Perm: Theater History and Walking Routes

Discover Perm through its theater history, museums, and varied themed walking routes. Some routes explore the city’s history, while others focus on individual personalities or on the nature and culture of a river valley.

Theater, Museums, and City History

In 1870, Mikhail Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar” was performed for the first time at the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre. In 1879, the theater moved into a three-story stone building in the late Russian Classicist style. It had been built to a design by the architect Rudolf Karvowski. The two dates offer different insights: first into theater history, then into the architecture of the building at that time.

The Diorama Museum and memorial complex on Mount Vyshka focus on events surrounding the First Russian Revolution of 1905 in Motovilikha. The Perm Artillery Museum offers another historical perspective. It is dedicated to the history of the Motovilikha Plants, one of the oldest operating companies in the Western Urals.

The history of the PERMM Museum of Contemporary Art also unfolds through specific milestones: the exhibition “Russkoe bednoe” was shown in Perm in 2008 and laid the foundation for the later museum. After moving in 2014 to a temporary building on Gagarin Boulevard, the collection was expanded significantly during this period with works by contemporary artists from Perm. The exhibition projects placed greater emphasis on the local context.

The Museum of Perm Antiquities focuses on the history of the Earth, as well as plants and animals from past geological eras. These subjects are studied by paleontology. This offers a perspective on long-vanished worlds alongside the city’s more recent history.

Walking Routes with Different Themes

The “Zelenaya liniya” is a walking route that you can explore independently, without a guide; allow about 1.5 to 2 hours. It includes 41 historical and modern stops, among them the Chapel of Saint Stephen of Perm, the “Permyak — solenye ushi” sculpture, and the Meshkov House. The number and selection of stops may change.

The other themed routes focus on different aspects. The “Krasnaya liniya” introduces Perm through notable people who lived there. The “Imperatorskaya liniya” is an archival, historical and memorial tourism project with an excursion route to memorial sites in Perm associated with members of the House of Romanov. You can explore the city according to your interests, through its places or through historical figures and memorial sites.

The “Obshchiy marshrut” runs through the valley of the Yegoshikha River, between the PERMM Museum of Contemporary Art and the Jewish section of the Yegoshikha Necropolis. The route offers a perspective on the natural landscape, the history of the area, and Jewish culture. Artworks and tours created by their authors convey the stories and meanings of the route; check in advance whether tours are currently available.

For a walk without a themed route, the Kama River embankment is an important landmark: it is one of the main places where Perm residents go for walks and recreation.

More Travel Ideas in Perm Krai

The wider destination of Perm Krai also offers its own nature and culture experiences. In the Basegi Nature Reserve, there are the excursion route “To the Summit of Northern Baseg” and the route “To Southern Baseg.” The route to Northern Baseg is 11 kilometers long; the excursion, including a guide and time for rest, takes 5 to 8 hours. The excursion season runs from June to October. It starts at the checkpoint at the Schastlivy ranger station and follows a 3,700-meter walking trail through taiga forest and the mountain forest zone, as well as about 300 meters across mountain meadows. Coordinate arrangements with the reserve before planning your visit.

The visitor center at the Basegi Nature Reserve includes a small museum exhibition on the flora and fauna of Perm Krai. Environmental education discussions, lectures, and quizzes are held there regularly, along with games featuring films or multimedia presentations.

Another destination in Perm Krai is the year-round Gubakha resort, located in the city of Gubakha on Mount Krestovaya. Seven groomed pistes are open there, and there are also eleven slopes for freeriders. These numbers may change. Khokhlovka is the Urals’ first open-air architectural and ethnographic museum dedicated to wooden architecture.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Gorod Gremyachinsk, Dobryanskiy rayon, Osinskiy rayon, Dobryanskiy Rayon, Kishertskiy rayon, Suksunskiy rayon.

For the wider travel overview: Perm Krai.