The Old Vladimir Museum is housed in a former water tower built in 1912 not far from the Golden Gate. The museum was renovated at the end of 2009. The museum tells about Vladimir at the turn of the 20th century. The museum is not aimed to reflect all the spheres of the city’s life. Its conception is to reconstruct the routine life of its inhabitants, to create the atmosphere of the 19th-century Vladimir - a town of merchants, officials and petty bourgeoisie.

Here one can see a room of a well-to-do resident, an icon-shop, a police station, a pub (“traktir”) with a traditional Russian samovar, multi-colored trays, numerous decanters and vodka bottles.

Quotations from the 19th-century books and magazines (both serious and humorous) are used as explanatory texts. The museum occupies three stories. The upper floor is used as an observation platform.

The main theme of the first floor is the appearance of the town and the town’s economy. One can see photos of the 19th-century Vladimir: its streets, squares, old churches and cathedrals, the most beautiful buildings and also documents telling about the activities of the City council, the construction of the first water supply system, the first electric power station, about the work of the local fire brigade. Clothes of inhabitants from different social layers are also shown. The subject of the 2nd floor is representation of inhabitants of the city. On the walls, there are photos of the residents: nobles, merchants, priests, petty bourgeoisie, officials. You can see documents and other exhibits telling about the main occupations of the inhabitants, awards of the local market gardeners, a special coachman’s watch, horse bells, advertisements of trade firms, hotels, restaurants, pubs, photographer's studios, hairdresser’s.

The exhibition on the 3rd floor gives an idea of the spiritual life of the city. As a contemporary put it "Vladimir is one of the most religious districts of Russia. It's a city of legends, miracle-working icons, sacred relics, pilgrimage and old churches". There are photographs of local monasteries, a religious procession in the main street. You learn about the education in the city: schools for boys and girls, the seminary, the technical high school. The local vocational school was one of the best in Russia. Your eye will be caught by bills of concerts and parties, newspapers published in Vladimir. Old play-bills give you an idea of the drama theatre repertoire. Most of the plays were comic sketches.

Vladimir was one of the most typical provincial cities of the 19th-century Russia. A contemporary wrote: "Such cities as St. Petersburg or Moscow are very rare in Russia but cities like Vladimir are in great number".

After visiting the museum you are welcome to the observation platform which occupies the upper floor of the tower. You'll enjoy a very picturesque view both of the city with its numerous historical monuments (the 12th-century cathedrals among them) and the surroundings.