Taltsy Museum

Taltsy was created in the 1960s and 70s to hold buildings that would otherwise have gone under the Ust-Ilimsk and Bratsk reservoirs, which flooded large stretches of the Angara valley and the villages along it. About forty structures stand in pine forest above the river: Russian peasant houses of the Angara type, a watermill, granaries, and the Spassky tower and gate church from the Ilimsk fort, both of the 1660s and 70s, which are among the oldest wooden buildings in Siberia. Separate sectors reconstruct Buryat and Evenk settlements, with a Buryat ulus of yurts and Evenk conical tents and burial platforms, so the museum covers indigenous as well as Russian building. It sits on the road between Irkutsk and Listvyanka, so most visitors stop on the way to Baikal, and it is busy in the middle of the day and quiet either side.

What you actually see

• The Ilimsk fort tower - a 1660s wooden tower and gate church, among the oldest in Siberia.
• The flooded villages - buildings moved ahead of the Angara reservoirs.
• The Buryat and Evenk sectors - yurts, conical tents and burial platforms.
• The Angara bluff - the site in pine forest above the river.

When to go

June to September, or winter for snow and festivals. Two to three hours. Midday is busiest with Baikal traffic.

Honest expectations

The site is spread out on slopes with rough paths. Many interiors are closed or shown only in part. Labelling is Russian. Tour buses fill it around midday. Mosquitoes are heavy in summer.

Nearby

Listvyanka and Lake Baikal are half an hour east; Irkutsk is an hour west.