Suzun Plant and The Mint
Suzun is an old Siberian settlement located 150 km from Novosibirsk. Its name means “a long river” or “a green water”. The main Suzuns’ sightseeings are the Mint, the ruins of the copper-smelting plant, a church and museum of the local lore with its wide exposition of icons. This settlement is noteworthy about its unique whether conditions following its’ location – it is closed for strong winds, but not only about that. The history of the settlement started 250 years ago from the building of the copper-smelting plant and the Mint. Back in the 18th century the Demidov family (who were famous merchants) founded a number of metallurgical plants in the Altai Mountains (located to the south of Novosibirsk). It was quite expensive to transport Siberian copper to the minting plants in the European part of Russia, so it was decided to establish a Siberian branch of the Tsar’s mints in Suzun. The Suzun’s plant, together with a mint, was one of the largest enterprises of the nonferrous industry in Russia in the 18th century until the great fire of 1847, which destroyed not only the buildings, but also the idea of minting money anywhere far from the Tsar’s control. Some historians contend that the fire was not an accident, and to support this idea they make the plausible argument that Siberian copper contained some specks of silver and even gold, so sometimes locals refused to take coins produced in the European part of Russia, preferring more precious Siberian coins.
By the way, it was Suzun where famous Fair “Nikolskaya” was held and attracted merchants from Bukhara, China and Persia. Soon the complex called “Suzun Plant and The Mint” starts its operating in full and the guests will be able to watch all seven cycles of a coin production.
Location: 22Б Lenina ul., Suzun settlement, Suzunsky district, Novosibirsk region
How to get there: the distance from the city of Novosibirsk to the settlement of Suzun is 190 km by car. One can get from the Novosibirsk bus station (43a Dmitriya Shamshurina ul.) to the settlement of Suzun by bus on the route "Novosibirsk-Suzun".
Working hours:
Wednesday – Sunday: 10:00-18:00
The lunch break is from 13:00 to 14:00
Monday, Tuesday – days off
+7(383-46) 2-90-30
suzun_mint@mail.ru; muzejnyjkompleks@mail.ru
https://youmuseum.ru