Virtual Tour Revives Russia's Lost 18th-Century Saltworks in Augmented Reality

A new virtual tour now lets visitors explore the lost history of the Seryogovo Saltworks in Russia's Komi Republic. Using augmented reality, the experience brings an 18th-century salt barn back to life within the modern landscape. The project was launched by the Komi National Museum and is available online for free.

The tour relies on archival photographs and augmented reality to recreate the salt barn, which disappeared long ago. Eleven images from the 1980s help anchor the experience in the site's more recent past. Visitors can navigate the area where an open-air museum was proposed in 1987 along the Vym River's right bank.

The St. Nicholas brine-pumping tower, still standing today, acts as a key landmark in the virtual exploration. The saltworks once played a vital role in the region's economy, producing salt from local brine and shipping it via river transport to northern Russian markets. It also shaped local culture, blending Orthodox traditions with the daily lives of Russian and Komi workers, serfs, and peasants. Nikita Overin developed the tour with expert input from Sergey Pavlyushin, deputy head of the Republic of Komi's Cultural Heritage Preservation Agency. Historian Pavlyushin provided historical context, while project curator Natalya Khozyainova oversaw its creation. The tour is now accessible on the museum's website at projects.museumtur.ru/seregovo/.

The virtual tour preserves the memory of a site that once drove trade, labour, and community life in the region. By combining old photographs with modern technology, it offers a way to explore a landscape that no longer exists. The project ensures that the saltworks' economic and cultural legacy remains visible to new generations.