The historical and architectural potential of Velje village in the concept of development of the A.S. Pushkin state museum-reserve

Abstract

Velje is an ancient suburb-fortress of Pskov, one of the perspective objects within the State Memorial Historical-Literary and Natural-Landscape Museum- Reserve of A.S. Pushkin «Mikhailovskoye», which possesses rich cultural heritage. Here many historical objects remain preserved: the XIVth century settlement, the historical road along which A.S. Pushkin passed during the period of Mikhailovskoe exile, the planning structure of the medieval posad, more than twenty objects of cult and residential architecture of the XVIII-XIX centuries, complexes of merchant estates. The material, presented in this article, was prepared based on the results of research, including field studies in the period of 2021–2022. The typological and architectural and artistic originality of the objects of the architectural and historical environment of Velje, their current state and potential possibilities for including them into museum-exhibition structure of the Pushkin Museum-Reserve have been determined. Project proposals are presented for the adaptation of preserved merchants’ estates for museums with the formation of expositions, that reveal the history and features of this part of the Pskov land, associated with the life and work of A.S. Pushkin.