Iron Museum

In December 1999, ^[1] entrepreneur Andrei Vorobyov (who opened his antique shop in 1995 ^[2] ) bought a burned two-story building for 11 thousand dollars ^[3] in the center of Pereslavl on Sovetskaya Street, 11, previously there were communal apartments. Civil engineer Boris Kuzmich Abrashkin (Vorobyov’s relative and technical director of the iron museum) received permission to repair the building and privatize a plot of land ^[4] .

For three years, the building continued to be repaired and $ 30,000 was invested in repairs. Almost the same amount was spent on searching and buying up irons ^[5] . The Iron Museum opened on June 29, 2002 ^[6] . Most of the irons were purchased at the Moscow vernissage in Izmailovo ^[1] . Some interesting exhibits were found in the trash ^[7] .

In 2002-2004, visiting the museum was free ^{[2] [7] [8]} . In 2006, the visit remained free, but you could leave the money in a special box ^[9] . Then the entrance to the museum became paid ^[10] .

But the museum receives “main income” (about 70 percent) from the sale of irons to visitors from its storerooms at prices ranging from 100 rubles to 10 thousand rubles. Two-thirds of the income comes from the summer tourist season from May to September ^[3] . After one and a half to two years of operation, the museum completely paid off and began to make a profit. In the summer, the museum’s revenue is 70-100 thousand rubles per month ^[5] .

Every month 1.2 thousand people pass through the museum ^[5] . 95% of visitors are Muscovites, other tourists come from major cities of Russia and other countries ^[3] .

In July 2003, Andrei Vorobyov and Dmitry Nikishkin opened the Kettle Museum in the village of Veskovo near Pereslavl, using income from the Iron Museum. In summer, income from the Kettle Museum is 50–70 thousand rubles a month. For Vorobyov, two private museums are not a hobby, but the main profitable business ^[5] .

The collection of the Iron Museum has no connection with the city of Pereslavl ^[11] .

The museum has more than 200 irons ^[12] .

There is a souvenir shop on the first floor of the museum, and irons are on the second floor. The central shelf is devoted to seven main types of irons: 1) heating, 2) with a cast iron heating medium, 3) coal iron, 4) steam iron, 5) alcohol iron, 6) gas iron, 7) electric iron ^[4] .

Several times a year, the Museum hosts the Iron Festival, where any visitor can experience the irons in action ^[13] .

The museologist, Doctor of Arts Alexei Valentinovich Lebedev claims that the Iron Museum is a store where the word “museum” is used for advertising ^[14] .