AKHMATOVA MEMORIAL MUSEUM

34 nab. reki Fontanki 191104 St. Petersburg
Open: 10.30am - 5.30pm
Closed: Mondays and the last Wednesday of every month
Tel. 272-2211,272-5758
Nearest metro stations: Mayakovskaya and Nevsky Prospekt

The museum dedicated to the life and work of Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966) opened in the Fountain House in 1989. The poetess lived the better part of her life in the south garden wing of the palace, and even signed many of her verses indicating the exact place of their creation: Fountain House. Akhmatova moved to the apartment of her husband Nikolai Punin, a well-known art historian, in the mid-1920s and lived here until February 1952 (excluding the war years).

The exhibits displayed in the six halls of the museum provide a lively account of Akhmatova's life and work. Some of the less well-known portraits and photographs of Akhmatova and her contemporaries, books from her library, rare editions, unique autographs of Silver Age poets and assorted memorabilia are to be seen here. Punin's study and Akhmatova's room have been recreated to look like they did during their owners' lifetime.

On the first floor is a concert and exhibition hall where literary and musical soirees are held along with temporary exhibitions by contemporary Russian and foreign artists. On the ground floor, a videoroom-cafe is used for the showing of films about 20th-century Russian poets.