The World Funeral Culture Museum

The idea of creating a museum belongs to S. B. Yakushin, the Novosibirsk crematorium founder. In 1992, he organized the first funeral industry exhibition in the Russian history, which was successfully held in Novosibirsk. In the following years he moved to Moscow at VDNKh, where it has been held annually since then.

For the decoration of the exhibition Yakushin acquired five old engravings depicting funeral processions in England. The collection of the World Funeral Culture Museum began with them.

It is the only one in Russia and one of the most extensive in the world among funeral art museums. The three exhibition halls of the Museum feature unique exhibits on world funeral traditions and mourning culture from antiquity to modernity. More than 200 historical funeral dresses, a huge collection of large-scale and real models of hearses, 10,000 engravings on the theme of burial and mourning, more than 1,000 paintings by contemporary artists on the life and death philosophy themes, 9,000 historical photographs, posthumous masks of historical figures, unique examples of hairdressing art and memorial jewelry, and many other exhibits contain the world history of the culture of burial, preservation of memory, and mourning traditions.

The museum is aimed at the younger generation who need to be instilled with the knowledge of true life values, such as the importance of remembering their ancestors, and the wisdom of not being afraid of death, but instead living life worthily. According to the museum founder, the purpose of excursions for children is not to shock and destroy the fragile psyche, but to help answer “sick” children’s questions, which parents often cannot find the right answers for.

The Death History and Art Museum is a museum with many meanings for all ages.

Hall 1: burial traditions of the 19th – early 20th centuries, Victorian mourning, fashion, outfits and jewelry, hairdressing art, history of cremation and funeral. New expositions: “Features of Male Mourning”, and “Buried alive: the story of premature burial”;

Hall 2: the historical and modern funeral traditions of different peoples and religions, the life and death of historical figures, the events of the Patriotic Wars of 1812 and World War II, great composers and mourning works, the history of embalming, posthumous photography, posthumous masks. New expositions: “Life and death of Russian emperors”, and “Danse Macabre” hall based on museums of mummies, bones, and catacombs;

Hall 3: the history of funeral transport (large-scale models and real vehicles). New: funeral procession to the crematorium in 360° virtual reality.

Expositions are in the open.

The museum is a member of the International Association of Funeral Museums.