he Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve is one of the largest museums of Moscow Region famous for its rich collection of Russian art of the 14th - 20th century. It gives an opportunity to see the development of different arts in the course of centuries and to perceive cooperation of two elements of national culture - professional and folk art. The Museum is a part of the world famous architectural ensemble of the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra.

The Museum was established in April 20, 1920 by the decree of the Soviet Government "On turning into a museum of art and history treasures of the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra". But the collection had been systematized since 1918 by the Commission on Preservation of the Monuments of Art and History of the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. The members of the Commission were well-known specialists: P.A. Florensky, Yu. A. Olsufyev, I.E. Bondarenko. The newly established Museum contributed to preservation, restoration and investigation of both architectural ensemble and art treasures concentrated in the Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery in the course of many centuries. In 1929 the Museum acquired the collection of the Local History Museum, and in 1941 - the collection of the Folk Handicrafts Museum. In 1967 the Department of Contemporary Applied and Decorative Art was opened. So, the Museum collections show.

Russian art from the 14th century until the present day. History, restoration and the state of preservation of the architectural ensemble of the Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery is an important part of the Museum investigations. In the 1930s - 1960s the restoration of the architectural ensemble, supervised by I.V. Trofimov and V.I. Baldin, was carried out in cooperation with the Museum. Thanks to the scientific restoration, preservation and investigation, scientific and technical documents, prepared by the Museum, the ensemble of the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra was inscribed on the UNESCO List of the Wold Cultural Heritage in 1993. In 199 the Exhibition Hall was opened for admirers of contemporary pictorial art. At present different exhibitions and cultural events take place there. In 1998 the Local History Department was opened.