Museum of the Bulgar Civilization

Abstract

In May, 2013, a Museum of Bulgar Civilization, a division of the Bolgar State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, was inaugurated in the city of Bolgar. The museum exposition presents authentic historical and cultural monuments of the Bulgar-Tatar population of the Volga river region, answers visitors’ questions about the origin of the Bulgars, about ethnic, political and cultural aspects of the Bulgar civilization, about historical destinies of the medieval population of Volga Bulgaria, and the role of its cultural heritage in the modern world. The basic exposition consists of three parts: “History of Bulgar civilization”, “Ancient Bolgar: the life of the city” and "Discovery of ancient Bolgar.” The internal structure of the first part is organized along chronological lines, starting from the Xiongnu Empire and the Great Migration Period to the emergence of medieval Tatar states. The second part represents various aspects of material and spiritual culture of medieval Bolgar in the period of its prosperity (13th-14th centuries). The third part is devoted to the history of the study of Bolgar and its environs starting from the 17-18th centuries up to modern integrated research.

Keywords

• the Middle Volga river region
• Tatarstan
• the Middle Ages
• Bolgar city
• history of Bulgar civilization
• museology