Place State Tretyakov Gallery

The famous Tretyakov Gallery, which houses the largest collection of Russian art, was founded by Pavel Tretyakov (1832 – 1898). He bought his first painting in 1856. For the next three decades, he collected more and more works. He opened his collection in 1881 and bequeathed it to the city in his last will. The facade of the museum in a special fairytale style was designed in 1904 by Viktor Vasněcov. The collection contains more than 130,000 exhibits, covering the period from antiquity to the avant-garde period.