The “Platina” Cultural and Tourism Visitor Center is a specific starting point for getting to know Is through various facets of its history. Its exhibitions bring together depictions of everyday peasant life in tsarist times, gold prospectors’ tools, a model of a floating dredging plant, and minerals. The center opened in the settlement of Is. The selection connects everyday life, the search for resources, technology and minerals; if you would like to compare different ways of exploring local history, you will find several focal themes here.
History and Exhibitions at “Platina”
The themes offer different perspectives: depictions of everyday peasant life differ from the tools used by gold prospectors. The model of a floating dredging plant draws attention to technical installations, while the minerals focus on specimens. This allows you to consider whether you are especially interested in ways of life, working with gold, or technical and mineral-related themes. This comparison provides an introduction to the exhibition topics without requiring you to focus on a single era.
In October 2025, visitors could also see the “Tschitalnja” themed room, with a reconstructed aristocratic living space and a gramophone, as well as an exhibition on the Great Patriotic War. The exhibition tells its story through well-known figures connected with the settlement. The “Tschitalnja” centers on a reconstructed setting, while the war exhibition establishes its connection to the locality through figures associated with Is.
In 2025, an invitation was issued to interested visitors. Theatrical tours, cultural programs and quizzes were announced for the center that same year. If you are planning a visit or one of these activities, check the current visiting arrangements and dates before you travel.
Getting to Is
A bus journey from Nizhnyaya Tura to Is is listed as taking 35 minutes. This gives you a specific indication of the journey time if you are traveling from there. Check the current service before setting off, as timetables may change.
Culture and Road Tourism in Sverdlovsk Oblast
The Museum Complex of Civil and Military Equipment in Verkhnyaya Pyshma has more than 15,000 exhibits, including more than 2,000 pieces of civil and military equipment. Its extensive collection includes military, civilian, railway and mining equipment. The collection figures may change over time. This broad focus on technical collections offers a different perspective from the themes at the “Platina” Visitor Center.
A 2026 list of approved road tourism routes in Sverdlovsk Oblast names the Demidov Route between Yekaterinburg, Nevyansk and Nizhny Tagil; “Wdol Isseti na swuk kolokola: puteschestwije w Kamensk-Uralski” between Yekaterinburg and Kamensk-Uralsky; and “Otkrywaja Ural: priroda, istorija, legendy” between Yekaterinburg, Irbit, Turinsk and Tavda. The listed routes differ in the places they include: three for the Demidov Route, two endpoints for the route to Kamensk-Uralsky, and four for “Otkrywaja Ural.” Check route information before setting off.
For the broader travel overview: gorod Nizhnyaya Tura.
