Virtual Tour Revives 18th-Century Seryogovo Saltworks in Russia's Far North

A new virtual tour now offers a detailed look at the historic Seryogovo Saltworks in the Republic of Komi. The Komi National Museum has launched the digital experience, allowing visitors to explore a site that once played a key role in northern Russia's salt trade. The project brings together modern technology and historical research to revive a long-vanished industrial landmark.

The Seryogovo Saltworks dates back to the 18th century, when it became a vital part of the region's economy. State-controlled production supplied salt across northern Russia, transported via the Vychegda and Northern Dvina rivers. Technologically advanced for its time, the site used wooden evaporation vats heated by timber fires, drawing on local brine and abundant forests for fuel and construction.

The virtual tour was developed by Nikita Overin, with expert input from Sergey Pavlyushin, deputy head of the Republic of Komi's Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency. Natalya Khozyainova served as the project's curator. The experience builds on a recent exhibition about the site and incorporates augmented reality to reconstruct an 18th-century salt barn, using archival photographs to blend the past with the present landscape. Visitors can navigate the tour using the surviving St. Nicholas brine-pumping tower as a reference point. The digital project also revisits plans from 1987 to create an open-air museum along the right bank of the Vym River. The tour is now available on the museum's website at projects.museumtur.ru/seregovo/.

The virtual tour provides access to a site that once connected the Republic of Komi to broader trade networks. By combining archival research and augmented reality, the project preserves the memory of an industrial hub that shaped the region's history. The experience is free to explore online, offering a new way to engage with Komi's heritage.