Kirillov, Russia

Transportation

Description of Kirillov

Kirillov is located in the northwestern part of the Vologda region on the shore of Siverskoye Lake. This is a cozy provincial town, one of the most important tourist centers of the Vologda Region. The central part of Kirillov is dominated by a mighty fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site list item - the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.

Not far from Kirillov is the village of Ferapontovo, in which another UNESCO object is located - Ferapontov Monastery, as well as the Nilo-Sorsk desert and the Goritsky Monastery. The city and the monasteries are located on the territory of the national park "Russian North", which occupies most of the Kirillov district.

 

Sights

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. ☎ +7 (817) 573-14-79. 9:00–18:00 daily, October to April: except Mon. Single ticket: 1000 rubles (from November to April - 650 rubles), entrance to the territory: free. The record holder in many respects: the first in Europe in terms of the length of the walls (2 km) and the second in the world in terms of area (12 hectares) - only the Buddhist Drepung in Tibet is larger. The monastery makes a grandiose impression and looks more like a separate city; it is not for nothing that it is called the Northern Lavra. To see the entire monastery, you need to walk several kilometers, and with a visit to the museum exhibitions, it can easily take half a day. However, both from a practical and financial point of view, it is worth giving preference to a free external inspection, and then choosing only those expositions that are of interest to you. Having examined the territory, be sure to go to the Siverskoye Lake, where there will be wonderful views along the shore. It is worth admiring the monastery from the side, across the lake: from the inside it looks stern and strict, and from afar - almost fabulous.

The territory is divided into three parts - the Big Assumption Monastery, the Small Ivanovsky Monastery and the New City. The latter is interesting for its fortifications; there are practically no buildings on its territory. The first two together form the Old Town, where almost all the monastery churches are located.

The main thing in the monastery is just these temples and the most powerful defensive structures perfectly inscribed in the landscape. The walls and towers are mainly from the 17th century and therefore did not see the enemy, but, perhaps, they could frighten him. This is the largest fortress in Russia built in this genre. Temples of the XVI-XVII centuries. there are more than a dozen in the monastery. Almost all of them do not look quite authentic now - later restructuring affects, from which the roofs were especially damaged. In Soviet times, the original appearance was returned to the church on the Water Gate, the church of Euthymius the Great and partly the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh; from them one can imagine how much more intricate and original the shape of the roofs used to be. The walls of the churches are much better preserved, and it is precisely in this crowd of temples and chambers, with their runners and massive stone architraves, that the charm of the monastery, its architectural value, lies. Probably nowhere else in one place is there such a large “layer” of stylistically homogeneous and at the same time very traditional Russian architecture.

 

Big Assumption Monastery

Before the construction of the New City, this monastery had its own fortifications. The wall overlooking the lake remained just from them and belongs to the 16th century, although it is still very impressive: 5.5 m high and 1.8 m wide. Now the wall is slightly leaning, ready to fall and therefore supported by buttresses. Of the towers from that time, only Svitochnaya (1591) and the mothballed remains of Malaya Merezhennaya have survived. The Khlebennaya and Povarnaya towers were built in the 1630s with high hipped roofs, which were later replaced by iron roofs with octagonal cupolas and spiers.
1  ☆ Holy gates with the gate church of John of the Ladder. 170 rub. The main entrance to the monastery is through a two-span gate built in 1523: a narrow passage for pedestrians, a wide one for passage. From the inside, both spans are painted, and the paintings are original, from 1585, and in the plots and colors, experts see a connection with the frescoes of Dionysius in the nearby Ferapontov Monastery. The church was built over the gates in 1572 and reflects the general Cyrillic trend towards the unity of temples, chambers and walls, which here all the time smoothly merge into each other. Inside the temple, you can see the carved royal gates of the 16th-17th centuries. and the original iconostasis of the same time. At first glance, it does not look impressive, but the icons are genuine, and the design itself is unusual. This is the so-called table iconostasis, where the icons are simply inserted into horizontal boards, forming a continuous "gallery". The church is only open to visitors during the summer. Dec 2020 edit

2 Treasury Chamber. 110 rub. The building to the west of the Holy Doors looks a little awkward, since it consists of two parts: the lower floor of the middle of the 16th century, and the upper one, the so-called “drier” (storage), was built in the second half of the 17th century. Inside is one of the museum ticket offices and the exposition "Ecclesiastical art of the 17th-19th centuries", showing, among other things, a wooden sculpture characteristic of Belozerye. Also of interest is the interior of the upper floor, where mica windows, a brick floor and even wooden beams under the ceiling have been preserved.

3 Monastic cells. 60 rub. The stone cells of the 17th century on the other side of the Holy Doors are distinguished by the complexity and harmony of their decor, the lush architraves are especially good. Inside there are now a conference hall, a library and scientific departments of the museum, and on the first floor there is an exhibition with the interior of a monastic cell of the 17th-18th centuries.

4 Assumption Cathedral. 170 rub. The oldest of the monastic buildings that have come down to us looks like an open nesting doll: in the center is the Assumption Cathedral itself, built in 1497, adjacent to it is a small, but similar as two drops of water, Vladimir Church (1554), and to it, in turn, the Church of Epiphany (1645) - despite the difference of more than 200 years, another copy of the previous two. The cathedral owes such extensions to wealthy people who wanted to see not just a chapel, but a whole temple over their grave. The Vladimir Church was erected for the exiled Vladimir Vorotynsky and provoked fierce criticism from Ivan the Terrible himself, who was indignant at the construction of a temple-tomb for some boyar, while the tomb of Cyril Belozersky remained at that time without its temple. The complex of the cathedral and two "small" churches looks great as a whole, but don't miss the details - entrance portals, stone architraves and a carved frieze, especially finely worked on the cathedral building.
The murals of the Assumption Cathedral were made in 1641 in a bright, colorful style, characteristic of the churches of Rostov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma. The magnificent five-tiered iconostasis was created no earlier than the 18th century, but some of its icons are much older and were painted even before the cathedral itself was built: for example, the “Assumption” of the early 15th century is attributed to Rublev’s brush. These unique monuments of ancient Russian painting are now taken apart by large art museums, only photocopies are placed in the iconostasis. On Sundays and church holidays, divine services are held in the cathedral.

5 Church of Kirill Belozersky. Another extension to the Assumption Cathedral, and this time - baroque. The first church over the tomb of St. Cyril was built in 1585 in the wake of criticism from Ivan the Terrible, but it was built poorly, by the end of the 18th century it was completely dilapidated and was replaced by a new one, which stands out from the general style of the monastery, although it does not contradict it too much. Now the church is functioning, divine services and worship of the main shrine of the monastery - the relics of Cyril Belozersky are regularly performed in it. The remains of the ancient carved iconostasis of the temple were transferred to the Church of John the Baptist, and the lid of Cyril's shrine was transferred to the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.

6  Vvedenskaya Church with a refectory. 220 rub. Perhaps the oldest of the monastic refectories that have come down to us. It was built in 1519 in the style of traditional stone chambers and is accompanied by a small church. Inside there is an exposition "History of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery", which has collected many curious artifacts, including the personal belongings of St. Cyril. On the north side, a kitchen with a free exhibition "Folk Art of Belozerye" is attached to the refectory, and in the basement there is an archaeological exposition "Antiquities of Belozerye", a visit to which will cost an additional 100 rubles.

7 Church of the Archangel Gabriel. Perhaps the most unusual building of the monastery, and it was erected in 1531-34. on a special occasion - in honor of the birth of the heir to the Moscow prince Vasily III, the future Ivan the Terrible. At that time, the “under the bells” style was popular, when the bell tower was elegantly located in the second tier right above the church. The temple was built that way, but as a result of subsequent rebuilding, it looks more gloomy than beautiful, and more like a factory floor or something like that. Adjacent to the church is an equally massive bell tower (1757-61), where the exhibition "The Bell World" is open in the summer; one can also visit the jingle tier.

8 Archimandric's cells. 220 rub. Built in the 17th century, first in a one-story design, but at the end of the same century, the upper tier was erected over the cells - as a result, the building became two-story from the main facade and three-story from the courtyard. Almost every new abbot of the monastery sought to update his residence, as a result, in 1821 the building acquired the features of a provincial Empire style, with a four-column portico and an attic on the main facade. Now one of the most interesting expositions of the museum with unique icons of the 15th century is located here. from the iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral and ancient books.

9 Church of Euthymius the Great. The only hipped-roof church of the monastery was erected by local masons in 1646 and surprisingly well stylized as the temples of the 16th century surrounding it - the same portals, stone architraves, runners, although it also has one original element - a small single-arch belfry, referring to the Pskov-Novgorod architecture. Nearby is the massive building of the Great Hospital Chambers, also from the middle of the 17th century. But the cell building standing next door, later a religious school, was repeatedly rebuilt and now looks very ordinary. The church was the only one where Patriarch Nikon was allowed to pray during his stay in the monastery under strict supervision in 1676-1681.

10 Water gates with the Church of the Transfiguration. As the name implies, these gates lead to the shore of Lake Siverskoye. Above them are two outbuildings (from the east a storeroom, from the west a kalachnaya where ovens were located), between which the Church of the Transfiguration (1595) with an unusual three-domed structure was located. Cyrillic masters generally liked the asymmetric arrangement of domes. Once upon a time, almost every monastery church had a carelessly placed side dome, but only here such a roof was preserved, or rather, was recreated during reconstruction in the 1970s. From the inside, the temple is also unusual, since it has two pillars: compare, for example, with the Assumption Cathedral, where there are four pillars in the spirit of more ancient monuments of Russian architecture. Reducing the number of supports required a redistribution of the load: that is why the domes are shifted to the side, which looks disharmonious from some angles, but is very functional. The iconostasis of the 16th century has been preserved inside. The temple is open to the public during the summer.

 

Small Ivanovsky Monastery

The second and smaller monastery was formed inside the large Kirillo-Belozersky monastery in the middle of the 16th century. Elderly monks lived out their lives here, a forge and two hospitals were located, as well as most of the monastery cemetery of the 17th-20th centuries. All this did not require serious protection, so at first the Ivanovsky Monastery had the weakest walls, although they were also strengthened in the 17th century. Only the Deaf Tower, built in 1599-1600, has survived from those walls. and received its name as the only non-corner and at the same time did not have a passage. From the north, a fortification was added to the walls of the Ivanovsky Monastery - Ostrog, which has not been preserved.

It is curious that in 1397 Cyril and Ferapont dug out their first dugout and erected the first wooden chapel right on the territory of the future Ivanovsky Monastery. The monastery expanded towards the Bolshoi Assumption Monastery only later. Now the territory has been completely transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church, there are no museum expositions on it (although you can walk freely), and both temples are active.

11 Cathedral of John the Baptist. Another church built in 1531-34. in honor of the birth of Vasily III's heir. They were built by the same masters as the Church of the Archangel Gabriel, but if inside there is really a lot in common between the temples, then outside they look different, although both did not escape significant restructuring. Now the Church of John the Baptist seems to be a kind of "generalized" St. Cyril's church with massive windows, a simplified roof and a sitting "hat" dome, and it is painted, unexpectedly, in red.

12 Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The church with a refectory chamber, vaguely reminiscent of Vvedenskaya, is distinguished by the construction “like under the bells”, accommodating a belfry along with the refectory. It was built around 1560, later it was heavily rebuilt, so that even the reconstruction of the Soviet era could not return the temple to its original appearance: if the ringing tier here is from the 16th century, then the dome and buttresses are from the 17th. In the temple there were royal doors of excellent work, which are now exhibited in the Refectory.

13 Place of Cyril's original cell. It is believed that the first dugout of Ferapont and Cyril was located here. Later, a cross was placed on this place, a wooden canopy was erected over it in the 17th century, and another stone canopy over it in the 18th century. However, the cross in it is new - 1994.

14  The wooden chapel of Cyril. A symmetrical stone canopy made in the same style hides the “first chapel of Cyril”, although in reality it is a kind of wooden blockhouse of the 18th century, of no great artistic value. Inside, there were once three crosses, one of which is now on display in the Refectory, the second disappeared somewhere, and the third remained in its place. It is gnawed on the sides, as the pilgrims believed that the cross relieves toothache. You can enter the chapel only on your knees, as it is very low and small.

 

New town

This part of the monastery consists of only fortifications. There have never been serious stone buildings on its territory; walls and towers were supposed to protect the settlement - wooden residential and economic buildings that have not survived to this day. Instead, they are now museum objects: a mill and an old wooden church.

The grandiose walls of the New City are 11 meters high and 7 meters wide. They form three sides of a huge quadrangle and were built in 1653-82, mainly with funds granted by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. There are 4 powerful towers in the corners, and between them there are two “intermediate” and travel towers (Kazanskaya and Kosaya). The walls are three-tiered, with casemates on the first tier and three levels of loopholes of various types. Inside, they face two floors of galleries, where you can walk for 170 rubles. (only in the summer, entrance through the Vologda tower).

15  Vologda tower. Founded in 1656, this is the very first tower of the New City. It is octagonal, with five tiers and reaches 30 meters in height, ending with a watchtower with 8 high windows. This is the only tower in the New City with a rich exterior decoration, reminiscent of the towers of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra built in the same period.

16 Ferapontovskaya tower (Moscow). The tallest tower in the New City is 42 meters. It was erected in 1660, it has six sides in plan, and cannon loopholes are located in a checkerboard pattern along its entire height.

17  Forge tower. Appeared at the final stage of the construction of the fortress in the 1670s. It has 16 faces with a checkered arrangement of loopholes, ends with the sixth shooting tier. It is located on the shore of the lake, and from the water it seems the heaviest, since its walls have a minimal narrowing upwards.

18 Belozerskaya Tower (Bolshaya Merezhennaya). Another tower on the lake. It was built in 1667 on the model of Ferapontovskaya, but it has 16 faces and is one tier lower. It differs from other towers in its curvilinear (almost domed) shape of the roof, which appeared already in the 19th century. Now the tower is slightly tilted, and this asymmetry immediately attracts attention if you look at the monastery from the side.

19  Kazan tower. The main entrance to the monastery and the museum ticket office. The tower was built in 1659 and named after the nearby Kazan Church. Represents a square with a side of 14 meters. The 17-meter roof ends with a spire with a trumpeting angel. Icon cases with brick frames and murals from the 17th century have been preserved above the passage arch. After a recent restoration, it is open to visitors in the summer (with a ticket to the walls of the monastery).

20  Slanting tower. It was built in 1662 as the second entrance tower of the monastery, but, unlike Kazanskaya, the entrance to it was located at an angle to the wall, hence the name. Now the passage through the tower has been blocked, and the tower itself has been significantly rebuilt: for example, the pointed tent was replaced by a figured roof with a spire.

21 Rizopolozhenskaya Church. Wooden church from the village of Borodava on the banks of the Sheksna. It looks very simple, but it immediately inspires respect for its age - 1485, several years older than the Assumption Cathedral. This is the oldest of the wooden Russian churches that have come down to us (only the Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus on Kizhi is comparable in age to it) and an excellent example of how the northern monasteries looked before the construction of stone churches. In 1957, the church was moved to Kirillov and restored; the icons of the late 15th-16th centuries stored in it were included in the collection of the museum-reserve.

22  Wooden mill. A 19th-century windmill-pillar was transported to the monastery from the village of Gorki on the Sheksna River. These were previously widely distributed in the Russian North, but few of them have survived to this day. Inside, the mill equipment is well preserved, in the 1980-1990s. the mill has been restored.

 

In the city

Outside the monastery, the city is of little interest. On the central streets (Gostinodvorskaya, Preobrazhensky, Gagarin and Proletarskaya) you can see fragments of merchant buildings: stone mansions and carved wooden houses, mostly of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. City temples are in a dilapidated state. The Kazan Cathedral and the Church of the Ascension (1798) on the outskirts of the city are better preserved than others - both are in the process of sluggish restoration.

23 Kazan Cathedral, st. Bazarnaya, 3 (next to the main entrance to the monastery). 9:00–17:00. The first parish church of the city, built in stone in 1700 on the site of a wooden church that previously belonged to the monastery. When Kirillov became a county town, the temple was "raised" to the cathedral and at the same time decided to give it a more representative look. In 1825, it was rebuilt in the classicist style, supplemented with a bell tower (not preserved) and a carved iconostasis was installed, also not preserved. Alexander Starov, the son of the famous architect Ivan Starov, the author of the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg and many other iconic buildings of the late 18th century, is considered the author of the project. In the works of his son, there was no longer that innovation and “light”, and now his plan is also violated by the absence of a bell tower, although the main part of the temple still looks very beautiful. Until the 1990s, the building housed a wine shop, and only in November 2018 the church was handed over to believers. Now the cathedral is gradually being repaired with the money of the parishioners.

24 People's House, st. Preobrazhenskogo, 3. A neoclassical two-story building made of red brick, built in 1916 at the expense of the merchant P.A. Simonov. Before the revolution, the Gostiny Dvor, the city government and the Duma were located here. In Soviet times, the building was called the People's House or, more simply, the House of Culture. By the end of the 20th century, it fell into disrepair, and all institutions were taken out of it. In 2014, the house was handed over to the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve, which began its restoration. Now in the halls of the first floor there are temporary exhibitions of the museum (the cost of visiting is 100 rubles), and the repair is still ongoing.

Near the People's House there is a city park with a bust of E.N. Preobrazhensky, a memorial to the Great Patriotic War and a memorial sign in honor of the awarding of Kirillov in 1776 with the status of a city. In 2019, a bench with characters from the cartoon "Just you wait" was installed in the park.

 

What to do

After visiting the monastery, it is worth taking a walk along the shore of Lake Siverskoye. All the most interesting museum expositions are located in the monastery, although if you have the strength, you can visit a couple of museums in the city itself.

Museum of the History of the City of Kirillov, st. Gagarin, 103 (next to the bus station). ☎ +7 (817) 573-15-98. 9:00–18:00. 60 rub. It is located in a wooden one-story house of the end of the 19th century, typical for the Kirilov building of that time. It is impossible to get a complete picture of how the city developed historically in the museum, but you can see the interiors of houses and household items from different eras.

Museum of Evgeny Preobrazhensky, st. Preobrazhensky, 3 (in the building of the People's House). ☎ +7 (817) 573-14-79. Tue–Sat 9:00–18:00. 100 rub. It is located on the first floor of the People's House. Tells about Soviet aviation during the war and local pilots. The main focus of the exposition is on the life of a local native, hero of the Soviet Union E.N. Preobrazhensky - the crew commander during the first bombing of Berlin in the summer of 1941, who after the war held command posts in the aviation of the USSR.

Siversky lake. Kirillov occupies almost the entire northern and eastern shores of Lake Siverskoye, which is 6 kilometers long. The reservoir has a sandy bottom, but after its incorporation into the North Dvina water system, the banks began to swamp. In good weather, you can swim in the lake - the most popular beach is located right at the walls of the monastery: the bottom here is shallow, but the water is quite cool. You can rent a boat or a catamaran offered at recreation centers or by locals along the shores of the lake. There are excellent views of the monastery from the water. Siverskoye Lake is a popular place for fishing, both in summer and winter: you can buy goods and clothes for fishing in local stores or rent at recreation centers.

 

History of Kirillov

In 1397, with the arrival of the Moscow monk Kirill on Lake Siverskoye, a settlement was founded that grew around the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery he had created.

In 1776 the settlement was proclaimed the county town of Kirillov. By the seventies of the 18th century, it had already become a fairly large settlement, with 335 residential buildings.

Kirillov was the center of the most remote north-eastern district of the Novgorod province. The area of the Kirillovsky district was 13078.8 square meters. verst, that is, it was 2.5 times larger than the modern Kirillovsky district. The city of Kirillov had its own coat of arms, approved in 1781: "In the upper part of the shield is the coat of arms of Novgorod. In the lower part there is a riveting tool hung on a wooden tripod on a chain, an instrument used in ancient times instead of bells and two iron hammers placed with it, in a white field as a sign the fact that there is an old noble monastery near this new city. The appearance of the historical part of Kirillov is largely determined by the plan drawn up by Nikolai Checherin and approved by Catherine II in 1777. In the same year, a city and county prison was located in the fortress wall of the monastery.

In 1785, there were 3 forges and 4 mills, 3 salt and 2 wine shops, 4 drinking houses in the city; among the townspeople there were 67 artisans and 33 merchants. The wooden Gostiny Dvor on the Torgovaya Square at that time consisted of more than 150 shops. Goods necessary for the city were brought from Yaroslavl, Vologda, Vesyegonsk. Kirillov merchants traded in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Volga cities in pitch and tar.

According to the 1st general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897, 4306 people lived in Kirillov (only half as many as now), there were 746 residential buildings, of which only 20 were stone and semi-stone.

In 1924 the monastery was closed and a museum was created on its territory.

In 1927, Kirillov became the regional center of the Leningrad region, and since 1937 - the Vologda region.

 


Transportation

How to get there

The nearest major cities are Cherepovets and Vologda, where you can arrive by train, and sometimes even fly by plane from Moscow or St. Petersburg.

By bus
From the Vologda bus station to the Kirillov bus station, bus 5410 runs 5 times a day - travel time 2 hours. 45 min., cost 423 rubles. (December 2020). You can also take a transit bus to Petrozavodsk in Vologda, but it will not stop at the bus station, but at the turn to Kirillov from the A119 highway, from where you will have to get another 15 kilometers to the city by taxi or hitchhiking.
There is also a direct bus from Cherepovets to the Kirillov bus station 5 times a day. Travel time 2 hours 12 minutes, cost 301 rubles. (December 2020). You can take a transit bus to Vytegra in Cherepovets - it also goes through the Kirillov bus station.

1  Kirillov bus station, st. Gagarina, 94. ☎ +7 (817) 573-13-33. 05:30 - 12:00, 13:30 - 16:00, 16:30 - 19:00. An unremarkable two-story brick building with a ticket office and landing area. Located 500 meters from the main entrance to the monastery.

By car
Given the lack of a railway in the city and the rather rare bus service, it is most convenient to travel by car, especially if you want to see the surroundings. Kirillov is located 130 km from Vologda along the A119 Vologda-Medvezhyegorsk highway and 100 km from Cherepovets. The condition of the road from Vologda to Kirillov is excellent - you can get there quickly and without traffic jams.

Traveling from Moscow and St. Petersburg is approximately the same, 600 km each. From Moscow you can get through Yaroslavl and Vologda on a good road. From St. Petersburg via Cherepovets along the A-114 highway.

2 "Lukoil" gas station, st. Preobrazhensky, 47. Around the clock. The largest and most popular gas station in Kirillov with high-quality gasoline, good service, a cafe and a toilet. Located at the entrance to the city from Vologda. In general, there are few filling stations of large federal chains in Kirillov and its environs.

On the ship
From May to September, numerous cruise ships follow the Volga-Baltic river route, making an obligatory stop in Kirillov. Both marinas are located far from the city, so tourists are taken by bus. Excursions can be included in the price of the ticket or offered on board the ship for a fee.

3  Pier "Goritsy". The main pier of Kirillov is located 8 km from the city center. Opened in 1964, since then it has been reconstructed more than once and now it can take up to two dozen ships per day, as well as private yachts. Near the pier are the Goritsky Monastery and the historical and ethnographic complex "Sugorye". You can buy souvenirs on the pier, but the prices are higher than in the city.

4  Pier "Kuzino" (17 km from Kirillov). A new passenger berth opened in 2010 downstream of the Sheksna River due to overload at the Goritsy pier. It accepts part of the cruise ships that previously stopped in Goritsy. From 2012 to 2019, the Sugorye ethnographic complex was located here, which has now moved to Goritsy, and in its place there is an almost similar complex, the Outpost of the Belozersky Princes. A medieval northern settlement of the 11th–13th centuries has been recreated here, you can have lunch, attend theatrical performances, take pictures in princely clothes, and buy souvenirs.

 

City transport

Kirilov is a small town, and it is quite possible to move around on foot. Public transport is mainly represented by suburban buses, which run more on weekdays and infrequently (several times a day). It is more convenient to take a taxi, which usually costs 100 rubles within the city. Taxi aggregators in Kirillov do not work, so you can catch cars in tourist places, look up phone numbers on the Internet or on street poles. The most convenient option for getting around the city and its surroundings is your own car, especially since there are no traffic jams in the city, and parking in tourist places is free.

 

Shopping

1  Souvenir rows (near the Kazan tower of the monastery). Traditional souvenir tents next to the main entrance to the monastery and the parking lot. During the season, stalls with souvenirs can stretch along Bazarnaya Street to the very Vologda Tower. They sell nesting dolls and other souvenirs for foreigners, magnets, wooden items, as well as the usual Vologda linen and lace products. Most of the goods presented here can be bought in other tourist places of the Vologda Oblast, but there are also original items made by local craftsmen.
2 Shop with a bear, st. Preobrazhensky, 2A. 10:00–19:00. One of the city's most popular souvenir shops is located next to the main entrance to the monastery. A wide selection of Vologda souvenirs - from magnets with the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery to Kurakin ceramics. Here you can also buy coffee for the road, ice cream, fresh Vologda sweets (with tasting). The store occupies a miniature house built in 1954.
3  Department store, st. Preobrazhenskogo 5. Mon–Fri 9:00–19:00, Sat 10:00–17:00, Sun 10:00–15:00. A small two-story shopping center, where perhaps the largest selection of non-food products is presented in Kirillov: clothes, shoes, household goods, cosmetics, stationery, etc. Dec 2020 edit
There are no large shopping centers in the city, but there are quite a lot of chain grocery stores: Dixy, Fasol, Magnit, Pyaterochka, Bristol. Nothing works around the clock.

 

Eat

There are no fast food establishments or expensive restaurants in the city. The choice is relatively small - you should not build high expectations for the range and quality of dishes, but you can eat relatively inexpensively.

1   Cafe "Crossroads", st. Lenina, 33. ☎ +7 (817) 573-25-17. Mon–Sat 9:00–17:00. A classic dining room, but with a cozy and modern interior. Pretty tasty and inexpensive. You can eat both inside and on the outdoor veranda.
2  Museum cafe, on the territory of the New Town of the monastery next to the Kazan Tower (main entrance). 10:00–16:00. Operates only in summer. Focused on tourists, so the prices are not the lowest, you can dine for 500 rubles.
3  Restaurant "Siversky", st. Uritsky, 8. ☎ +7 (817) 573-13-17. 7:30–22:00. Despite the loud name, it is an ordinary provincial cafe both in terms of prices and interiors. The price/quality ratio is good. Located on the first floor of the hotel "Rus".
4 Restaurant "Rus", st. Uritsky, 10. ☎ +7 (817) 573-13-11. Mon–Thurs 12:00–22:00, Fri–Sat 12:00–2:00, Sun 12:00–23:00. A provincial restaurant with slightly higher prices than the neighboring Siversky, while the quality of food and the interior are not too different from a regular cafe. The most status of the city institutions.
5  Restaurant "Pir Mountain"  , st. Gostinodvorskaya, 7. ☎ +7 (964) 671-49-22. 10:00–24:00, Fri-Sat: until 4:00. Conveniently located near the entrance to the monastery. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. it works as a self-service canteen - here you can have a quick and hearty lunch. In the evenings, the dining room turns into an expensive restaurant with music and dancing - a branch of the Vologda institution of the same name.
6  Sushi Go  , st. Preobrazhenskogo, 35 (in the shopping center "Ideas for Home"). ☎ +7 (921) 050-06-89. 11:00–22:00. Sushi bar with prices slightly lower than in Moscow.

In addition to all of the above, you should pay attention to local products - the archaic lemonade "From Kirillov" in half-liter glass bottles and donuts, which are sold in a grocery store opposite the department store.

 

Night life

There are no independent nightclubs and bars in the city, but you can drink and dance in the restaurants "Rus" and "Pir Goroy" - there are bar counters and a dance floor, on Friday and Saturday the establishments are open until late at night. Also, a disco can be organized in Gostinodvorsky Park (near the monastery), where the Beryozka cafe is open until 6 am on weekends, although it was temporarily closed in 2020.

 

Hotels

In the city
1 Hotel "Rus", st. Uritsky, 8. ☎ +7 (817) 573-15-39. Soviet-built hotel with a recent cosmetic overhaul, but old appliances. For 1900 rubles. you can rent a budget double room of 8 sq. m. with shared toilet and shower, without breakfast. For 3300 rubles. the room will be twice as large, with its own bathroom and breakfast. Free parking, Wi-Fi. On the ground floor there is a restaurant "Siverskiy". Conveniently located 700 meters from the entrance to the monastery.
2  Guest house "Lumanskaya Zavod"  , st. Gagarin, 110. ☎ +7 (931) 508-44-06. A mini-hotel in a three-story brick house, which until recently was the Luman shopping center. The hotel has a dining room with home cooking, Wi-Fi, Russian bath. Budget double room for two costs 1000 rubles. with breakfast included, but the bathroom will be shared, and a room with a private bathroom will cost twice as much. There are also inexpensive rooms for 3-4 people. Upon check-in, they may require a deposit of 1000 rubles, guarded parking is paid, but you can easily find a place nearby for free. The entrance to the monastery is less than 500 m.
3  Hotel Korona  , st. Preobrazhensky, 33. ☎ +7 (931) 509-59-54. New hotel with small rooms, fresh renovation and modern furniture. Economy double room with a shared shower and toilet for two rooms will cost 1400 rubles. At the same time, a standard with its own bathroom will cost a little more - 1750 rubles. Each room has free Wi-Fi and an LCD TV. On the ground floor there is a bar for everyone - from 12:00 to 2:00. You can order the services of a sauna with a swimming pool. The hotel is located 1 km from the monastery next to the Ascension Church of the end of the 18th century. Good value for money, but there are only seven rooms in the hotel.
4  Hotel "Phoenix"  , st. Gagarin, 92A (opposite the bus station). ☎ +7 (921) 831-08-38. 🕑 8:00–22:00. Mini-hotel for 9 rooms at a price of 1400 to 2700 rubles. Each room has its own toilet, shower, refrigerator, kettle and free Wi-Fi. Rooms are designed for 2 or 3 people, and the price mainly depends on the size of the rooms. Furniture and appliances are not the most modern, but not old either. The hotel is located on the shores of Lake Siverskoye, 300 meters from the monastery, there is free parking. You can go to the bathhouse, rent a boat, fishing equipment or a bicycle.
5  Guest house "Pilgrim's Shelter"  , st. Paryshkinskaya, 29. ☎ +7 (817) 573-27-81. Two-storey wooden house of a local priest, 800 meters from the monastery. Designed for up to 6 people, there is a fireplace room. Russian bath services and excursions are offered. The prices are democratic, there is no fixed price list - depending on the season and the number of guests, there are discounts for pilgrims and large families.
6  Guest house "In the city of Kirillov"  , st. Gagarina, 57. ☎ +7 (921) 130-42-96. Two-story wooden house. The rooms are spacious, there is Wi-Fi, the furniture and appliances are good, although not the newest. The prices are democratic. There are 6 rooms in total: two, three and four-bed rooms - a toilet and a shower on the floor, but there are several of them. There is one suite with its own bathroom. You can order two meals a day: breakfast and dinner delivered to your room. There is a bath. Located in the Sloboda district, 1.5 km from the monastery. Lots of positive feedback.

In the country
7  Recreation house "At the lake"  , per. Krasnoslobodsky, 3 (on the edge of the city, 4 km south of the monastery). ☎ +7 (921) 722-16-52. Two cottages with a kitchen on the shores of Lake Siverskoye. Prices are highly dependent on the time of year. In winter, half of one cottage for three people can be rented for 2700 rubles. A whole cottage for ten people costs 10,000 rubles. In summer the prices are higher. The holiday home has a sauna, you can rent bicycles or skis.
8  Recreation center "Tourist village Ecotel"  , st. Kalacheva, 85 (on the edge of the city, 5 km south of the monastery). ☎ +7 (921) 530-77-00. 8:00–18:00. Located on the shores of Siversky Lake, there is a beach. Includes the main building, where you can rent a double room from 2000 rubles, and cottages. Rent cottages for 2-3 people from 4000 rubles for a Swedish house and from 5000 rubles. for the Russian hut. The houses have all the amenities and appliances, in Russian huts there is also a kitchen. On the territory of the base there is a cafe, a living corner, rental of boats, bicycles, skis.
9  Recreation center "Vasilki"  , village of Shidero, st. Belozerskaya, 27 (4 km towards Goritsy). ☎ +7 (960) 290-63-00. The base consists of comfortable two-storey wooden cottages. You can rent as a whole house - from 3000 rubles. for a cottage, and separate rooms for 1-6 people, from 600 rubles. from a person. Near the base of the lake Egorievskoe, where you can swim and fish. On the territory there is a restaurant, a sauna, houses for barbecue.
10  Recreation center "Severland", Shidyero village (4 km from the monastery on the shore of Lake Yegoryevskoye). ☎ +7 (921) 722-50-90. Two log houses with a kitchen and appliances for up to 8 people each. Russian bath, rental of boats and catamarans, snowmobiles, cheesecakes. Renting a cottage as a whole will cost 4500 rubles. (one day more)
11  Recreation center "12 months"  , village of Bozino (southwestern shore of Lake Siverskoye, 17 km from the monastery, you have to go around the north of the lake, since there is no bridge across the south). ☎ +7 (953) 504-42-68. 11 comfortable cottages for 7-12 people. Prices from 7000 rubles. for a 7-bed house with 4 rooms, a kitchen and all necessary equipment. On the territory there is a cafe, a bathhouse, billiards, a pier for boats and boats.

You can also stay in the private sector. There are also hotels and guest houses of different levels of comfort around Lake Siverskoye, in the village of Ferapontovo and on the territory of the Russian North National Park.

 

Connection

All federal mobile operators work: MTS, Beeline, Megafon, Tele 2 and Yota - in the city and popular tourist areas, coverage is at least 3G. But outside of populated areas, communication can be much worse.

Post office, st. Proletarskaya, 5. Mon–Fri 8:00–20:00, Sat 9:00–18:00, break: 13:00–14:00. Post office in the center of Kirillov. Index 161100.

 

Precautionary measures

The town is small and quite safe, in the summer there are many foreigners in the monastery. But everyone wants to make money on tourists, including the police. Law enforcement authorities pay special attention to such minor violations as crossing the road outside the pedestrian crossing (even in the absence of cars) or improper parking of the car, and are happy to issue fines for them. Therefore, you should not relax and violate the rules of the road, especially in front of the police.