Kyrgyzstan Museums
Museums have appeared in Kyrgyzstan relatively recently and they are very modest. These are not like those huge halls full of dusty exhibits, which the imagination draws, inspired by visits to the British Museum, the Louvre, the Smithsonian Institution or other major museums of the world. Many museums in Kyrgyzstan operate on a tight budget, however, almost every one of them boasts unique exhibits.
Museums in Kyrgyzstan do not just exhibit. This is just one aspect of their work. Museums in Kyrgyzstan collect, document and store collections of artifacts, samples of historical, cultural, artistic and scientific significance, and make them accessible to a wide circle of the public.
Once in Bishkek, tourists usually visit the Historical Museum, the massive building of which was built and decorated according to all the canons of Soviet monumental art and is a vivid example of Soviet iconography. Acquaintance with another tourist city of Karakol would be incomplete without a visit to the Przhevalsky Museum, the great Russian traveler scientist, whose studies at the beginning of the 20th century gave the world a lot of new information about Asia. In Osh, the southern capital of Kyrgyzstan, the state museum is notable for its original location right in the caves of the sacred mountain Suleiman-Too.
There are also several open-air museums in Kyrgyzstan. The exhibits are located right at the archaeological site. Of course, not everyone is able to travel to the distant “stone garden” of Saimaluu-Tash to see ancient petroglyphs there, but the collections of artifacts of Burana and Cholpon-Ata are quite accessible to any tourist.
Kyrgyzstan Popular Museums:
History Museums
State Historical Museum of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek)
Museum of the History of the Nookat District (Nookat)
Alay District Historical Museum named after Kurmanjan-Datka (Gulcha)
Museum of History (Kyzyl-Kiya)
Suzak District Historical Museum
Tokmok Local History Museum
Karakol Local History Museum
Jalal-Abad Local History Museum
Kochkor Local History Museum
Naryn Regional Local History Museum
Issyk-Kul State Historical and Cultural Open-Air Museum
Osh Historical and Cultural Museum
Memorial Museums
House Museum of M.V. Frunze
Museum and Studio of G. Aytiev
Museum-Apartment of A. Maldybaev
House Museum of A.Tokombaev
House Museum of S. A. Chuikov
House Museum of O. M. Manuylova
Museum and Studio of S. Chokmorov
N. Przhevalski Memorial Museum
House Museum of A. Osmonov
House Museum of Z. Kaynazarova
Memorial Museum of D. Shopokov
Ata-Beyit Memorial Museum
Literary Museums
Toktogul Literary Museum
State Museum of Literature and Art of T. Satylganov (Toktogul District)
Ch. Aitmatov Museum (Talas Province)
Specialized Museums
Zoological Museum at the Faculty of Biology at Kyrgyz State University
Archaeological Museum at Kyrgyz-Slavic University
Museum of the National Bank in Bishkek
Geological Museum at the State Agency for Geology
Theater Museum at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre
Theater Museum at the State Drama Theater
Theatre Museum at the Kyrgyz National Philharmonic
Private Museum of Art and Inventions
Private Space Museum
Open Air Museum in Oak Park
