The museum business of Lidčiny has an interesting history. Attempts to open the museum in Lida were several. May 28, 1939 in the city opened the museum center of the city department of the Polish Local Lore Society. The building was consecrated by the priest Ippolit Bayarunts. The President of the Lida Department of the Polish Local Lore Society, Józef Dičkanec, gave a lecture on the tasks of the local history society and signed the act of opening the center, which was the basis for the future museum of the Lida Land. The museum was opened for the second time on January 22, 1941. This event was even covered in the newspaper “Upper”. About 300 people came to the opening. The museum building was located on Leninskaya Street (now there is a shop “Swallow”).
According to the memoirs of the old residents, two bronze cannons were installed near the entrance to the museum. During the war the building burned down, and the exhibits were looted. April 24, 1959 the museum opens for the third time. Now under the museum was allocated the building of the former Piarsky church on Sovetskaya street. Director of the museum was appointed former partisan Eugene Shutilo.
The first museum exhibits were 5 numbers of the military newspaper “Uperad” and leaflets of 1944, handed over by the editor of the newspaper “Uperad” U. Dragoon. The basis of the falistic collection was laid by Stanislav Shut, who presented the museum with his Order of the Great Patriotic War of the 1st degree. The Grodno Historical and Archaeological Museum handed over a collection of weapons, stuffed animals. Received items from the Leningrad Artillery Museum (Now VIMAVIViS): guns, checkers, machine guns “Lewis”, “Maxim”. The museum carried out excursions, pioneer gatherings, meetings with famous people of Lidčiny. Until 1964, the museum was located in the central part of the former temple, and then transferred to a two-story annex. In the central part of the building in November 1964 a planetarium was opened.
In 1967, the first permanent exposition of the department of the Soviet period was opened. In 1970 an exposition of the department of nature and history of the pre-Soviet period was opened.
A large research and research work was carried out. Materials were collected about the Lida underground, the theme of the civil war and the history of the enterprises of the region were studied. In the 90s the museum was transferred from the temple building to the former House of Family Celebrations. In 2000, the Lida Museum of Local History and the Lidea Art Gallery were merged into one cultural institution – the Lida Historical and Art Museum. For a long time the museum staff held events outside the museum. A series of events was organized: “Museum Day in School”, street vernissages, exhibitions of one day and subject.
This was due to the lack of exhibition space to visit. Almost 10 years in the building were conducted construction work. During these years, much work was done to study the history of the region, materials on the chronology of Lidchin were accumulated. By the decision of the Lida regional executive committee of March 31, 2006 No. 248, the State Establishment “Lida Historical and Art Museum” was created. On October 8, 2008 the museum was opened for a visit. Constant exposition “Nature of Lidchina” was built. Visitors were offered replaceable exhibitions, which introduced them to the history of the region, the fate of people, the work of local artists.
The museum collection consists of 25 museum collections and today is more than 40,000 units of the main fund and more than 5,000 scientific and auxiliary. The collection of archeology, which was formed as a result of excavation in the territory of the Lida region, counting more than 18,000 units, is of interest. The numismatic collection begins to be formed in 1959 and currently contains about 3,000 items of storage: solidas, thalers, zlotys, pennies, pennies, rubles, pfennings and much more. A special numismatic interest is represented by the treasure found during the construction of the present music school on the site of the former monastery of the Order of the Carmelites. A collection of household items is also rich, including personal and household items, interior items, dishes, toys and much more.
The staff of the museum continues to work on the formation of collections and collects materials that are necessary, mainly, for building permanent exhibitions of history and art.
Work is underway to create a concept for the future exposition of the historical department. The main goal of the future historical exposition is the reflection of the historical process of Lidchin’s development from the Stone Age to the Information Technologies Age.
The museum is developing and implementing innovative and innovative forms of work with visitors. Among them there are cycles of one-off events, ceremonial holidays, concerts-presentations of local music artists’ albums, literary and musical evenings, and plein-airs for pupils of schools with an artistic bias.
The museum staff is constantly in search of new forms of work in the museum space.
