Hotel opens lost and found museum

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Published time: January 15, 2010 15:03
Edited time: January 15, 2010 22:48

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Holiday, Prime Time Russia, Thrills&Spills

Those who visit Veliky Novgorod in the near future will be amused to discover a very original attraction in this beautiful Russian city – a museum dedicated to forgotten items.

The museum opened on January 12th in the old “Volkhov” hotel, right in the city center. The first showpiece of the peculiar collection is a small bell that peasants used to hang around the necks of their horses and cows. The tiny exhibit was left behind by a hotel guest in August 1959.

Over the period of the next half a century, hotel employees managed to gather together quite an impressive collection of forgotten things: hundreds of abandoned papers, wallets, items of clothing and some other pretty unexpected stuff. Looking at some exhibits that are demonstrated in the museum, it is possible to even track their evolution; such as dated shaving accessories, for example.

Among some of the more recently acquired items are Christmas tree ornaments, suitcases and cameras, which were sadly forgotten, apparently, during the merry New Year celebrations.

The museum shows that every epoch had a character of its own: the 1960s abounded in forgotten books and diaries, while the 1970s brought the museum numerous ties and cameras. By the time the 1990s rolled around, hotel staff was frequently collecting knives and other such dangerous accessories.

Today, when it takes just a phone call to locate a forgotten item, some visitors are intentionally leaving personal belongings behind as a donation to the museum.

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