On the first of July, Russia marks the Restorer Day, a professional holiday established by the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Monuments of History and Culture, which became official in 2006. The 1st of July was not chosen by chance: on this day in 1945, Architectural Restoration Workshops were founded in Leningrad and their main task was to restore architectural monuments destroyed during the war.

The mission of restorers is to preserve architectural heritage, restore works of fine art, and restore items of historical value that are presented in the expositions of contemporary museums. The professionalism of a restorer is provided by profound knowledge of the subject, a fine taste in art, excellent skill and intuition -- all this helps to make the only correct decision on which the future of an architectural monument, sculpture, painting or icon depends.

Without exaggeration, the principle of "do no harm" should be considered the guiding principle of the restorers complex and demanding work.

Any historical monument - architectural, ecclesiastical, decorative art object, or object related to musical mechanics -- is a fragile organism with centuries of historical stratification, so before interfering with its structure, one should make sure that it is appropriate to interfere. Without referring to the specific methods and approaches used in the profession, restorers can be described as those people on whose experience and professionalism the preservation of our history depends.

The museum Collection Restoration Centre has been in operation for over 15 years, restoring and tuning musical instruments, automata and clocks, as well as doing artistic and carpentry work.
An album of photographs illustrating the process of restoring the musical automaton "Little girl with basket and mechanical theatre", created by Gustav Vichiy in 1885, is posted in the museum Photo Gallery.

Any professional holiday is a celebration. Congratulations to the specialists of the museum Collection Restoration Center and restorers from various museum institutions on their professional holiday.

Please accept our sincere thanks for your work, the development of restoration skills and preservation of cultural heritage.
We wish you creative growth and patience in your hard work! New discoveries and amazing findings!