The Museum of Shipbuilding and Fleet, a department of the
Nikolaev Regional Museum of Local Lore, opened on July 30, 1978 in the former building of the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, built in 1794 in the classical style. The museum's exposition of 3,000 exhibits placed in twelve halls demonstrates the development of shipbuilding in the Northern Black Sea region from ancient times to the present day. These are: more than a hundred models of ships of the 18th-20th centuries, rare maps, weapons of the 18th-19th centuries, photographs, navigational instruments, newspapers and various documents telling about the development of shipbuilding and the fleet in Nikolaev. In front of the museum there is an alley of famous Russian naval commanders.