ALZhIR Memorial and Museum Complex
«АЛЖИР» мемориалдық-мұражай кешені
The former site of a labor camp where the "wives of traitors to the Motherland" were held during the Soviet era. The memorial museum tells the history of the Gulag through the Gate of Sorrow and its exhibits.
ALZhIR stands for the Akmola Camp of the Wives of Traitors to the Motherland. Between 1938 and 1953 it held more than 10,000 wives of people targeted in purges. In 2007 a memorial museum was built on the former site. At the entrance stands the "Gate of Sorrow" memorial sculpture. Inside, photographs, letters, and reconstructed barracks tell the stories of the female prisoners. The atmosphere is heavy and sombre. The site is in Akmol village, about 35 kilometers west of the city. A taxi takes about 40 minutes. It is closed on Mondays.
Opening hours
Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00
Nearby sights
- Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center
- Astana Grand Mosque
- Astana Opera
- Nur Alem (EXPO 2017)
- Astana Botanical Garden
- Nur-Astana Mosque
- Triumph of Astana
- Duman Oceanarium