Although it may be the last big city in Europe, Perm is not last when it comes to cultural heritage. Nationalities that for many centuries inhabited the area produced original crafts and traditions which have fused to produce a unique Urals culture.
Fascinating and beautiful examples of local customs and arts are preserved in Perm museums. Two of our museums, the State Art Gallery and Regional Natural History Museum which are housed together in a former cathedral, are well known throughout Russia. Visiting them, one can enjoy masterpieces of Russian iconography of the Stroganov school, Russian and foreign fine arts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the justly famous collection of native wooden sculptures of gods.
Perm's musical and theatrical traditions have their origins far back in the last century. The first musical stage performance was given in 1806. A special pride of the city is the Perm State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater which is named in honor of P.I. Tchaikovsky. It was founded in 1870. Its smaller but not less famous "sister" is the Perm College of Choreography at which many famous artists of Perm Ballet school received their professional training. Many of them (Nadezhda Pavlova, Olga Chenchikova, Natalia Akhmarova, Alexei Borovik, etc.) later danced in prestigious theaters in other Russian cities as well as abroad. Every other year the College organizes and hosts an international ballet competition, the "Arabesque."
The cultural life of the city is vibrant. Besides opera and ballet we have a Drama Theater, the Philharmonic Society, sixteen public schools which specialize in arts and music, two parks, a zoo, a circus, a planetarium, and exhibition halls, to say nothing of numerous libraries, clubs, cinema theaters, the Perm boys choir (chapel), and more. Several generations of children have enjoyed our Perm Young Spectators Theater and a theater for even younger children, the Puppet Show. The variety of professional art activities in Perm is symbolized by the presence here of seven art unions: of painters, journalists, architects, writers, designers, theatrical workers and photojournalists.
Visitors also enjoy the nearby ethnographical museum of wooden architecture, located near Khokhlovka village (42 km north of Perm). Khokhlovka successfully combines the beauty of nature and human striving. Situated in a large park beside the Kama River, it contains a watchtower, mill, church, threshing barn, salt refinery, peasant houses, and other village buildings dating back to the early nineteenth century.
Finally, if you do come to the Urals, try to stop by the city of Kungur (80 km to the south of Perm). You will be rewarded by seeing the unique Kungur Ice(!) Cave, whose formations are over 10,000 years old. Beautiful whiteness, colorfully illuminated stalagmites and stalactites, clear purity of underground lakes, and magic sights of its many grottos will stay in your mind as pleasant memories from the Urals.
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