Memorial Museum “Batyr Babalar”

The Memorial Museum “Batyr Babalar” is located in the Raimbek rural district of the Karasai district of the Almaty region. The museum is one of the projects implemented within the framework of the programmatic article “Course Towards the Future: Spiritual Revival”, presented in the Address of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, to the people of Kazakhstan in April 2017.

The Memorial Museum “Batyr Babalar” was solemnly opened on September 1, 2017, by the Akim of the Almaty region, Amandyk Gabbasovich Battalov.

The Memorial Museum “Batyr Babalar” was established by Order No. 86-ө dated December 26, 2017, issued by the Director of the Almaty Regional Historical and Local Lore Museum named after M. Tynyshpaev.

The total area of the museum is 804.4 square meters, and the area of the exhibition hall is 615.95 square meters.

The architectural design of the memorial complex was developed by Yeldos Yelmuratuly, and the internal exhibition works were carried out by “ZamanTU” LLP under the leadership of Shamil Kozhakhanov, a member of the Union of Artists of Kazakhstan and an academician.

The external architectural appearance of the museum symbolizes ancient Saka burial mounds.

At the top of the museum, a pedestal with a spear attached is installed. The height of the spear from the pedestal to the tip is 25 meters. It was installed in honor of the “25th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan.”

The total number of exhibits in the museum collection exceeds 200 storage units.

The museum consists of one exhibition hall and three thematic sections.

The first exhibition section reflects the history of Kazakhstan from the ancient Saka period to modern times, based on photographic materials and three-dimensional panoramas dedicated to the Saka-Persian Battle (530 BC), the Orbulak Battle (1643), and the Anrakai Battle (1729), created by the artist S. P. Pozharsky.

The second exhibition section opens with a portrait gallery of famous Kazakh khans and biys, while the third section is dedicated to renowned batyrs in the history of Kazakhstan. In the center of the museum, a monument titled “Batyr Babalarğa Tağzym” (“Tribute to the Heroic Ancestors”) is installed in honor of the heroic batyrs.

In addition, a bas-relief exhibition runs along the outer perimeter of the museum. On both sides of the memorial complex, decorations for the headdress of the “Golden Man” in the form of memorial fragments of a winged snow leopard on a mountain peak are presented. These fragments were discovered in 1969 during excavations of the Issyk burial mound (5th-3rd centuries BC). Opposite the museum, a sculpture of a “Saka archer girl” and stone statues honoring a Kazakh heroic batyr are installed.

The exterior of the museum building is surrounded by piled stone boulders. During military campaigns, batyrs took one stone each and placed them together on a mound. Upon returning from the campaign, each warrior picked up his stone and scattered it away. Thus, by observing the remaining stones, one could determine how many warriors were lost during the campaign. One piece of evidence of this tradition is the stone burial mounds in the Uygentas Gorge along the Tentek River.

The overall profile of the memorial museum is dedicated to the historical periods of Kazakh history from ancient times to the present day. A photo gallery is also devoted to famous khans and biys who ruled the country in different periods, as well as to warrior batyrs.

The museum houses collections of weapons such as a crescent-shaped battle axe, swords, spears, maces, bows, sabers, as well as defensive equipment including shields, armor, helmets, arm guards, and knee guards, along with a collection of ethnographic items.

The sword has a long curved blade. To increase its strength, three rows of fullers run along both sides of the blade. The hilt is made of wood. The handle bears the inscriptions “Schaff and Sons” and “St. Petersburg,” as well as a stamp featuring the Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire (a double-headed eagle with a crown).

Overall length: 98.5 cm; width: 3 cm.

The sword was manufactured in 1845 in St. Petersburg, in the workshop of Wilhelm Nikolai Schaff (father) and Wilhelm Ludwig Schaff (son). It was donated to the museum in 2017 by Aidar Nurmanuly Tastemirov.

Museum Working Hours and Ticket Prices

Monday is a санитарный (maintenance) day.

On other days, the museum is open to visitors from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Museum admission is paid.

Admission without a guide: 600 KZT per person

Special guided tour for individual visitors (1-15 people): 2,000 KZT per person

Students: 500 KZT per person

Pensioners: free of charge

Foreign citizens: 3,000 KZT per person

Guided tour: 1,500 KZT

Schoolchildren: 300 KZT per person