The event titled “Visiting the Queen of Spades” was held by students of the Vologda Regional Training School of Culture in the Museum of Town and District History on February 6. They prepared a theatricalized performance for pupils together with museum employees.
The ninth-formers together with the Queen of Spades got acquainted with the first cards and card games. They learnt that the cards were introduced in China in the 12th century and the mysterious Tarot used for cartomancy originated in Egypt. In Europe, the pack of cards taught people geography and history, they had illustrations to the dramas of Shakespeare and Molière. Kings and ladies on them were depicted in the up-to-date clothing of the season. The cards were introduced in Russia during the reign of Ivan the Terrible among other European goods. They were prohibited since the early 17th century and people started to play them again only under Peter the Great. The state established a monopoly on the manufacture of cards during the reign of Catherine the Great; money from their sale was used for charitable purposes. “Intellectual” card games that trained logical reasoning were even included into the school curricula in Europe.
During the journey to the past, the Gypsies came to the pupils and read the Tarot cards. Besides, the children had a chance to visit the house of the noble family where ladies taught them to play solitaire.
