The Museum is located in the building of the former convent of the Transfiguration of Our Savior. The Church of the Transfiguration of Our Savior is the oldest in the town (1198). The original building preserved only the lower parts of the walls with fragments of fresco paintings of the 12th century.
At present, the cathedral was restored in the forms of the 17th century. There is an exhibition «Findings of archaeologists in Staraya Russa», where you can observe ancient tools of labor and works of craftsmen, as well as birch bark letters, instruments for writing on birch bark, objects with the letter marks of their owners. In the former church of the Presentation, there is an art gallery presenting works of artists born in Staraya Russa or its surroundings. The basis of the exposition is the work of the outstanding Russian artist Vasily Semyonovich Svarog.
