Smolensk region is the birthplace of many outstanding people – Yuri Gagarin, Mikhail Glinka, Yuri Nikulin, Alexei Papanov, Nikolai Przhevalsky. The rich history of this land guarantees an eventful itinerary. In three days you can see Smolensk, visit a fairy-tale tower, see how the first cosmonaut lived and learn the history of the war crime in Katyn. For convenience, we recommend traveling by car, as many attractions are located outside the city. Rent a car in Moscow on OneTwoTrip, rental cost per day is from 2300 rubles*.
Where to stay in Smolensk
City Hotel – from 2200 rubles* per night for two;
Art Hotel “Kutuzov” – from 3900 rubles* per night for two;
SERA LOFT Hostel – from 690 rubles* per night (per person).
Day first
Bolshiye Vyazemy
Photo: Konstantin Aksenov/shutterstock.com
We leave Moscow along the Mozhaisk highway and after about 50 km we stop at the Bolshie Vyazemy estate, not far from where the poet Alexander Pushkin spent his childhood. They say that this former royal residence of Prince Golitsyn became the prototype of the estate of Eugene Onegin. Today the State Historical and Literary Museum-Reserve of A.S. is organized here. Pushkin. In addition to visiting the palace, it’s nice to stroll through the park among centuries-old trees, flower beds and fountains.
Time for inspection (without museum): 40 minutes. Entrance: park – 80 rubles*, palace – 350 rubles*.
Vasilievsky Castle
Photo: ai-ivanov/shutterstock.com
We continue driving along the Mozhaisk highway, go around Kubinka and get to the village of the sanatorium named after. Herzen. Lost in a dense forest park with deep ravines and steep banks of the Moscow River is the pseudo-Gothic Vasilievsky Castle – a princely whimsy in a Victorian style uncharacteristic for Russia. Today you can freely walk around the territory of the sanatorium and cross the suspension bridge to the other side to the Resurrection Church – the only building that remains from the part of the estate where the writer Alexander Herzen lived.
Inspection time: 40 minutes. Entrance: free.
Vyazma
From the Mozhayskoe highway we take the exit to Minskoye and two hours later we arrive in the city Vyazma. There are several monuments on Sovetskaya Square reminiscent of the Patriotic War of 1812. This quiet and provincial city was also a defense and support in both world wars. Here you can have lunch at Dodo Pizza, since you won’t find fast food anywhere until Smolensk.
Time to explore the city without a cafe: 30 minutes.
Smolensk
After another 170 km along the Minsk highway we enter Smolensk. We will organize a self-guided walking tour of the city. Fragments of the Smolensk fortress will be its strongholds: out of 38 unique towers, only 18.
have survived
From Kopytensky Gate along a section of the fortress wall we will reach Lopatinsky Garden, from where along Bakunin Street we will come to Pyatnitskaya Tower and the three-level Dnieper embankment with beautiful views of the temples.
Photo: Sergei Afanasev/shutterstock.com
We will go up the Sobornaya Gora street to the observation deck and the Baroque Holy Assumption Cathedral, which houses one of the most important shrines – the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God . We will go down Bolshaya Sovetskaya to the intersection with Lenin Street and in the courtyards opposite the museum “In the World of Fairy Tales” we will find a 17th-century blacksmith shop, and then we get to Eagle Tower.
Let’s return along Marshal Zhukov Street past Nikolskaya Tower to Victory Square, where the monument to the defenders of Smolensk, and on a fragment of the wall nearby there are plaques with the names of prominent fellow countrymen. Along Tenisheva and Pamfilova streets we will turn towards Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. We will go along the same road to the monument to Tvardovsky and Tyorkin, behind which there is a park in Memory of Heroes. Here is one of the most visited museums in the city, “The Smolensk Region during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945,” where you can watch the voiced diorama “The Birth of the Soviet Guard.”
Then, passing by the monument to the Kremlin architect Fyodor Kon and the Thunder Tower, we find ourselves in the Blonier Garden and finish the walk near the deer sculpture. If you plot this route on the map, you can see the outlines of the old Smolensk Kremlin.
Walk time: three to four hours.
By the way, you can have dinner at one of the restaurants inside the fortress wall, for example, in the “Dungeon”. You just need to book a table in advance.
Day two
Flenovo
Photo: Dance60/shutterstock.com
The villages of Talashkino and Flenovo, 18 km from Smolensk, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries belonged to the princess and philanthropist Maria Tenisheva. Famous artists stayed here for a long time. All that remains of Talashkino is a pond and a park, and in neighboring Flenovo the Church of the Holy Spirit with mosaics based on the sketches of Nicholas Roerich and the “Teremok”, made in the neo-Russian style and decorated with wooden carvings based on Russian fairy tales, have been preserved. It contains objects painted by the artist Mikhail Vrubel.
Time for inspection: hour. Entrance to Teremok: 50 rubles*.
Katyn
Photo: Sergei Afanasev/shutterstock.com
After 40 minutes by car – the Katyn Memorial, created in memory of the war crime of 1940: the mass execution of Polish officers and their families. The new modern complex, in addition to mass graves, includes a multimedia museum and exhibition center and two additional exhibitions: “Russia and Poland. XX century Pages of History” and “Memory Saved”. And the territory is organized so that visitors can immerse themselves in the tragedy of this place. Memorial employees are still trying to establish the identities of the victims and find relatives.
Time to explore with the museum: two hours. Input:to the memorial site – free of charge. Expositions of the museum and exhibition center and the main entrance pavilion – 250 rubles*, exposition “Saved Memory” – 100 rubles*, exposition “Russia and Poland. XX century Pages of History” – 200 rubles *. Discount tickets and excursion services are available.
Gnezdovo tract
Five kilometers along the Vitebsk highway we stop at the Gnezdovo archaeological reserve. About 5,000 mounds of the 10th and 11th centuries have been preserved here, in which archaeologists have found artifacts that are important for studying the history of the Slavs. Together with a guide, you can walk along forest paths (preferably in good weather) and see the most interesting of them. Sign up for the tour via the link.
Time for inspection: two hours. Entrance with excursion: 1000 rubles* for a group of up to 10 people.
The final point of the route is Readovsky Park in Smolensk, in its center the Memorial “Mound of Immortality” was built.
Day three
Khmelita
Along the Minsk highway near Vyazma, we turn following the sign for the village of Khmelita and stop at the museum-reserve of the A.S. family of the same name. Griboedova. We visit a beautiful house with an interesting exhibition and wander through a small cozy park.
Time for inspection of the house: hour. Entrance: house – 350 rubles*, park – 60 rubles*.
Gagarin
After another 50 km along the Minsk highway on the border of the Smolensk and Moscow regions, we turn left to the city of Gagarin, where the first person to fly into space was born. His personal Volga car and his parents’ house, donated to the family by the government in 1961, have been preserved here. And the “Museum of the First Flight” fascinatingly tells about the pre-flight preparation of astronauts. Visitors can sit in a unique pressure chamber and work with the interactive Earth-Space system.
Time to explore the entire complex with museums: from two hours. Entrance: memorial complex – 200 rubles*, Museum of the first flight – 150 rubles*.
*Prices valid at time of publication
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