Merkin District Historical and Local Lore Museum

Merki Museum - Cultural Center preserving the treasured legacy of ancient history. The Merki Museum was relocated to a new two-story building in 1987. The total area of the museum is 844 square meters. In cooperation with the A. Margulan Institute of Archaeology, the museum developed a map of the historical monuments of the Merki district.

Currently, all exhibits in the museum are divided into six halls: “Archaeology,” “Nature of the Native Land,” “Ethnography,” “Collectivization and the Great Patriotic War,” “Soviet Era,” and “Independent Kazakhstan.” The museum holds more than 13,000 artifacts, including unique items of great value to human history that have been preserved since ancient times.

One of the museum’s highlights is a fossilized bone of a rhinoceros belonging to the Elasmotherium group. The mythical image of the “unicorn” - a magical white horse with a spiral horn - is often associated with this ancient creature. It is believed that Elasmotherium lived in the Eurasian region during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. According to scientific data, the horn of these giant rhinoceroses could reach up to 1.5 meters in length, their height up to 2.5 meters, and their weight up to 5 tons. While it was previously believed that these animals went extinct 200,000 years ago, recent research has shown that they inhabited the territory of present-day Kazakhstan at least 39,000 years ago.

The Merki Museum also houses tastar (stone tombstones) and balbal stones that belonged to ancient Turkic tribes of the medieval period. These monuments, dating back to the 7th-8th centuries, were discovered on Mount Merki at an altitude of 3,500 meters. The balbal stones and other relics are linked to burial sites and fortifications of ancient Turkic settlements in the Merki Mountains.

Another unique exhibit is a bronze cauldron dating back to the 1st-3rd centuries. The ornate patterns carved around the cauldron draw special interest from visitors, and some compare it to the Taikazan located at the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan.

Among the most important exhibits of the museum are the saddle and weapons of Zhauğash Kyrbasuly, who fought against the Kalmyks in 1755. In addition, during archaeological excavations in 1936 led by A. Bernshtam, numerous ceramic tools made from iron, bronze, and glass were discovered in the Merki area. Dome-shaped military helmets found in Merki are believed to have been used in Central Asia and by Kazakh warriors during the 10th-12th centuries.

The Merki Museum plays a vital role in introducing people to valuable archaeological and historical artifacts, as well as in preserving and researching history. The main goal of the museum is to study national history, safeguard cultural heritage, and instill patriotism in younger generations.