Meshchovsk is a regional center in the Kaluga region, located 85 km
southwest of Kaluga.
Meshchovsk is an ancient Russian city that
arose either in the 13th or 15th centuries. Almost no pre-revolutionary
civil architecture has survived in the city, but there are plenty of
interesting religious buildings there.
St. George Meshchovsky Monastery. Founded presumably at the end of
the 15th century. The history of the monastery is closely connected with
Evdokia Lopukhina (the first wife of Peter I) and Evdokia Streshneva
(the second wife of Tsar Michael)
Church in honor of the Annunciation
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, st. Engelsa, 4. Built in 1678-1696, rebuilt
in the middle of the 19th century. After the revolution it was closed
and reopened in 1942. The ancient paintings have been partially
preserved.
Novo-Annunciation Cathedral, st. Revolutions no. 36. Built
in 1829-1854 in the style of classicism. After the revolution it was
closed and used as a warehouse. Reopened since 1999.
Museum of the
Three Queens, st. Kachurina, 2. 250 rub. The small museum is dedicated
to the wife of Mikhail Romanov Evdokia Streshneva, the mother of Peter
the Great Natalya Naryshkina and the wife of Peter the Great Evdokia
Lopukhina. There is also an archaeological exhibition dedicated to the
ancient Vyatichi city of Serensk, located on the territory of the
Meshchovo district edit
By train
The nearest railway station to Meshchovsk is Kudrinskaya,
located 20 km from the city. Electric trains Kaluga - Sukhinichi stop
there (5 pairs per day). There is a bus from Kudrinskaya to Meshchovsk,
but its schedule is not consistent with the train schedule.
By
car
From Moscow or Kaluga, take the M-3 highway until you reach the
Meshchovsk turnoff, from there it’s another 13 km along the local road.
By bus
Bus station. Buses from Kaluga, Moscow and Sukhinichi go
to Meshchovsk several times a day. You can buy tickets for buses from
Moscow and Kaluga online, but return tickets only at the bus station..
Meshchovsk is a small town. There is no internal transport there. But if you really need it, there are private taxi drivers in the city, whose phone numbers can be found at the hotel.
Cheap
1 Hotel of the St. George Meshchovsky Monastery, pl.
Lenina, 2. ☎ +7 (48446) 9-22-06.
Average cost
2 Hotel Inn,
Revolution Ave., 27. ☎ +7 (48446) 9-24-01. from 1700 rub. per room.
Modern cozy hotel with all amenities
According to the Degree Book, Meshchovsk existed back in the 13th
century as the center of one of the destinies of the Tarusa
principality, but was first mentioned in chronicles in the 15th century
- under the names Mezschevsk, Mezetsk, Mezechesk, Meshchersk. According
to other sources, the date of the first mention of the city in
historical materials is 1238. In the 14th century it became part of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania; according to the truce of 1503, it went to the
Moscow principality, and its rulers, the princes of Mezetsky, were
allowed to serve “and with their fatherland, whoever they want.”
In 1584, the Crimeans and Nogais greatly devastated the surroundings of
Meshchovsk, but could not take the city itself, fortified with a wooden
wall with six towers. Under Vasily Shuisky, Meshchovsk successfully
resisted the attack of the impostor, but his district was constantly
ravaged by rebels. In the first years of the reign of Mikhail
Feodorovich, the Poles attacked him more than once and plundered the
surrounding area, and in 1617 they even captured the city itself. During
the Smolensk War, the fortress in Meshchovsk was rebuilt under the
leadership of Evfimy Feodorovich Myshetsky.
In 1708, Meshchovsk
was assigned to the Smolensk province, in 1719 - to the Kaluga province
of the Moscow province. Since 1776, Meshchovsk has been a district town
of the Meshchovsky district of the Kaluga province.
Since 1929,
the city has been the regional center of the Meshchovsky district of the
Sukhinichi district of the Western region (since 1944 - Kaluga region).
Severely damaged during the Great Patriotic War. The library collection
of the Meshchovo District Library was saved during the war years by the
efforts of librarians N.N. Petukhova and A.N. Panshina.