# Kostroma Guardhouse > The Guardhouse is an 1820s army guard post on Susanin Square, next to the Fire Tower, now the Military History Museum of the Kostroma Museum-Reserve: weapons, uniforms and documents from the 12th century to today. Tickets are 400 ₽ (300 ₽ concessions, under-7s free). Open daily 11:00–19:00, last tickets 18:30. Allow 40–45 minutes. Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostroma-guardhouse - City: [Kostroma](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma), Russia - YesGo score: 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 45 min - Entry: 400 ₽, concessions 300 ₽ - With kids: Fine with kids - Adult ticket: 400 ₽ - Concession: 300 ₽ — pensioners, school and full-time students, disabled visitors (Russian documents) - Children: Under 7 (inclusive) free - Free day: Last Tuesday of the month — under-18s and students - Opening hours: 11:00–19:00, last tickets 18:30 - Closed: Never — open every day - Weapons Collection room: Separate room; ask at the desk whether the main ticket covers it - Guided tour: 1,000 ₽ per group of up to 10 plus admission, 45 min, in Russian - Payment: Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards do not work in Russia — bring roubles in cash - Address: Ulitsa Lenina 1/2, Susanin Square, Kostroma - Coordinates: 57.76885, 40.92681 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **1823–1826** — built (the museum gives 1824–1826) (source: Russian Wikipedia; Advantour; Kostroma Museum-Reserve) - **Pyotr Fursov** — provincial architect who also built the Fire Tower next door (source: Kostroma Museum-Reserve; Russian Wikipedia; Advantour) - **12th–21st c.** — the span of the military history display (source: Kostroma Museum-Reserve; Kultura.RF) - **6 columns** — in the white Doric portico on the main façade (source: Russian Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons photos of the façade) - **Empire style** — late Russian Neoclassicism with moulded military reliefs (source: Russian Wikipedia; Tonkosti) - **Hauptwache** — German for “main guard” — the origin of the Russian word gauptvakhta (source: dictionaries of loanwords; Russian Wikipedia) - **Early 1900s** — until then it held the town guard and arrested soldiers awaiting trial (source: Russian Wikipedia; Rusmania; Kultura.RF) - **Library, registry office** — its uses in Soviet times (source: Russian Wikipedia; Rusmania) - **1996** — the Museum-Reserve moved in (source: Russian Wikipedia; Advantour) - **2 displays** — Military History of the Kostroma Region and the Weapons Collection (source: Kostroma Museum-Reserve; Kultura.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. > **Labels are in Russian only** The displays have no English captions, as far as we could find. Use your phone's camera translator on the labels, or come with a Russian-speaking guide. The weapons, armour and uniforms speak for themselves; the stories of local soldiers do not. ## 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](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostroma-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 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](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostroma-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](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/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](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/ipatiev-monastery) or the [Kostromskaya Sloboda](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostromskaya-sloboda) open-air museum instead. Without Russian, much of the display is weapons behind glass. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] I'll reach the desk before 18:30 - [ ] Roubles in cash — foreign cards won't work - [ ] Translator app with camera mode on my phone - [ ] Allowed 40–45 minutes for the rooms - [ ] Checked if it's the last Tuesday of the month (free for under-18s) ## Guardhouse vs Fire Tower vs Trading Rows | | Guardhouse | Fire Tower | Trading Rows | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | 1820s guard post, military museum | Watchtower by the same architect | 18th–19th-century market arcades | | Entry | 400 ₽, concessions 300 ₽ | Own ticket | Free | | Time needed | 40–45 min | ≈ 30 min | 30–60 min | | Best for | History fans, kids | Views over the centre | Everyone: 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. - [Epiphany-Anastasia Convent](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/epiphany-anastasia-convent) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free, cathedral only - [Susanin Square](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/susanin-square) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Kostroma Trading Rows](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostroma-trading-rows) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free - [Church of the Resurrection on the Debre](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/resurrection-church-on-debre) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Kostroma Guardhouse](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostroma-guardhouse) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 400 ₽, concessions 300 ₽ - [Kostroma Fire Tower](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostroma-fire-tower) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free to see outside; no climb - [Ipatiev Monastery](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/ipatiev-monastery) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · ≈ 350–400 ₽, services free - [Kostromskaya Sloboda Open-Air Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostromskaya-sloboda) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 450 ₽, concessions 350 ₽ - [Sumarokovo Moose Farm](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/sumarokovo-moose-farm) — YesGo score 22/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 300 ₽, children from 4: 200 ₽ ## Central Kostroma in half a day The square with the Fire Tower and Guardhouse, the Trading Rows and the Epiphany Convent — all on foot. 1. [Kostroma Fire Tower](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostroma-fire-tower) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free to see outside; no climb 2. [Kostroma Guardhouse](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostroma-guardhouse) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · 400 ₽, concessions 300 ₽ 3. [Kostroma Trading Rows](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/kostroma-trading-rows) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free 4. [Epiphany-Anastasia Convent](https://yesgo.io/russia/kostroma/epiphany-anastasia-convent) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 40 min · Free, cathedral only ## Good to know Locally the building goes by two names: Gauptvakhta (the Guardhouse) and Voenno-istorichesky muzey (Military History Museum). Look for either on signs and maps. Other Russian cities, including St Petersburg and Orenburg, have their own guardhouse museums. ## Tips - 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. ## How we checked Prices, 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. ## Sources - 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 --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.