On the ground floor of this museum you’ll find the history of the Novgorod region laid out in a series of displays accompanied by Russian explanations. Don’t be too put off by the lack of English, if you are interested in medieval history there’s still plenty of ancient armour, jewellery, weapons and coins to admire, as well as examples of the first pieces of Russian writing dating back to the 10th Century. Upstairs the museum houses one of the largest collections of icons in Russia as well as a special exhibition (admission costs extra) of priceless ancient gold jewellery and ornaments.