Kaluga, Russia

Калуга

 

Transportation

 

Description of Kaluga

Kaluga is a city in the Central Federal District of the Russian Federation, the administrative center of the Kaluga Region.

The city is located on both banks of the Oka River and on its tributary, the Yachenka River, 160 km from Moscow.

In the city, from 1892 to 1935, the outstanding inventor, cosmonautics theorist Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky lived and worked. Since 1967, the Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics has been open to visitors - the world's first and largest space museum in Russia, created with the direct participation of Sergei Korolev and Yuri Gagarin.

Kaluga is a city with a developed infrastructure, a major transport hub, one of the scientific, cultural, economic and spiritual centers of Russia. Mechanical engineering and automotive industry are actively developed. The city is one of the historical centers of Russia, where a large number of architectural monuments have been preserved.

Kaluga is among the top three in cleanliness and livability among the cities of the Russian Federation, which are the administrative centers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and with a population of 100 to 500 thousand people.

 

Destinations

1  Vostok launch vehicle. On June 21, 1973, a real rocket (duplicate) Vostok, 38 meters in size, was installed in the park named after. K.E. Tsiolkovsky near the Cosmonautics Museum.
2  Stone bridge (Stone bridge across the Berezuisky ravine)  , Pushkin street. Monument of architecture and urban planning, cultural heritage of Russia. The stone viaduct was built in 1777 under the governorship of the Kaluga governorship Mikhail Krechetnikov, according to the project of the famous architect Pyotr Nikitin in the style of Russian classicism. The length of the structure is about 160 meters, the height is about 20 meters. The bridge rests on 15 large stone arches, three central arches are made in 2 floors. After the construction was completed, 28 trading stone shops were built near the bridge. The ravine through which the stone bridge passes is fortified with plantings by order of Governor Smirnov. Berezuyka stream flows along the bottom of the ravine. In 1910, the roadbed was filled with reinforced concrete.
3 Gostiny Dvor (Gostiny Ryads), st. Lenin - Stary Torg Square - Gostiny Ryadsky Lane - Karpova Street (Passage by public transport to the stop "Stary Torg Square".). One of the unique architectural ensembles of Kaluga where elements of ancient Russian architecture are used. Gostiny Dvor appeared in Kaluga at the end of the 18th century. This is one of the main attractions of the city. N.V. liked to visit the bookstore located in Gostiny Dvor. Gogol, when he lived in Kaluga, and in June 1961, on the square near Gostiny Dvor, Kaluga residents met the first cosmonaut of the Earth, Yuri Gagarin.
4 Church of Cosmas and Damian, st. Suvorov, 177/16. An architectural monument in the Baroque style, built in 1794. At the corners of a slender two-tier tetrahedron, four strongly protruding exedras are placed, passing higher into round turrets - drums of side domes. The apse of the church protrudes strongly forward. A five-tiered bell tower adjoins the refectory. The bell tower stood at first separately from the temple, but recently it was connected to it by a porch.
5  Monument to the Fallen in Local Conflicts, pl. Victory. The monument designed by the architect Evgeny Golyshev was made in St. Petersburg. Part of the funds for the creation of the monument was donated by the participants in the hostilities themselves. It represents the figure of a paratrooper in front of a marble arch. Nearby are three snow-white slabs with carved figures of cranes. The lists of 197 names of internationalist heroes who were called up from the Kaluga region, as well as the names of the dead soldiers whose families live in Kaluga, are carved on slabs of artificial granite.
6  Monument to K.E. Tsiolkovsky "Man with a Bicycle", st. Teatralnaya, 9. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, "Tsiolkovsky rode a bicycle from the beginning of spring until the snow." Seeing him on this transport was familiar. Author of the work: sculptor Svetlana Farnieva. A mandatory requirement when creating a sculpture was its anti-vandalism. The smallest details - the pedals and the chain were not made of bronze. They were taken off an ordinary bicycle, installed here and covered with paint. The wheels were also protected from the inside. Therefore, the bronze inventor can calmly watch the sky without fear that his transport will be taken apart.
7  Monument to the theatrical spectator, Theater Square. The sculpture represents a girl holding a sign with an inscription that reads: “Is there an extra ticket?”. Local residents and guests of the city collected more than 515,000 rubles for the installation of the monument. It is considered the world's first monument dedicated to the theatrical audience.

8 Teatralnaya street.
9  Ensemble of Public Places.
10  Noble Assembly.
11 Chambers of Merchant Korobov.
12 Makarov Chamber.
13  Monument to the 600th anniversary of Kaluga.
14  Monument to Yuri Gagarin.
15  Church of the Baptist.

 

What to do

Museums
1  State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky (Museum of Cosmonautics)  Wikidata Element  , Akademika Koroleva Street, 2 (m/t1 and  tb. 1 to the stop “Park Tsiolkovsky”, m/t29,31 to the stop “6th school "). ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 70-50-25. 10:00 - 18:00 (Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun), 11:00 - 21:00 (Wed), 10:00 - 19:00 (Sat). 150₽. The first in the world and the largest in Russia space museum, created with the direct participation of S. P. Korolev and Yu. A. Gagarin. The museum has a modern planetarium and a cafe.
2 House-Museum of K.E. Tsiolkovsky, Tsiolkovsky street, 79. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 74-61-80. 150₽.
3 House-Museum of A.L. Chizhevsky, Moskovskaya street, 62. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 56-11-39, +7 (4842) 72-32-95. 150₽.
4 Kaluga Regional Museum of Local Lore (Local History Museum), st. Pushkin, 14. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 72-16-18, fax: 72-16-32. 09:30 - 17:00. Tickets from 50₽. On Saturday, the museum is open from 11.00 to 19.00, ticket office until 18.30. Day off: Monday. Sanitary Day: Last Friday of every month.
5  Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts (Art Museum)  , Lenina Street, 104 ( tb. 1.2 to the bus stop "City Administration"). ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 56-28-30. 10:00 - 18:00, Day off: Monday. Last Friday of the month: sanitary day. Tickets from 50₽. The Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts is one of the leading state cultural institutions in the Kaluga region.
6  Museum of Craft, Architecture and Life (Museum of Crafts), st. Kirova, 45/16 ( tb. 1,2,3,7,13 and  avt. 4 to the stop "Cinema "Central"). ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 56-13-54. 10:00 - 17:00. 0₽. Collection of medieval copper coins of the 15th-16th centuries, steelyards of the 18th-20th centuries, ceramics of the Kaluga region of the 7th-20th centuries, clay toys of Kaluga, salaries of Russian icons of the 19th-20th centuries.
7  Museum of Puppets "Bereginya" (Museum of Puppets in Kozlovo), Kaluga, village of Kozlovo, 1. ☎ +7 (910) 912-50-72.. 10:00-18:00. From 100₽. The museum presents a unique collection of traditional Russian dolls, numbering more than 2,000 pieces. The curator of the museum, Rimma Yakovlevna Tarasova, is a folk master of Russia. Pre-registration for the tour is required! The Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God is located 500 meters to the southeast of the museum. There are no direct buses to the museum, but you can get to the village of Kurovskoye and walk to the estate on foot.

Theaters
8  Kaluga Regional Drama Theater (Drama Theatre)  , Theater Square, 1. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 57-42-57. Tickets from 350₽. One of the oldest operating drama theaters in Russia. Founded in 1777.
9  Kaluga Regional Theater for Young Spectators (TYUZ) , Teatralnaya street, 36. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 57-83-52. Tickets from 200₽. The history of the Kaluga Youth Theater begins in 1964, when the actors of the Kaluga Drama Theater and enthusiasts created a theater troupe in Kaluga under the leadership of the Honored Artist of the RSFSR Volskaya L.V. and Tsvetkov V.M.
10  Kaluga Puppet Theater (Puppet Theatre)  , st. Kirova, 31 (entrance through the foyer of the cinema Central) ( tb. 1,2,3,7,13 and  avt. 4 to the stop "Cinema" Central "or" Dom Byta.). ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 56-39-47. Tuesday - Friday - from 13:00 to 17:30, Saturday - Sunday - from 10:00 to 14:00. Day off - Monday.. Tickets from 200₽. Sweet Puppet Show.

 

Etymology

There are many versions about the origin of the city's name. At the end of the 18th century, Academician V.F. Zuev, who located the ancient Kaluga, suggested that its name comes from the name near the flowing river Kaluzhka: “It got its name from the Kaluzhka River, where it stood before, that is, at its mouth, where the now revealed image is.”

The same opinion was shared by the Kaluga archaeologist, chairman of the Kaluga Scientific Archival Commission Ivan Chetyrkin, who believed that the name of the river comes from the Russian words kalyuzha, kalyuzhin, which means "bog" or "bog".

According to the Explanatory Dictionary of V. Dahl, the word kaluga in Tver and Kostroma was called “swamp, swamp, nasolody”, in Kaluga and Tula - “peninsula, otok, kalach”, and in other regions of Russia - “floodplain, floodplain meadow, vyr, reap ".

In the Dictionary of the Church Slavonic and Russian Language, compiled by the Second Department of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, the word kaluga is explained as "a dirty place, swamp (swamp), bog"; from this word comes kaluga, which means: “stagnant water, mud, mud”, kaluzhana, which has the same meaning as “kaluga”, and finally, marsh marsh grass, known by the Latin name “Caltha palustris”.

The etymological dictionary of M. Fasmer also interprets the word kaluga as “swamp, swamp” and finds parallels to it in other Slavic languages: Ukrainian kaluzha, kalyuga “puddle, mud”, Serbo-Croatian kaљuga, kazhuzha “puddle”, Slovenian kaluza, Czech kaluze “ puddle", Slovak kaluza.

This etymology is also supported by the fact that the Luzha River flowing north of Kaluga was often called Koluga in medieval sources, so that the Kaluzhka and Luzha rivers originally had the same name; the city of Maloyaroslavets, standing on the river. Puddle, formerly called Puddle.

Another popular version derives the city's name from the Slavic word kolo meaning circle. In 1804, the editor of the Kaluga journal Urania, G.K. Zelnitsky, wrote: “The word ‘kolo’, shortened from ‘about’, joins many words with us, near the mane of the sovereign's horse ..., and in some other words there is a similar reduction and a combination of the adverb "about" with nouns. On this basis, the word “Kaluga” will contain “near” and “meadows” or “puddle”, and in complexity it will mean a place near a meadow or puddle. This conjecture in our time was developed by local historian Demushkin, combining the words “kolo”, which meant the district, parish, and “south”, so that the name of the city could mean “parish near the south”.

Along with these, there are enough other versions explaining the name of the city. Some authors derived it from the Old Slavonic word haluga, meaning "wattle fence, hedge, fence, a place enclosed by a fence" [5], from the Old Russian kalyg - "fence, fence, street", from the Finno-Ugric khalig - "deaf place in the forest" , from the Turkic kalygan - “ledge, elevation”, from the Khazar khologist - a gathering or gathering of thieves, etc. Kaluga local historian D. I. Malinin suggested that the name of the city comes from the name of the Kaluga fish that lives in Siberian rivers, and means “ fish river. Some etymologies are based on folk legends. So, there is a legend that the name of the city comes from the name of the robber Koluga, who allegedly lived with his gang in the local forests. Another folk etymology derives the name from the phrase "Oka-meadow" (Kashira - Oka-wide, Kolomna - Oka-broken, Kaluga - Oka-luga). The version about a certain “Khan Uga” belongs to the same series, as if at the foundation of the city he drove a stake (kolUga) into the ground.

 

History of Kaluga

Until now, the cause and date of the emergence of the city of Kaluga remains the subject of controversy among scientists and researchers. The official date of foundation of the city is 1371, the year of the first mention of Kaluga in written sources that have come down to our times. Until 1371, the city already existed for some, yet unknown, period of time. Even the first historians of the city of Kaluga noted that the city is much older than its official age. This is confirmed by the data of archaeological surveys in the places of ancient settlements on the territory of modern Kaluga. In 2021, Kaluga celebrated its 650th anniversary.

There were three medieval settlements on the territory of the city: one was at the mouth of the Kaluzhka River, at its confluence with the Oka, the other was upstream of the Kaluzhka, in the vicinity of the village of Zhdamirova, and the third, known as Semyonovo settlement, was on the banks of the Yachenka River. The first excavations at the settlement at the mouth of the Kaluzhka were carried out at the end of the 19th century. archaeologist I. D. Chetyrkin, who discovered on it traces of a fire and the remains of pottery. Subsequent excavations have shown that two settlements on Kaluzhka have existed since ancient times.

The oldest historian of Kaluga, academician V.F. Zuev, who lived in the 18th century, wrote down a legend according to which Kaluga was transferred to a new place three times, and he also considered the settlement at the mouth of Kaluzhka to be the first place.

In the XIII-XIV centuries, the Kaluga lands were part of one of the Verkhovsky principalities, Novosilsky or Tarussky. From the middle of the XIV century, Kaluga became the object of the struggle between the Moscow and Lithuanian princes. Kaluga local historians and independent researchers of the history of the Kaluga region put forward a version about the emergence of Kaluga as a Tatar-Mongolian administrative and tax center during the formation of the Basques in Rus', however, this hypothesis has not yet been reflected in authoritative and recognized by the scientific community sources.

In 1371, the borders of the Moscow principality came close to the territory of modern Kaluga. Historian V. N. Temushev noted: “The Koluga Volost, which occupied the space around the Kaluzhka River, was acquired by the Moscow princes from the Tarusa or Novosilsky princes.” The Lithuanian princes believed that Kaluga was unfairly "taken from them by Moscow." The first written mention of Kaluga is connected with this, which is contained in a letter of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd to the Patriarch of Constantinople Philotheus, dated 1371.

The next mention of Kaluga is contained in the so-called spiritual letter of Dmitry Donskoy (1389), in which he bequeaths the cities of "Koluga and Grove" to his son Andrei in the Mozhaisk principality.

Since that time, Kaluga has been invariably mentioned in the sources as the possession of the Moscow princes and their heirs. During the reign of Ivan III, the city was directly subordinate to the Moscow prince, who, according to S. Herberstein, kept a regular army in it against the raids of the Tatars. The development of the city during this period is connected with its strategic position as a border fortress on the borders of the Muscovite state. Kaluga was the center of vast possessions, the first and last ruler of which was Prince Semyon Ivanovich of Kaluga. Semyon Ivanovich chose Kaluga as the capital of his patrimony, and his princely palace, according to legend, was located on the banks of the river. Yachenki, where Semyonovo settlement is now located.

In 1601-1603, Kaluga experienced the Great Famine, which engulfed most of the European territory of the Russian kingdom during the reign of Boris Godunov. A significant part of the population rushed to the sparsely populated southern and eastern regions of the country - the lower reaches of the Don, Volga, Yaik and Siberia.

Kaluga played a prominent role in the events of the Time of Troubles. The military character of the city left its mark on its inhabitants, who were little inclined to civil order and a quiet life. Therefore, already with the advent of the first impostor, Kaluga was among the first cities to take his side.

After the death of False Dmitry I in 1606, the city welcomed into its walls the detachments of Ivan Bolotnikov, who brought with him more than ten thousand rebels. He was supported by the Terek Cossacks and a new impostor - Tsarevich False Peter. Bolotnikov fortified the city and several times successfully repulsed the advances of the Moscow governors; in the winter of 1606-1607, Kaluga, under his leadership, withstood a four-month siege.

With the advent of False Dmitry II, Kaluga was one of the first cities to recognize him as their sovereign and later served him faithfully. In December 1610 (according to some sources - in January 1611), the son of False Dmitry II and Marina Mnishek, Ivan Dmitrievich, was born in Kaluga, nicknamed "Raven", who later appeared as a pretender to the royal throne.

In 1611, Kaluga was taken by the Polish invaders and was in the rear of the invaders. Only in 1612 the city was liberated, and for several more years it was in the center of hostilities. In 1615-1616, Kaluga was attacked by the Crimean Tatars, which caused great damage. The following year, the city was besieged by troops of the Polish prince Vladislav IV. The defense of Kaluga was led by Prince Pozharsky. A year later, Kaluga was ravaged by the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks and the troops of Hetman Sagaidachny.

In the second half of the 17th century, metal production began to develop in Kaluga. One of the first iron foundries in Russia appears in the city.

In the 18th century, Kaluga became a provincial center. Under Peter I, a school was opened in the city "for teaching clerks and clerks' children and other ranks of tsyfiri and geometry."

During the years 1723-1737, Kaluga became depopulated due to famine. The city burned down almost to the ground in 1742, 1754, 1756, 1760 and 1761.

December 15, 1775 Empress Catherine II visits Kaluga. The Empress arrived accompanied by Metropolitan Platon and a brilliant retinue. By her arrival in the city, the Triumphal Gates were built by the local merchants (dismantled in 1935). In memory of this visit, two medals were minted, one of which depicts the queen in a Kaluga dress.

In 1776, Kaluga became the center of the Kaluga viceroy. The first governor of Kaluga was the former governor of Tver, General-in-Chief, Count MN Krechetnikov, who chose the city as his residence. At that time, 17 thousand inhabitants lived in Kaluga, and in total in the Kaluga governorate - 733 thousand inhabitants of both sexes.

On January 19, 1777, the Kaluga Drama Theater opens its first theatrical season, created with the direct participation of the Governor-General.

By the end of the 18th century, 120 small enterprises operated in the city, including 11 brick, 10 tiled and 3 sailing enterprises. The city was also famous for handicrafts made of wood, embroidery and lace.

On October 31, 1796, by the Decree of Paul I, the Kaluga governorate was transformed into the Kaluga province.

Kaluga played an important role in the Patriotic War of 1812, becoming the largest rear base of Russian troops. Here, an armed militia was formed for the army in the field, fodder and food were procured, and funds were collected. The city of Kaluga received a personal gratitude from Field Marshal M. I. Kutuzov.

From 1823 to January 8, 1831, Kaluga and the province were part of the Belarusian General Government.

Since the middle of the 19th century, the city has experienced an economic decline, which was mainly caused by two reasons: the shallowing of the Oka and the development of railway transport. The Oka in the upper reaches ceased to be navigable and trade along it practically ceased. At the same time, the construction of railways led to the emergence of new shopping centers, with which Kaluga could no longer compete. The turnover of Kaluga merchants began to fall, and the city treasury began to empty.

By the end of the 19th century, Kaluga turned into a quiet provincial town. The last Crimean khan Shakhin Gerai (since 1786), the Kazakh khan of the Younger Zhuz Aryngazy Abulgaziev (in 1823-1833), the daughter of the Georgian king Tekla Irakliyevna with her sons Vakhtang and Dmitry Orbeliani, who were exiled for participating in the noble conspiracy of 1832, were exiled here , and the third imam of Chechnya and Dagestan, Shamil (in 1859-1868), who surrendered to the Russian authorities after the defeat in the Caucasian War.

With the outbreak of the First World War, Kaluga became a major rear and military hospital center of the warring empire, the final evacuation point "Moscow 1st" (the direction of sanitary evacuation Moscow-Kaluga). The outbreak of hostilities on the Eastern Front was marked by mass exodus. The city of Kaluga and the region, having found themselves inside the refugee stream, jointly organized assistance to those who were traveling through their territory and accepted tens of thousands of refugees from the western provinces. In Kaluga, in the 189th reserve infantry battalion, in 1915, a native of Kaluga land, Marshal of the Soviet Union, Zhukov, Georgy Konstantinovich, began his career as a commander.

The First World War was a difficult test for Kaluga and its inhabitants, bringing changes to all spheres of life. Kaluga, like the entire Russian province, provided the army with the necessary human, food, material and technical resources in the context of the growing economic crisis generated by the war.

After October 1917, the process of establishing Soviet power in Kaluga was difficult, as moderate socialist parties actively manifested themselves in the city.

The "power of the Soviets" in the city was established by force of arms on November 28 (December 11), 1917, with the help of revolutionary detachments from Moscow.

After the end of the Civil War, the Soviet authorities “took a course” for the development of industrial cities, thanks to which a new stage began in the development of Kaluga. Factories and factories were resurrected. Mechanical engineering developed actively. Kaluga is again becoming a major industrial center.

By the middle of the 20th century, the city's population had grown to 100,000 people. Kaluga was one of the places of political exile in the Soviet years.

So, in 1928, prominent Bolshevik figures, opponents of Stalin in the inner-party struggle, G. E. Zinoviev and L. B. Kamenev, were exiled in the city for several months.

Since 1937, Kaluga has been a city of regional subordination, the center of the Kaluga region, as part of the newly formed Tula region.

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, the entire life of the city was subject to the requirements of wartime. Mobilization began on the territory of Kaluga. Plants and factories were setting up the production of military products, and the collective farms were fighting for the harvest. The population collected money and things for the needs of the army. The Stakhanov movement was organized at enterprises and collective farms, and socialist competitions were held.

During the Battle of Moscow, after stubborn fighting on the outskirts of the city, the units of the 5th Guards Rifle Division defending Kaluga were forced to retreat. On October 12, 1941, units of the XIII Army Corps of the Wehrmacht entered the city. The Jews of the city were driven into the ghetto by the Nazis. For Soviet prisoners of war and the civilian population, the military administration of the troops of Nazi Germany arranged a collection and transit point for the 127th Dulag, where a large number of soldiers and commanders of the Red Army died.

The German occupation lasted from October 12 to December 30, 1941, when the city was completely liberated by the Red Army. During the retreat, the occupiers destroyed 196 houses, leaving more than 850 families homeless, burned the theater on Sennaya Square (currently called the Peace Square).

With the formation of the Kaluga region on July 5, 1944, the city of Kaluga becomes its administrative center.

At present, Kaluga is a city with a developed infrastructure, a major transport hub, one of the scientific, cultural, economic and spiritual centers of the Central Federal District of Russia. Mechanical engineering and automotive industry are actively developed. The city is one of the historical centers of Russia, where many architectural monuments have been preserved. Kaluga was three times in the top three in terms of cleanliness and livability among the cities of Russia, which are the administrative centers of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and with a population of 100 to 500 thousand people: 1st place in 2002, 3rd place in 2003, 1st place in the competition held in 2012.

In 2009, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation minted a commemorative non-precious 10-ruble coin dedicated to Kaluga from the Ancient Cities of Russia series.

Starting from May 9, 2013, the inhabitants of Kaluga annually take part in the Immortal Regiment civil campaign dedicated to the feat of Soviet citizens who liberated our country from Nazi invaders.

The route of the Olympic Torch Relay of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi passed through Kaluga. The relay started on October 7, 2013 in Moscow and ended on the opening day of the Olympics on February 7, 2014. The Olympic flame arrived in Kaluga on October 13, 2013 from the city of Yukhnov, Kaluga Region. From Kaluga, the Olympic flame went to the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Shchekino district of the Tula region and further along the route of the Olympic torch relay of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

On April 19, 2016, it became known that Kaluga was included in the list of cities included in the Golden Ring.

Celebrations within the framework of the project "Kaluga - New Year's Capital of Russia 2021" were held in the city from December 12 to January 9. The crystal snowflake, its symbol, was adopted on January 7, 2020 near Ryazan.

For the upcoming 650th anniversary of Kaluga, the Central Bank of Russia issued exclusive silver coins with a face value of 3 rubles, which entered circulation on July 14, 2021. The coin contains 31.1 grams of 925 silver, and the diameter of the circle is 39 mm. The front side shows the coat of arms of the Russian Federation and the designation of the metal according to the periodic table. On the reverse side there is a relief image of the building of the State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics. K. E. Tsiolkovsky against the background of images of the panorama of the city of Kaluga and the starry sky; there are inscriptions, at the top along the edging: "KALUGA", at the bottom: "650 YEARS".

On August 5, 2021, a solemn special cancellation of the Kaluga 650 years postage stamp, which was dedicated to the anniversary of the city, took place in Kaluga. The event was held at the post office "Post of Russia" on Stary Torg Square. The stamp itself depicts the State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky, the monument to Tsiolkovsky, as well as the Stone Bridge, the Kaluga instrument-making plant "Typhoon" and the panorama of the city. The face value of the stamp is 50 rubles, the circulation is 135,000 copies. The stamp was extinguished with two seals. One of them depicts the Museum of Cosmonautics, and it could only be placed on the day of cancellation. And the second will extinguish all holidays. It depicts the Gostiny Ryads and the Vostok rocket, as well as the date, which will change daily.

 


Transportation

Getting there

By plane
In Kaluga and in the opposite direction, you can fly (fly) to / from the International Airport "Kaluga" named after. K. E. Tsiolkovsky by regular flights of the companies: Azimut, RusLine, S7 Airlines, from the cities: Moscow, Mineralnye Vody, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Kazan, etc. (see flight schedule).

Kaluga International Airport (IATA:KLF) , Grabtsevskoe shosse, 79 (bus 4 to Airport stop). ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 77-00-77. 05.00 - 15.00 UTC.

By train
From Moscow from the Kievsky railway station  3, 4, 5  st. metro station "Kievskaya" on the suburban electric train "Moscow - Kaluga-1" (travel time more than 3 hours) or express train to "Kaluga-1" (travel time about 2.5 hours) or by long-distance trains transiting through railway railway stations "Kaluga-1" and "Kaluga-2".
From St. Petersburg from the Moscow railway station  1 (Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya) line pl. Vosstaniya,  3 (Nevsko-Vasileostrovskaya) line Mayakovskaya by train No. 139 (St. Petersburg-Bryansk), to the station "Kaluga-2".
From Tula from the Moscow railway station, by interregional rail buses: (Tula-Kaluga), (Uzlovaya - Kaluga) to the station. "Kaluga-1"
From Vyazma from the railway station on interregional rail buses (Vyazma-Iznoski-Kaluga) with a transfer to the station. Wear to Art. "Kaluga-1".
From Bryansk from the station Bryansk-Orlovsky by train "Day Express" 738A or trains No. 107, 122, 741, etc. (Bryansk - Moscow) to the station. "Kaluga-2". (See timetable)
From Novozybkov from the railway station by train number 132 (Novozybkov-Moscow) to the station. "Kaluga-2".
From Klimovo from the railway station st. Klimov by train number 086 (Klimov-Moscow) to the station. "Kaluga-2".

"Kaluga-1" (Vokzal Kaluga-1), Vokzalnaya Square, 3 ). ☎ +7 (800) 775-00-00. 00:00-24:00. 100₽. Railway station of the Moscow Railway on the chord line Vyazma - Syzran in the city of Kaluga. It has the status of a district station, and is assigned to class I in terms of the volume of work. The railway station station "Kaluga-1" is part of the Moscow Regional Directorate of the Directorate of Railway Stations. The station is located north of the city center. The main course of the line in this place makes a loop, going deep into the city.
"Kaluga-2" (Station "Kaluga-2"), Kaluga-2. st. Privokzalnaya (Transfer to:  aut. 20, 30). ☎ +7 (800) 775-00-00. 00:00-24:00. 100₽. Railway station of the Moscow Railway on the line Tikhonov Pustyn - Sukhinichi, railway station, in the urban district of Kaluga. Secondary station (main station - "Kaluga-1"). Due to its remoteness from the main part of the city, it is not popular with passengers, although the bus takes only 15-20 minutes to reach it. The station is located in the village of railway workers, located about 11 km from the main part of the city. The station was opened on May 26, 1959 on the site of the former Sergiev Skit station.

By bus
From Moscow: from bus stations near the metro stations:  6 Tyoply Stan,   3 Shchelkovskaya, or from bus stations near the metro  3, 4, 5  Kyiv, 1 South-West. Buses to Kaluga leave every hour (several runs per hour). The line operates daily from 05:00 to 22:00 depending on the departure point in Moscow (See the schedule at the departure points).

The city has a direct bus connection with the cities: Moscow, Kozelsk, Lyudinovo, Kirov (Kaluga region), Bryansk, Tula, Aleksin, Bogoroditsk, Venev, Dubna, Oryol, Smolensk, Plavsk, Suvorov, Yasnogorsk, etc. (see route updates and timetables on the website of the bus station). The cost of the service for selling return tickets at the box office of the Kaluga bus station is from 25 ₽ for each ticket.

Bus station "Kaluga", Vokzalnaya square, 3 (area of the railway station station Kaluga-1) ( tb. 1, 12, m/t1, 12, 29, 31, 45, 76, 83). ☎ +7 (4842) 78-36-78. 04:30-22:00. Order tickets by phone 78-36-86, 78-36-99 from 9:00 to 18:00. The cost of booking a ticket by phone is 60 rubles. for each ticket. Additional point for the sale of tickets for suburban and intercity buses on Gagarin Street, 5.

By car
From any city on the highways M3 (distance from Moscow ~ 170 kilometers) or A130.

 

Transport

Municipal trolleybus, bus, and fixed-route taxi: single fare (fare 2022) - 25 ₽. Passenger and cargo taxis can be easily ordered at any time. The city has a large number of services that transport passengers and goods. Prices from 50₽.

 

Shopping

Trade complex XXI (Kaluga XXI Century), st. Kirov, 1. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 79-02-00. from 10 ₽. The complex has two cinemas, a cafe, a restaurant, ticket offices for the sale of air and railway tickets, workshops for minor repairs, etc.

 

Restaurant

Average cost
1  Grill-bar "Wings"   , st. Kirova, 39 Shopping center "European", 4th floor. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 75-04-94. Friday - Saturday 11:00 - 02:00, Sunday - Thursday 11:00 - 24:00. On average 280 ₽. Cuisines: beer, European, Russian. Grill menu, children's menu, cocktail card. 2 halls, 240 seats. Children's play corner. Free WiFi. Business lunch: 11:00 - 16:00.
2 "La Grillade" restaurant, st. Academician Koroleva, 16. ✉ ☎ 00 61 +7 (4842) 41 00 61. Monday-Sunday 11:00-24:00. from 390₽. European cuisine with Asian touches. Business lunches from Monday to Friday from 12.00 to 15.00 (except official holidays).

 

Night life

Club culture in its modern sense began to emerge in Kaluga at the very beginning of the 1990s. At present, the club and entertainment life of the city is represented by a large number of establishments of various directions, and various in size: from large clubs to small themed apartments.

Entertainment center "B-45" ("B-45")  , st. Kirov, 43 building 1 (Face control). ☎ +7 (4842) 56-51-42. 09:00-05:00. From 100₽. Restaurant, banquet and conference hall, karaoke bar, sports bar, two dance floors (up to 200 people), entertainment for children and adults: bowling, billiards, slot machines, children's corner, bookmaker's office. Business lunches on the 3rd floor from 12:00 to 16:00. There is a delivery service to anywhere in the city. Kitchen to order: preparation and delivery of dishes +7 905 641 36-94 (kitchen).

 

Hotels

1  Kaluga Plaza Hotel   , 2nd Tulsky Lane, 1. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 77-71-10. From 2550₽. Conference hall. Bath complex. Free Wi-Fi is available in every room and throughout the hotel complex. ATM. Transfer. Laundry. Restaurant.
2  Kaluga Hotel, Kirov Street, 1. ✉ ☎ +7 (800) 700-16-70. From 2600₽. Located in the central area of the city close to attractions and business centers. The hotel building is located on Peace Square, where you can see the monument to Tsiolkovsky, and opposite the hotel - the Arbitration Court and the House of Music. Visa support. Shopping and entertainment complex, restaurant, bars, internet in rooms, mini-bars, elevator, and more.
3  Suhl Hotel, Gogol Street, 2. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 212-010. From 1000₽. Each hotel room has a balcony, refrigerator, shower or bath, free Wi-Fi. A two-minute walk is the Museum of the History of Cosmonautics and a park with life-size rocket models.
4  Hotel complex "Donjon", Semyonovo settlement street, 6. ☎ +7 (4842) 56-57-56. From 1500₽.
5  Pribrezhnaya Hotel  , 2nd Berendyakovskiy lane, building 1, building A. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 22-09-37. From 1500₽. The hotel has 10 rooms: one Standard room, two Superior rooms, four Junior Suites, two Suites and one Apartment room.
6  Prichal Hotel, Vorobyovskaya street, 24. ✉ ☎ +7 (4842) 75-62-62, prichal-hotel. From 3000₽. In the rooms: TV, refrigerator with mini-bar, bathrooms with a set of accessories and cosmetics for the bathroom. The room rate includes a continental breakfast.

 

Connection

The main share of the market for local wired telephone communications and broadband Internet access belongs to Rostelecom.

Cellular operators are represented by the following companies: MTS, MegaFon, Beeline, Tele2, Rostelecom, Yota and Tinkoff Mobile.

More than a dozen companies provide Internet access. In addition to wireline telephone and cellular operators, these include TTK, Maxnet, HiNet, Yarnet and others.

Free Wi-Fi hot spots operate in many shopping centers, educational institutions, squares and public transport. TTK also provides Internet access through the public power grid.

 

Precautionary measures

It is not recommended to walk along the outskirts of Kaluga late in the evening or at night, in some areas of the city you can "look for problems and troubles."

 

Neighborhood

1  Tikhonova Pustyn, p. Named after Leo Tolstoy (4 km from the Kyiv highway. Numerous buses go there from Kaluga (to Tovarkovo, Kondrovo, Medyn, Palaces), about 30 minutes on the way). Large monastery 20 km from Kaluga. It was founded in the 15th century, but most of the buildings date back to the late 19th - early 20th centuries, including the pompous Assumption Cathedral with a bell tower.
2 Spaso-Preobrazhensky Vorotynsky Monastery, p. Spas (by train to the platform 188 km, from there 1.5 km on foot or by bus to the Ugra stop, from there 2 km on foot). A small monastery founded at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. There are two hipped churches of the 16th century in the ensemble of the monastery. - one of the oldest in the Kaluga region.
3 Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (Temple of the Tikhvin Icon in Kozlovo), p. Kozlovo.. 08:30-22:00 (except church holidays and services). Temple with six domes, a monument of architecture and urban planning, erected in stone in 1886. In 2012, not far from the church, a spring was found and consecrated in honor of the Hieromartyr Kuksha, the enlightener of the Vyatichi people. A particle of his relics was also brought from Kyiv, which is located in the temple. The patronal feast of the temple falls on June 26 (July 9) - the celebration of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God.
4  Museum-diorama "Great Standing on the Ugra", p. Palaces (3 km from the Tikhonov Desert. From Kaluga 6 buses a day, about 30 minutes on the way). 500 r. per person, if there are less than 10 people in the group. Museum-diorama dedicated to "standing on the Ugra" in 1480. Opened at the Vladimir Skete of Tikhonov's Hermitage on the banks of the Ugra River, in the places where this historical event took place. Entrance only as part of group tours (every hour).
Ugra National Park.
Milutichi is a deer farm. 160 km from Kaluga. You can drive along two routes, which one to choose, it is better to call the deer farm on the eve of the trip and clarify which road is currently more passing. It is better to go during daylight hours and on a crossover.

 

Physical and geographical characteristics

Geographical position

Kaluga is located on the Central Russian Upland, on both banks of the Oka, in the European part of Russia. The largest body of water in the city is the Yachensky reservoir. Kaluga is located 88 km southwest of the Troitsky administrative district of Moscow, 160 km from the center of Moscow, 143 km from the Moscow Ring Road and 112 km west of Tula by road.

 

Timezone

Kaluga is located in the MSK time zone (Moscow time). The offset of the applicable time from UTC is +3:00. In accordance with the applied time and geographic longitude, the average solar noon in Kaluga occurs at 12:35.

 

Climate

The climate is temperate continental, winters are long, frosty, snowy, summers are warm and sometimes cloudy. The period with an average daily temperature above +19 °C (the so-called “warm season”) lasts from mid-May to early September, the period with an average daily temperature below +2 °C (“cold season”) lasts from mid-November to mid-March. The length of the day in Kaluga varies from 7 hours 16 minutes on December 22 to 17 hours 16 minutes on June 21.

 

Sport

Kaluga is a city with long-standing sports traditions and actively developing professional sports. The development of sports in Kaluga is supervised by the Department of Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Policy of Kaluga.

Football
There is a football club "Kaluga" in Kaluga. The football club plays in the Second Division of Russian football, “Center” zone.

From 1990 to 1999, there was a women's football club "Kaluzhanka" in Kaluga, which won the bronze medal at the Russian Women's Football Championship in 1994. In 1999, the team was disbanded due to insufficient funding.

Volleyball
Until the end of 2017, the Oka volleyball club operated in Kaluga. For the period 2017-2018, volleyball in Kaluga is represented by sports schools and student teams.

Kickboxing
Ksenia Miroshnichenko, a student of the Kaluga Sports School “Vympel”, became the vice-world champion in kickboxing in 2013.

In October 2014, at the Russian Kickboxing Championship, Ksenia became the best in her weight category up to 65 kg among the 120 best fighters in Russia from 20 regions, winning gold and becoming the champion of Russia in kickboxing.

In June 2015, at the World Cup kickboxing competition (full contact) in the Italian city of Rimini, in which about 300 athletes from 25 countries took part, a student of the famous coach of the school SDUSSHOR "Vympel" Viktor Nikolaevich Prokhorov, an international master of sports, a multiple winner and winner of the world's largest competitions, Ksenia Miroshnichenko, won silver in the weight category up to 65 kg.

Swimming
Stanislav Lopukhov is a Russian swimmer. Honored Master of Sports of Russia. Silver medalist of the 1996 Olympic Games in the 4x100 m medley relay, winner of the World Universiade, winner of the World Cup, medalist of the World Championships, European record holder in the swimming relay. As of 2012, he lives in the city of Obninsk, Kaluga Region, and is the director of the Olympus Sports Palace and the Obninsk Children and Youth Sports School. Born in Kaluga. A student of the regional specialized Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve (OSYUSSHOR) “Youth”) in the city of Kaluga.

Skating
Anna Chernova is a Russian speed skater who specializes in medium and long distances. Participant in the Olympic Games in Sochi 2014, World Cup stages since 2012. Bronze medalist at the World Junior Championships in the team race. Multiple winner of the World Cup among juniors. Master of Sports of Russia in speed skating. Member of the Russian national team since 2007. Sports club - Children's and Youth Sports School "Trud" (Kaluga). Anna Chernova started speed skating in her native Kaluga in 2003. She received her education at the KSPU named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky.

skiing
Kaluga athlete Valery Kobelev took part in three Winter Olympic Games - 1994 in Lillehammer (cross-country skiing), 1998 in Nagano (ski jumping), 2002 in Salt Lake City (ski jumping). Multiple World Cup ski jumping participant.

Fencing
MBOU DOD SDYUSSHOR (sports school) “Fencing” is the only fencing sports school in Kaluga and the Kaluga region. About 500 athletes are trained in 33 groups. Notable students include:
Svetlana Kormilitsyna - master of sports of international class, two-time world champion as part of the Russian team (USA, 2004, France, 2010), European champion as part of the Russian team (Denmark, 2004), European champion (Germany, 2010), champion Military World Games (South Korea, 2015).
Ekaterina Fedorkina is an Honored Master of Sports of Russia. European champion (Hungary, 2005), (Belgium, 2007), world champion as part of the Russian team in (USA, 2004).

Checkers
The Kaluga checkers school is one of the strongest in Russia and previously in the USSR. International grandmasters have been trained at the Sports School “Russian Checkers” in Kaluga:

Margarita Zhukova is an international master of sports. World Champion (Lisbon, 2002; USA, 2004).
Yulia Kuzina - (international grandmaster - 2008);
Yulia Mosalova (international grandmaster - 2005, Russian grandmaster - 2005, 2006).