Gus-Khrustalny

 

Location: Vladimir Oblast  Map

 

Transportation

Hotels, motels and where to sleep

Restaurant, taverns and where to eat

 

Description of Gus-Khrustalny

Gus-Khrustalny  (Гусь-Хрустальный) is a small city in the Vladimir Oblast of Russia. It's name is translated as a Crystal Goose. It was found in the 17th century and was named Gus (Goose). In 1756 rich merchant family of Maltsovi started glass production in the village that quickly grew and eventually was renamed to Gus- Maltsovi and later renamed to Gus- Khrustalny or Crystal Goose  after main business of its residents.

 

Travel Destinations in Gus- Krustalny

Museum of Maltsevi family (Музей хрусталя им. Мальцевых)

The main tourist attraction is former St. George's Cathedral (Kalinin str., 2a). The building was built in 1904 in the pseudo-Russian style designed by Benoit. After the revolution, the cathedral was rebuilt (in particular, lost the dome), but the layout and exterior decor remained. Inside the building you can see a huge canvas “The Last Judgment” by Vasnetsov. In general, the cathedral is located crystal museum, which collected the products of the plant from the middle of the XVIII century to our time. Among the exhibits are many interesting products made to special orders, as well as works of authorship, which undoubtedly belong to works of art.

Church of Ioakim and Anna (Церковь Иоакима и Анны)

Chapel of Saint Martyr Varvara (Часовня святой великомученицы Варвары)

The city also houses the chapel church of Great Martyr Varvara or Barbara. The chapel was built in 1765 on the site of the image of the Great Martyr Barbara. The church itself was built only in 1885. It is an octahedral structure with side porches, covered with a low tent with a cupola. The church was closed during the Soviet period, in 1991 it was returned to believers, and three years later it was restored and consecrated.

 

Gus-Crystal Museum of Art and History

Not far from the museum of crystal there is a historical and art museum. It is open daily from 10.00 to 17.00, except Monday and the third Tuesday of every month. Tickets to the museum are; adult - 40 rubles, children - 20 rubles, preferential (students, pensioners) - 20 rubles, preferential “free” - for pensioners with disabilities, participants of the Great Patriotic War and every third Wednesday of a month for persons under 18 years of age. The museum opened on the day of the 255th anniversary of Gus-Khrustalnog, June 18, 2011. The Stone Chronicle of Meshchera and the Goose Museum are open, telling about the history of Meshchersky Krai’s development, about the nature of Meshchera and about Gus, like a bird, like a sacred totem for the ancient inhabitants of Meshchera, as a character of myths and legends about the creation of the World, as the name of the river Gus (Goose), which is part of the ancient trade route (“Silver Way”) from Persia to Rostov and Veliky Novgorod.

 

 

City building
City building Gus-Khrustalnogo uninteresting. Not far from the cathedral, the so-called "Maltsov houses" stand out - one- or two-storeyed red-brick buildings built for the workers of a crystal factory at the end of the 19th century.

Also in the city there are several monuments:
Monument to Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin;
Eternal flame;
Cenotaph;
Monument to Akim Maltsov;
Monument to victims of the liquidation of the Chernobyl disaster
Stele, installed on the site of the house in which the psychiatrist SS Korsakov was born.

 

History

Start of glass production

The settlement (Gusskaya volost) is mentioned in the documents of the 17th century. In 1756, the merchants Maltsovs in the Shivorovo tract on the Gus River began the construction of a glass manufactory, which gave rise to the well-known name - the Gus Crystal Factory and the name of the city "Gus-Khrustalny". The construction was caused by the need to withdraw enterprises from the Moscow region, where the government banned glass factories due to deforestation. In Gus, in particular, artisans were transported from near Mozhaisk. In 1759, Akim Maltsov launched the second plant - Nikulinsky, which consisted of two workshops (gut).

After the death of Akim, his widow Maria Vasilievna took over. Over 20 years of management, Maria Maltsova founded four more glass factories and one cement factory. According to the will, Maltsova transferred all the glass production to her youngest son Ivan, allocating the eldest, Sergei, only a monetary reward. A few years later, Sergey Maltsov bought all Gusev enterprises from his younger brother and founded new factories nearby. In 1823, after the death of Sergei Maltsov, the "Maltsov glass district", which united the factories of the Vladimir, Ryazan, Oryol, Kaluga and Smolensk provinces, united again under the leadership of his son Ivan Sergeevich Maltsov.

 

Ivan Maltsov

In 1831, Ivan Maltsov, who returned from abroad, arrived in Gus and took up factory business. Under him, the Gusevsk Crystal Factory was reborn, as it were. Maltsov, who often traveled abroad, began to introduce technical innovations that appeared in Europe at his enterprises. He also borrowed novelties from other Russian glass factories, which were in demand on the market. At the suggestion of craftsmen under Maltsov, a “chamber of samples” was created, where products were stored that were the best in beauty and complexity of drawing. Soon the Gusev plant was transferred to the production of expensive crystal tableware. Now the plant could rightfully be called a crystal plant. The best glass masters were transferred here from other factories. In Hus, popular products were made from plain and colored glass with flower painting and gilding. Crystal products were famous for their diamond (brilliant) facet, decorated with engraving. Vases were produced from two- and three-layer crystal with etching. At the II All-Russian Exhibition of Manufactory Products, held in 1831 in Moscow, Gusev crystal was awarded a "small gold medal". Two years later, Gusev products won a "big gold medal" at the St. Petersburg exhibition. Two years later, Maltsov products entered the world market.

In 1835, Ivan Maltsov, being abroad in the retinue of Nicholas I, studied the work of Czech factories that produced Bohemian glass, purchased production samples, and acquired manufacturing recipes. Soon the Gusev plant mastered the technology of manufacturing Bohemian products.

In 1844, the construction of a paper spinning mill began in Gus, which was launched in 1847. In 1865, a paper and weaving factory began to operate, and in 1888, a weaving mill. From the first steps, the paper mill was distinguished by the high quality of the yarn. Cotton was bought in America, all the equipment was English. At the All-Russian Exhibition of 1870, Gusev cotton products were awarded a silver medal, and at the exhibition of 1882 - a gold medal.

 

Late XIX - early XX centuries.

Ivan Maltsov died in 1880. After his death, the Gusevsky Crystal Factory passed to one of his nephews, Yuri Stepanovich Nechaev-Maltsov (1834-1913). During this period, the Gusev Crystal Factory produced about 1/4 of all glass products in the Vladimir province, in 1884 it employed 744 people. 3.5 thousand people worked at the paper mill during this period. At the beginning of the 20th century, Gus-Khrustalny became a large factory settlement. On the eve of the First World War, 12 thousand people lived in it.

In 1914, according to the will of the childless Yu. S. Nechaev-Maltsov, his fortune passed to his relative, Count P. N. Ignatiev. In 1918 the enterprise was nationalized.

 

Soviet period

By the Decree of the NKVD of February 25, 1919, Gus-Maltsevsky received the status of a city. However, due to difficult material conditions, the lack of administrative buildings and any public utilities, housing, and funds to pay salaries to the city state, Gus-Maltsevsky could not cope with city expenses and was subsequently transferred to the status of a workers' settlement.

By a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of August 23, 1926, the Gusevsky district was formed. Gus-Maltsevsky was renamed Gus-Khrustalny and became the county center. There were 26 fairly large industrial enterprises operating in the county. With the liquidation of provinces and counties, the Gusevsky district of the Vladimir district of the Ivanovo Industrial Region was organized.

The general plan and layout of the village was developed in 1927 by the urban architect Alexander Ivanitsky.

The village of Gus-Khrustalny from June 10, 1929 became the regional center.

By the decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of January 30, 1930, the settlement included the adjacent settlements: Nekrasovsky, Gertsensky, Krasny Oktyabr and Khrustalshchik (Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of January 30, 1930 “On the inclusion of the working settlement of Gus-Khrustalny, Vladimir District, Ivanovo Industrial Region, settlements: Herzensky, Nekrasovsky, Red October and Khrustalshchik")

By a decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of November 20, 1931, the working settlement of Gus-Khrustalny was transformed into a city. March 11, 1936 became part of the Ivanovo region.

Gusev residents made a great contribution to the victory during the Great Patriotic War. There were five hospitals in the city. In the autumn of 1941, a defense committee was created in the city, and a fighter battalion of the people's militia was formed. In a short time, production was rebuilt in a military way. The Crystal Factory at that time produced thermoses, flasks, flasks, thermometers, etc.

On August 14, 1944, Gus-Khrustalny became part of the newly formed Vladimir Region.

Gus-Khrustalny was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor (1981) for success in the development of the domestic glass industry and contribution to the development of the national economy.

In the 1970s, an embankment was built and roads paved. During the Soviet period, such large industries as a crystal factory, a textile factory, a pilot plant, a glass factory named after Dzerzhinsky, a quartz factory, Shveymash, an armature factory worked in the city, the Institute of Glass, a creolin factory, a meat processing plant, a dairy plant, and a bakery operated. Clubs, schools were built, children's country recreation camps were opened.

 

Post-soviet period

Gusevskoy Crystal Factory is the largest domestic enterprise for the production of art glass and crystal. In 1996, the city of Gus-Khrustalny was awarded the international prize "Golden Mercury" for the preservation of the historical and architectural appearance of the city.

The collapse of the USSR had a negative impact on the industry of the city. The Quartz Plant and Shveymash were closed.

At the end of 2010, Gus-Khrustalny entrepreneurs wrote to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin about the dominance of crime in their city: “More than three dozen arsons, robberies, beatings and other ‘exemplary’ crimes against business representatives. And these statistics are only for the last 4 months. The situation in the city was described as "criminal terror". During the investigation, the heads of local law enforcement agencies were removed from their posts and later resigned. The head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin came to restore order in Gus-Khrustalny.

Vladimir Putin commented on the criminal situation in Gus-Khrustalny as follows: “As for the terrible situation in Kushchevskaya, and in Gus-Khrustalny, it’s not only about the internal affairs bodies. Here the matter is completely different: the fact that all authorities have proved to be insolvent.”

Until 2010, Gus-Khrustalny had the status of a historical settlement, however, by Order of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation dated July 29, 2010 No. 418/339, the city was deprived of this status.

In November 2011, the famous Crystal Factory, which gave the city its name, suspended its work. Production at the plant was stopped on November 5, 2011 due to a power outage for debts of 11 million rubles. The employees of the enterprise were fired in January 2012.

In September 2012, Andrey Murtazin, the leader of the Vosmerochny organized crime group operating in 2010, as well as his brother Ruslan Murtazin, were detained.

On December 26, 2013, the Crystal Factory resumed its work, or rather, its 4th workshop, which specializes in the production of colored crystal. The launch event was attended by Governor of the Vladimir Region Svetlana Orlova, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Region Vladimir Kiselyov, and Mayor Nikolai Balakhin.

 


Transportation

How to get here

By train
Commuter trains from Vladimir. When driving from Moscow, you can take an electric train or a long-distance train from Kazansky railway station to the Nechaevskaya station, and from the station, get to the city by taxi or hitchhiking.

By bus
Buses from Vladimir or from the central bus station in Moscow (Metro station blue.png Metro station Shelkovskaya)

Transport around Gus-Khrustalny
There are 9 bus routes in Gus-Khrustalny. The fare in January 2014 was 15 rubles.

 

Hotels, motels and where to sleep

Hotel "Debern", st. International, 105. ☎ +7 (49241) 23-452. Junior Suite: 1,800 rubles (2009). Non-block type, as well as junior suites with private facilities in the room. Free unguarded parking.
Hotel "Meshchersky Dawns", st. International, 22. ☎ +7 (49241) 20-548, 22-261. Double rooms: 1200–1400 rubles (2009).
Hotel complex "Barinov Grove", st. International, 114. ☎ +7 (49241) 31-911, 93-401, 93-402. Double room: 1200 rub, junior suite: 2100 rub (2008). Rooms with amenities, the hotel has a restaurant.
Tourist Complex Wolves House, Ochotnichya Street 1. ☎ +7 (49241) 23-702, 22-866.
Tourist complex "Crystal", st. International, 107. ☎ +7 (49241) 25-331.

 

Restaurant, taverns and where to eat

The city produces good Maltsov beer.

Below is a list of bars, cafes and restaurants in the city.
"Volcano" (bar-variety) st. International, 53
"Wolves House" (restaurant and hotel complex) st. Hunting, 1
"AlmaZ" (cinema) st. Kalinin, 22
"Valley" (cafe) st. International, 103
"Maltsov" (restaurant) ul. Kalinina, 30 (ground floor)
"Flashlight" (cafe) st. Old Bolsheviks, 7
"Barinova Grove" (entertainment complex) st. International, 114
"Bar" st. International, 42a
Wasabi (cafe) st. Kalinina, 19 (from the former cafe "Spartak")
"Visit" (cafe) st. Dobrolyubova, 4
"TIME IS" st. Kalinin 28A
"Iriska" (Children's cafe) Teplitsky pr-t, 43
Cafe. Snack Bar. Shot glass. st. International, 22
"Cafe" st. International, 22 (2nd floor of the hotel)
"Cafeteria" st. Kalinina, 19/16
"Cafeteria" st. Kakhovskogo, 5 (Titanic, from the Field-Miracles)
"Cafe at Mikhailovna" st. Mayakovsky, 38
"Cranberry" (cafe) st. Rudnitskaya, 3 (TC "Rainbow" 3rd floor)
Coffee Shop "Cream" st. Kalinina, 21 (opposite the city court)
"Gourmand" (cafe) Ave 50-letie Sovetskoy vlasti, 10
"Master" st. Old Bolsheviks, 11
"Meschersky Zori" (restaurant) ul. International, 22 (1st floor)
Youth (snack bar) Microdistrict, 50
Olga (cafe) st. 2nd People's, 369k
Pizza Bar "Sausage" ул. Kalinin 28A
"Cellar" (cafe - bar) ul. Kakhovskogo 5a
"Expanse" (cafe) st. Kalinin, 9
Retro restaurant "Roman" st. International, 11 (building "GKKD")
Restaurant "Venice" Revolyutsii Street, 2 (TC "Spring", 1st floor.)
"Romance" (cafe) st. Red Army, 23
"Samovar" (cafe) st. 2nd People's, 6a
Dining str. Rudnitskoy, 3 (entrance through the entrance of the Textile Mill)
"Dining room RPS" st. Volgogradskaya, 4
Dining room "Pyaterochka" st. Transport, 36
"Dining room №47" 50-letie Sovetskoy vlasti, 5
"Tavern" (cafe) Teplitsky pr-t, 37
"Refectory" st. Kalinina, 19/16
"At Alekseeva" (cafe) ul. International, 42a
"Manor Meshcherskaya" (hotel and restaurant) st. International, 105
"Delight friends" (cafe-bar) ul. Kalinina, 19
"Crystal Forest" (cafe) st. Mendeleev 25a
Crystal Faces (kids cafe) ul. International, 53
"Edem" (cafe) 50-letie Sovetskoy vlasti, 39


Night life
Entertainment center "Almaz". Includes a cinema, pizzeria, game room, bowling and disco.

 

Buy

Of course, in Gus-Khrustalny you need to buy crystal, and the sellers are likely to find you right next to the crystal museum. However, it is worth bearing in mind that the most widely used products are usually sold from the hands (approximately the same range is present at the Vekovka station, where all trains go to Kazan and the sellers besiege these trains at any time of day).

Street vendors are extremely annoying, but it is better to reject their offers and go to one of the company stores located in the basement of the cathedral (entrance from the opposite side of the entrance to the museum) or at ul. Kalinina, 28. In stores you can buy pretty products made of crystal at rather low prices, although the assortment is not very large (there are no analogues of museum exhibits here). Prices for ordinary products (glasses, glasses, dishes, etc.) are markedly lower than in other cities. When buying with hands, bargaining is appropriate and even necessary.


Connection
Internet cafe is located in the entertainment center (Kalinin str., 22)
The official website of Gus-Khrustalny: http://gus-info.ru/


Precautionary measures
Gus-Khrustalny is not safe. Even in the central part you can meet a drunken company. Walking in the dark around the city is not recommended.