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Kostroma Guardhouse

Kostroma Guardhouse: yellow Neoclassical building with a six-column white portico and relief panels on Susanin Square
Photo: A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The essentials in 10 seconds

Entry
400 ₽, concessions 300 ₽
Opening hours
11:00–19:00, last tickets 18:30
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Time on site
A typical visit without queueing. In high season add 15–30 minutes.
45 min
With kids
Fine with kids
Adult ticket
400 ₽
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Concession
300 ₽ — pensioners, school and full-time students, disabled visitors (Russian documents)
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Children
Under 7 (inclusive) free
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Free day
Last Tuesday of the month — under-18s and students
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Closed
Never — open every day
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Weapons Collection room
Separate room; ask at the desk whether the main ticket covers it
verifyingFrom reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go.
Guided tour
1,000 ₽ per group of up to 10 plus admission, 45 min, in Russian
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Payment
Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards do not work in Russia — bring roubles in cash
verifyingFrom reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go.
Address
Ulitsa Lenina 1/2, Susanin Square, Kostroma
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Coordinates
57.76885, 40.92681YesGo MapGoogleAppleYandex

Key facts

1823–1826built (the museum gives 1824–1826)
3 sourcesRussian WikipediaAdvantourKostroma Museum-Reserve
Pyotr Fursovprovincial architect who also built the Fire Tower next door
3 sourcesKostroma Museum-ReserveRussian WikipediaAdvantour
12th–21st c.the span of the military history display
2 sourcesKostroma Museum-ReserveKultura.RF
6 columnsin the white Doric portico on the main façade
2 sourcesRussian WikipediaWikimedia Commons photos of the façade
Empire stylelate Russian Neoclassicism with moulded military reliefs
2 sourcesRussian WikipediaTonkosti
HauptwacheGerman for “main guard” — the origin of the Russian word gauptvakhta
2 sourcesdictionaries of loanwordsRussian Wikipedia
Early 1900suntil then it held the town guard and arrested soldiers awaiting trial
3 sourcesRussian WikipediaRusmaniaKultura.RF
Library, registry officeits uses in Soviet times
2 sourcesRussian WikipediaRusmania
1996the Museum-Reserve moved in
2 sourcesRussian WikipediaAdvantour
2 displaysMilitary History of the Kostroma Region and the Weapons Collection
2 sourcesKostroma Museum-ReserveKultura.RF

Kostroma Guardhouse tickets and opening hours

An adult ticket is 400 ₽; concessions are 300 ₽ for pensioners, school pupils, full-time students and disabled visitors with ID. Children up to and including age 7 go free, and on the last Tuesday of every month entry is free for everyone under 18 and for students.

The museum is open every day, 11:00–19:00, with no lunch break and no days off; the ticket desk closes at 18:30. Buy at the door — there is no need to book. A guided tour of the rooms costs 1,000 ₽ per group of up to ten plus admission and takes about 45 minutes, but it is in Russian.

Payment: foreign Visa and Mastercard cards have not worked in Russia since March 2022, so carry roubles in cash for small museums like this one.

What is the Guardhouse?

A guardhouse — Hauptwache, “main guard”, in the German the Russian army borrowed — was where the town garrison was based. Sentries left from here for posts across Kostroma, and soldiers under arrest were held here until trial. The building did that job until the early twentieth century.

The stone guardhouse replaced a run-down wooden one in 1823–1826 (the museum says 1824–1826). It was designed by provincial architect Pyotr Fursov, who also built the Fire Tower across the corner. In Soviet times it housed a library and the registry office; the Museum-Reserve took it over in 1996.

What's inside: the Military History Museum

  • Military history of the Kostroma region — from medieval armour and militia weapons to 20th-century uniforms and medals.
  • 1812 room — swords, officers' insignia and belongings of local men who joined the militia against Napoleon.
  • World War I and World War II — letters, documents and the stories of named soldiers from the region.
  • Weapons Collection — firearms, blades, exotic weapons and armour from different countries and eras.
  • The building itself — a handful of small rooms on two levels, with windows onto the square.

The façade: worth a look even from outside

The building is a single-storey ochre house with a mezzanine and a white six-column Doric portico. The centre of the façade is a curved niche with arches, flanked by windows framed in pilasters.

Look up at the moulded reliefs — armour, weapons, banners, shields and lion masks. The fence and lanterns were rebuilt in the 1950s from an old drawing. The best photo is from the Susanin monument, with the portico and the Fire Tower in one frame.

How to get to the Kostroma Guardhouse

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on footdestinationStreet view

Where are you starting from?

We’ll draw it on the map on foot and by taxi; metro and buses open in your maps app. Your location isn’t stored.

On foot

More tips

  1. Head for the Susaninskaya Ploshchad (Susanin Square) stop — most buses and trolleybuses through the centre stop here.
  2. From the railway station, trolleybus No. 2 towards the centre takes about 15 minutes; from the bus station, take any bus or minibus to the same stop. A taxi from either is 5–10 minutes.
  3. Look for the Fire Tower — the landmark of the square. The Guardhouse is right next to it, on the corner of Ulitsa Lenina and Ulitsa Simanovskogo.
  4. Enter through the fence on the portico side. The ticket desk closes at 18:30.
  5. Afterwards, cross the square to the Trading Rows — two minutes on foot.

Is the Kostroma Guardhouse worth visiting?

Yes, if you like military history or are travelling with kids who love swords and uniforms. It is small, cheap and right on Susanin Square, so it costs you 40–45 minutes, not a half-day.

If you only have one day in Kostroma and military museums are not your thing, admire the façade from the square and spend the hour at the Ipatiev Monastery or the Kostromskaya Sloboda open-air museum instead. Without Russian, much of the display is weapons behind glass.

Before you go: checklist

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Guardhouse vs Fire Tower vs Trading Rows

Guardhouseyou are here1820s guard post, military museum400 ₽, concessions 300 ₽40–45 minHistory fans, kids
Fire TowerWatchtower by the same architectOwn ticket≈ 30 minViews over the centre
Trading Rows18th–19th-century market arcadesFree30–60 minEveryone: souvenirs, cheese, a stroll

All three are within five minutes of each other. If you'll pay for only one, choose by interest: military history — the Guardhouse; a view from above — the Fire Tower.

Kostroma history sights compared

Every historic sight in Kostroma rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Epiphany-Anastasia Convent4840 minFree7 min walk
Susanin Square4730 minFree3 min walk
Kostroma Trading Rows4740 minFree5 min walk
Church of the Resurrection on the Debre4330 minFree34 min walk
Kostroma Guardhouseyou are here4245 min400 ₽, concessions 300 ₽—
Kostroma Fire Tower3940 minFree3 min walk
Ipatiev Monastery362 h≈ 350–400 ₽, services free37 min walk
Kostromskaya Sloboda Open-Air Museum351 h 30 min450 ₽, concessions 350 ₽40 min walk
Sumarokovo Moose Farm221 h 30 min300 ₽, children from 4: 200 ₽19.6 km

Central Kostroma in half a day

The square with the Fire Tower and Guardhouse, the Trading Rows and the Epiphany Convent — all on foot. Add them to your route in one tap — YesGo fits in the timing and walks.

  1. Kostroma Fire Tower40 min · Free to see outside; no climb
  2. 3 min walk from the previous stopKostroma Guardhouseyou are here45 min · 400 ₽, concessions 300 ₽
  3. 5 min walk from the previous stopKostroma Trading Rows40 min · Free
  4. 12 min walk from the previous stopEpiphany-Anastasia Convent40 min · Free, cathedral only

4 places · about 3 h 5 min with walks · 20 min on foot in total

Go · my route

Nearby — add to your day

Kostroma Fire Tower

Kostroma, Russia

40 min · Free to see outside; no climb · 3 min walk

Susanin Square

Kostroma, Russia

30 min · Free · 3 min walk

Kostroma Trading Rows

Kostroma, Russia

40 min · Free · 5 min walk

Epiphany-Anastasia Convent

Kostroma, Russia

40 min · Free, cathedral only · 7 min walk

How to do it right

  • Photograph the façade from the Susanin monument to get the portico and the Fire Tower together.
  • Travelling with teenagers? The last Tuesday of the month is free for under-18s.
  • Slot it between Susanin Square and the Trading Rows rather than making a separate trip.
  • A camera translator app turns the Russian labels into something you can follow.
  • Coming late in the day? Remember the 18:30 ticket cut-off.

Questions

How much is the ticket to the Kostroma Guardhouse?

400 ₽ for adults and 300 ₽ concessions. Children up to 7 are free; under-18s and students are free on the last Tuesday of the month.

What are the Kostroma Guardhouse opening hours?

Every day, 11:00–19:00, with no days off. The ticket desk closes at 18:30.

Where is the Guardhouse in Kostroma?

On Susanin Square in the very centre, next to the Fire Tower, at Ulitsa Lenina 1/2.

What is inside the Kostroma Guardhouse?

The Military History Museum: a display on the region's military past from the 12th century and a separate Weapons Collection room.

How long do you need there?

40–45 minutes for both rooms; about an hour with a guided tour.

How do I get to the Kostroma Guardhouse?

Any bus or trolleybus to the Susaninskaya Ploshchad stop; from the railway station, trolleybus No. 2 takes about 15 minutes. From the centre, walk.

Is the Kostroma Guardhouse worth it?

Worth it for military-history fans and families with kids. Otherwise the façade from the square is enough, and the hour is better spent at the Ipatiev Monastery.

Are there English labels?

We found no sign of English captions. Use a camera translator app or come with a Russian-speaking guide.

Can I pay by card?

Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards do not work in Russia since March 2022. Bring roubles in cash.

Have you been? Was it worth your time?

1 — no, 5 — absolutely

Your vote counts towards the YesGo score.

Sources and fact-check

  • Kostroma Museum-Reserve: Military History Museum page, price list and concession rules, 30.10.2026
  • Kultura.RF: Military History Museum exhibition listing
  • Russian Wikipedia: Guardhouse (Kostroma); Wikidata Q4134225
  • Advantour: Fire Tower and Guardhouse, Kostroma
  • Rusmania: Military History Museum (Military Prison), Kostroma
  • Tonkosti: Guardhouse, Kostroma
YesGo editorial team · facts checked 30.10.2026 ·
How we checkedPrices, concessions, the free day, opening hours and the address come from the official Kostroma Museum-Reserve website. Other facts are checked against at least two sources. Build dates differ — Wikipedia, Advantour and Rusmania give 1823–1826, the museum 1824–1826 — so we show both. The Weapons Collection has no price in the official list, so that row is marked “verifying”. Kultura.RF mentions visits by appointment while the museum's own site lists daily opening; we follow the museum. The trolleybus route and the lack of English labels are marked as unverified.

Top YesGo picks: Kostroma

Ipatiev Monastery

Kostroma, Russia

2 h · ≈ 350–400 ₽, services free

Snow Maiden's Terem

Kostroma, Russia

1 h · from 490 RUB, full visit 890 RUB

Sumarokovo Moose Farm

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1 h 30 min · 300 ₽, children from 4: 200 ₽

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