Gagarin House-Museum (Orenburg)

The House-Museum of Yuri and Valentina Gagarin is a memorial museum in central Orenburg, at 35 Chicherina Street. It is also known as the Gagarin Apartment Museum: it tells the story of the first cosmonaut's years in Orenburg, his training at the flight school and how he met his future wife. The Gagarin museum in Orenburg is part of the Museum of Orenburg History.

History

Orenburg holds a special place in Yuri Gagarin's life. In 1955–1957 he was a cadet at the 1st Chkalov (Orenburg) Military Aviation School of Pilots. In the city he met Valentina Goryacheva, and they married in 1957.

The museum's story begins in 1969. After Gagarin's death, pupils of a boarding school for visually impaired children proposed setting up a school museum in his memory. In April 2001, for the 40th anniversary of the first human spaceflight, the museum reopened as a state institution, the Yuri and Valentina Gagarin Memorial Apartment Museum. Gagarin's relatives, his fellow cadets and other guests attended the opening.

In the years that followed, the commander of the squadron in which Gagarin served and several cosmonauts came to visit. In 2014 the museum was visited by Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, and by Yuri Lonchakov, a graduate of the same Orenburg flight school. In 2016 cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, son of cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko, came here.

In April 2021, for the 60th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, the museum reopened after a major reconstruction as the House-Museum of Yuri and Valentina Gagarin.

What to see in the Gagarin Apartment Museum

The exhibition covers two floors and several halls:

• "Road to Space" on the ground floor, an interactive display with stands explaining space phenomena;
• the kitchen of a communal apartment as it looked in a former merchant's mansion;
• a hall styled after the Iskra cinema of the 1960s;
• the Gagarin family's memorial room on the first floor; according to the museum staff, the first cosmonaut's family began in just such a room in Orenburg;
• a conference hall for meetings, lectures and video conferences.

The most valuable exhibits are the family's personal belongings: a piqué bedspread, door curtains embroidered by Valentina Gagarina, and her dresses from the 1950s to the 1970s. Furniture that belonged to the Gagarins has also been preserved.

Getting there

The museum is at 35 Chicherina Street, Orenburg. The nearest stop is Sad, served by tram No. 12 and buses No. 26 and 39.

Other places linked to the cosmonaut are nearby: the Yuri Gagarin monument stands in the square named after him, at the corner of Gagarin Avenue and Mira Street.

Good to know

According to the Orenburg city administration website, the museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 and closed on Mondays. It is best to check the schedule by phone before a visit.