items in storage. The scientific heritage of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the founding father of theoretical cosmonautics, who spent most of his life in Kaluga, is also largely represented.
Of particular value are those showpieces that have actually been to space. There are quite a few of them: an authentic “Raduga” return capsule, a space suit glove, used by astronaut A. Alexandrov to work in outer space, and many more. The centerpiece of the exhibition is an exact copy of Vostok-1 spacecraft that once brought Yuri Gagarin to space. Among other exhibits of the museum you can also find a replica of the famous Sputnik-1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth as well as samples of lunar soil, space food and a collection of early Soviet spacesuits.
Website with the current working hours of the museum: http://www.gmik.ru
Address: Akademika Koroleva str., 2

Since 1922, the main collection of the museum has been located in the former city estate of the famous merchant of Kaluga Zolotarev. This house, intended for the reception of Russian royal family members, became a real decoration of the provincial Kaluga in the beginning of the XIX. For a long time, it has been referred to as “palace”. The architecture of the estate follows all the canons of Russian XVIII century classicism, with its ancient Greek themed high reliefs, columned entrance arches, intricate wrought iron gates and beautiful porch lanterns. The interior of the building, designed by a Russo-Italian architect S. Campioni, is embellished with beautiful frescoes, artistic bas-reliefs and parquetry. It is a genuine masterpiece and, truly, one of the main treasures of the museum.
Website with the current working hours of the museum: http://www.kaluga-museum.ru/
Address: Pushkin str., 14

The exposition of the house-museum of A. L. Chizhevsky recreates the authentic environment in which the scientist and his family lived, allowing the visitor to look into his difficult life path, his diverse scientific activities, artistic and poetic creativity, . A mini-observatory has been created in the attic of the museum, where with the help of a modern telescope you can observe the Sun during the day and the starry sky in the evening. Visitors have the opportunity to get acquainted with the "Chizhevsky chandelier " - the first air ionizer in the world - and its modern modifications. The excursions are accompanied by documentaries and popular science films.
Website with the current working hours of the museum: http://www.gmik.ru/otdely/dom-muzey-a-l-chizhevskogo/
Address: 62 Moskovskaya str.

In 1890, this wooden building housed Prince Volkonsky. But at the beginning of the 20th century it had already belonged to merchants – these were the Slesarev brothers, who thoroughly restructured the house. It was them, who decorated the estate with elaborate openwork carvings. The merchants owned the house just for 20 years before it was expropriated by the government. The building was repurposed for housing tenants, its luxurious halls were divided into standard communal apartments.
This continued until 1990, when the city government decided to create a museum out of an old communal apartment building. Not an ordinary one, though, but a “Craftsmen House”, a place, where you can get acquainted with the crafts and traditions of the Kaluga region.
The interior of the house was divided into several different areas, each with its own purpose. The excursion begins in the upper room. In the past, this room was used to welcome guests and celebrate weddings and important religious holidays, such as Christmas. Now, visitors are greeted there by a variety of exhibitions, some of them temporary and some permanent.
Website with the current working hours of the museum: https://dmkaluga.ru/
Address: alleyway Grigorov, 9.

This humble house was home to K. Tsiolkovsky and his family for almost 30 years. Here, the great scientist wrote his main works on aviation and cosmonautics. When he bought the house in 1904, it was much smaller with just one living room and at the very edge of the city. Due to the flood of 1908, the building was damaged and needed repairs; the second floor and the veranda were constructed along the way.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Germans used the house as their living quarters, and, as a result, many priceless exhibits of the museum were lost. But after the liberation of Kaluga, the museum was restored and recommenced its work.
In 1957, the year of the 100th anniversary of the scientist's birth, the USSR Academy of Sciences presented the museum with a new exhibition, demonstrating the practical application of Tsiolkovsky's ideas and concepts. When the Cosmonautics Museum was opened in Kaluga 10 years later, the scientific part of the exhibition moved there so the house-museum could become its biographical and memorial department, where the living conditions of the scientist's family were recreated to the utmost extent.
Website with the current working hours of the museum: http://www.gmik.ru/otdely/dom-muzey-k-e-tsiolkovskogo/
Address: 79 K. E. Tsiolkovsky str.

Neither an outstanding architect nor a rich merchant could bring this mansion such fame, which the house acquired due to the fact that the city authorities rented it for the captive imam of Chechnya and Dagestan and the spiritual leader of the Caucasian resistance in the 1800s – Shamil, to live in it.
Most of the exposition is devoted to the First World War: weapons and uniforms of this period, original posters, documents and photographs of Kaluzhans and famous participants of the First World War (G. K. Zhukov, L. V. Chizhevsky, M. N. Terenin, B. Y. Wulff, etc.), whose commemorative medals are exhibited there. The central exhibit of the museum is the Diorama "Brusilov Offensive" by the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Pavel Viktorovich Ryzhenko. The collection of weapons is complemented by authentic exhibits of the late XVIII-early XIX centuries. There is also an exhibition dedicated to Shamil's stay in Kaluga and a small museum of weapons of the XI – XIX centuries.
Website with the current working hours of the museum: http://www.kaluga-museum.ru/dom_bilibina
Address: Pushkin street, 4