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Hotels, motels and where to sleep
Restaurant, taverns and where to eat
Smolensk is a city in western Russia, the
administrative, industrial and cultural center of the Smolensk
region. This is one of the oldest cities in Russia (the first
chronicle mention refers to the year 863). It bears the title of
“Hero City” (since May 6, 1985), and was awarded the Order of Lenin
and the Order of the Patriotic War, I Degree, and the Gold Star
Medal.
In the history of Russia, it is known as the “shield
city” and the “key city”, which for many centuries served as a
reliable defense of Moscow, protecting it from the encroachments of
a number of European countries. In the Time of Troubles, thanks to
the courage and dedication of the residents of Smolensk, they
managed to detain a large army of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Sigismund III. The resilience and patriotism of the Smolensk
citizens, who withstood the siege in the fortress for 20 months,
served as an example for the peasant revolts of the Second Militia
led by Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky against the invaders.
The city is located 378 km (along the highway - 410 km)
south-west of Moscow in the upper reaches of the Dnieper, being the
most distant administrative center of the region from Moscow,
directly bordering the capital region. It has an advantageous
geographical position on the routes from Moscow to Belarus, the
Baltic States, and the countries of Central and Western Europe. The
city extends from west to east for 25 km and from north to south for
15 km. Its territory is 166.35 km². Population - 330,025 people.
(2018). According to the census of 2010 - 54th place in Russia.
The station and a number of attractions are located on the right bank of the Dnieper, and the Moscow Highway, the highway connecting Moscow with Minsk, also runs there. The Kremlin and the city center are on the left bank. The Kremlin itself occupies a huge space, inside of which there are churches, monasteries, residential buildings (including modern multi-story ones), a lot of other buildings, and there are also empty spaces. The right bank of the Dnieper is flat, and the left bank is high, so when you move around inside the Kremlin, it is easy to lose orientation and end up in the wrong place. The main street rising from the Dnieper, crossing the Kremlin and entering the city center is Bolshaya Sovetskaya. Dzerzhinsky Street, rising to the center east of the Kremlin, with its northern extension leads to the station. The historical part of the city is quite small, and you can get around it all on foot. The Svirskaya Church is located in the suburbs down the Dnieper, but it is also quite possible to reach it on foot from the center.
Smolensk is a fairly large city, and it is almost impossible to
get around it all in a day, much less drive around the surrounding
area. Due to transport conditions (unless you are in your own car),
you may have less than a day. In this situation, you need to
highlight and look at the most important thing: at least one section
of the fortress wall with towers (most likely you won’t have time
for the entire wall), three pre-Mongol churches (Peter and Paul on
Gorodyanka, Michael the Archangel, also known as Svirskaya, and St.
John the Evangelist - all are located in the vicinity of the
station) and Cathedral Hill with the Assumption Cathedral. Look also
at the pre-revolutionary buildings in the area of Lenin and Glinka
streets, and at least two or three baroque churches painted in
bright colors, of which there are quite a lot in Smolensk (for
example, St. George's Church and the Transfiguration Cathedral of
the Avraamievsky Monastery). If you want to see a museum, and you
are generally interested in sculpture, go to the first-class Sergei
Konenkov Museum. Finally, if you have more than one day, take a look
at the Surroundings section: without visiting the Katyn memorial and
examining the modernist monuments of Flenovo (Talashkino), the
impression of the Smolensk region can hardly be complete.
✦ Smolensk fortress wall. The fortress, sometimes called the
Smolensk Kremlin, is a huge area on the left bank of the Dnieper,
within which most of the city center is located. Actually, this is
just a part of the city, and it would be impossible to notice that
there was once some kind of fortress in Smolensk, if not for the
fortress wall. Smolensk constantly participated in hostilities, and
therefore was fortified throughout its history. The existing brick
wall was built in place of a wooden one from 1596 to 1602. Tsar
Boris Godunov was personally present at its laying, and the
construction work was led by the architect Fyodor Kon, who had
previously built the wall of the White City in Moscow (there was
even a monument to him in Smolensk). During the construction of the
Smolensk Kremlin, any other stone construction in Russia was
prohibited. The result was a fortress measuring approximately one
and a half by two kilometers, with 38 towers, of which 17 have
survived to this day. In terms of size, this is the fourth Russian
fortress after Pskov, as well as White City and Kitay-Gorod in
Moscow. In essence, this is a fortress, and not a Kremlin - in the
Middle Ages it covered the entire city, and even now the center of
Smolensk easily fits within the fortress walls. Three fragments have
survived from them: the northern one with three towers along the
Dnieper, the southwestern one with five (the very center of
Smolensk) and the southeastern one with nine towers.
Architecturally, they are similar to the same Nizhny Novgorod
Kremlin, but the surroundings in Smolensk are completely different:
sometimes the fortress wall passes through private residential areas
and in some places it looks like a picturesque ruin.
The station area is not the center of Smolensk and never has been,
but nevertheless all the most ancient monuments are located here.
1 Church of Saints Peter and Paul on Gorodyanka, st. Kashena, 20
(near the pedestrian bridge leading to the station). This is most likely
the oldest of the three pre-Mongol churches in Smolensk, and certainly
the most similar to the pre-Mongol church. The time of construction of
the Peter and Paul Church is unknown; two options are offered: either
the mid-12th century or the 1170s. It’s not very clear why it was built
- now the church is located near the station and practically in the city
center, but at the time of construction it was quite far from Smolensk.
At that time they loved to build cross-domed churches, and this church
is no exception, only it was built not of white stone, like the
contemporary churches of Vladimir and Novgorod, but of red brick.
Naturally, it did not always have this appearance, and over 850 years it
was rebuilt many times beyond recognition, but as a result of the
restoration of the 1950s it acquired its current and presumably original
appearance.
2 Church of St. Barbara (1753-1757), st. Kashena, 20A
(next to the Church of Peter and Paul). A two-story church with a tented
bell tower attached to it (which is already a rather unusual solution
for the second half of the 18th century) would look good somewhere in
the Smolensk outback, but it loses greatly next to the Peter and Paul
Church. On the other hand, this proximity means that, most likely, you
will not miss it.
3 Upper St. George Church, st. Tolmacheva, 2A
(north of the station). The former cemetery church was built in 1810 in
the then usual classicism style, which is clearly visible from it.
Three-story, painted green. Despite the abundance of classicist churches
that have come down to us, it was not made according to a standard
design and is quite attractive. The only drawback is the location is
quite far from the city center, about a ten minute walk from the station
in the opposite direction to the center, but if you have half an hour
waiting for the train, go and don’t be lazy.
4 Church of the
Archangel Michael (Svirskaya) , Parkovaya st. 4A. This church is located
about twenty minutes walk from the center down the Dnieper. It was built
in the 1180s or 1190s and has been extensively rebuilt since then,
including losing all of its interior decoration. Apparently, this was
the prince’s country residence. The church has a very unusual shape,
vertical. These were not built in the 12th century. In addition, it is
built differently than most churches of that time, and stands on four
pillars. Apparently, this is the next stage in the development of
ancient Russian architecture from a single-domed cross-domed church to
something more complex, but other similar churches have not survived.
The gate with a bell tower in the fence was built in the 18th century.
5 Church of St. John the Evangelist , intersection of st. Bolshaya
Krasnoflotskaya and Dzerzhinsky (from the station strictly south and
cross the Dnieper). The church was built during the reign of the
Smolensk prince Roman Rostislavich, most likely in the 1170s. It was
rebuilt many times, the first time by the Poles in 1611, when the church
was briefly converted into a Catholic church. As a result, she lost
almost all of her frescoes (a few fragments survived) and significantly
changed her appearance. Although now, as in the 12th century, it is a
single-pillar, single-domed temple, its age is noticeable only on the
eastern side (farthest from Dzerzhinsky Street), where the outer wall is
best preserved. The dome was completely rebuilt in the 18th century.
6 DK of railway workers, Vitebsk highway, 10 (North of the station).
1958, a typical house of culture in the Stalinist Baroque style, with
columns and other attributes.
7 Bayonet for the glory of Russian
weapons. An unusual bayonet monument in honor of the soldiers of the
16th Army who defended Smolensk in July 1941.
Bolshaya Sovetskaya Street climbs steeply from the banks of the
Dnieper to Victory Square, crossing the Smolensk Fortress from north to
south. This is one of the oldest and, perhaps, the most colorful streets
of Smolensk: from its bends there are wonderful views of the right bank
and Cathedral Mountain, which is located on the left bank of the
Dnieper, almost at the beginning of Bolshaya Sovetskaya Street, but much
higher than the river, so you need to climb here up a rather long and
steep staircase. Historically, the residence of the Smolensk bishop was
located on Cathedral Hill, marked by several churches. Sobornaya Gora is
one of the oldest inhabited places in Smolensk, and Sobornaya Gora
Street is the oldest surviving street in the city.
8 Assumption
Cathedral, st. Sobornaya Gora, 5. Assumption Cathedral is the largest
and most noticeable, due to its location, church in Smolensk. Moreover,
Cathedral Hill on the left bank of the Dnieper is such an obvious place
that a cathedral has stood here since at least the 12th century. The old
cathedral was destroyed during the Time of Troubles, and in 1677
construction began on a new one in the Baroque style. In the 1760s and
1770s, the cathedral was significantly rebuilt, at the same time a bell
tower was built and a staircase to the cathedral was built. It is a
cubic temple with five small domes, painted green. The cathedral is the
central part of the Cathedral Hill ensemble, which, in addition to it
and the bell tower, includes three more churches.
9 Epiphany
Cathedral (Cathedral Hill). The Epiphany Cathedral was built in the
1780s in the classicist style, also on the site of a dismantled one. It
is smaller than Uspensky, stretches from east to west and has one dome.
It is surrounded by the same fence as the Assumption Cathedral and,
moreover, is painted the same green color.
10 Church of John the
Baptist (Cathedral Hill). The cubic church of John the Baptist with a
small dome was built in 1703, but its upper part has been rebuilt
several times since then.
11 Annunciation Church, st. Sobornaya
Gora, 9. Like the Church of John the Baptist, the Church of the
Annunciation (1776) is also cubic with a small dome, and also in the
Baroque style. Both are painted yellow.
12 Trinity Monastery, st. B.
Sovetskaya, 9. If you go up Bolshaya Sovetskaya from the Dnieper, you
will see the Trinity Monastery on the left, hidden behind a fence and
painted pink. However, both churches of the monastery are clearly
visible from behind the fence. The monastery was originally founded as a
Uniate monastery, in 1669 it was reconsecrated as Orthodox, and its
oldest building - the two-story Trinity Cathedral - was built in the
1670s, like everything around it, in the Baroque style. The Church of
Anna's Conception, much smaller than the cathedral, was built in 1767
and, the only one in the monastery, is a transition from Baroque to
Classicism, and the bell tower of the monastery (the first half of the
18th century) as a result of the redevelopment of the city ended up
outside the wall and even on the other (western) side Bolshaya
Sovetskaya Street. The temples and the fence of the monastery on the
side of Bolshaya Sovetskaya are clearly dirty with exhaust fumes, but
this does not spoil the impression very much.
13 House with a clock,
st. Bolshaya Sovetskaya, 16/17. At the end of the 19th century there was
a store here, later the European Hotel. During the war the house was
badly damaged, the clock was destroyed. Then restored.
14 Monument
to Alexander Tvardovsky and Vasily Terkin , pl. Pobeda (Smirnov Square).
If there are several monuments to Tvardovsky in Russia, then his hero is
immortalized only in Smolensk, and together with the poet himself, to
whom Tyorkin enthusiastically tells something. The monument is
incredibly touching, perfectly corresponding to the folk spirit of
“Vasily Tyorkin”. It stands in the very center of the city, being, in a
sense, the main and certainly the most famous Smolensk monument - in
contrast to the more boring and official monument to Kutuzov at the
beginning of the same Bolshaya Sovetskaya.
To the west of Bolshaya Sovetskaya Street, the most ceremonial of the
historical districts of Smolensk begins. There are fewer old churches
here, but there are many gardens, parks, monuments and pre-revolutionary
buildings.
15 Southwestern section of the wall. This is the most
cultivated section of the wall - on both sides there are memorials and
parks, where there are always a lot of people, in addition, it is
closest to the center of Smolensk. The quadrangular Mokhovaya Tower with
two adjacent sections of the wall stands separately, east of Bolshaya
Sovetskaya Street. Around it there is the former Sosnovsky Garden, now
Pioneer Park, a fairly large green space bounded by Barclay de Tolly,
Tenisheva and Isakovsky streets. The park contains a monument and mass
grave for children killed in concentration camps (known as the Scorched
Flower). The so-called Sheinov Bastion, an earthen fortification built
by the Poles in 1632-1634 during the siege of Smolensk by the Russian
army under the command of Shein, has also been preserved. The Russians
managed to destroy the Faceted Tower that stood here and thus create a
breach in the wall, but thanks to the bastion the Poles withstood the
siege. Even further to the west there are four towers - Donets,
Gromovaya, Bubleika and Kopytenskaya, and between Gromovaya and Bubleika
there is a gap in the wall. The four-tier Thunder Tower houses the
Smolensk - Shield of Russia museum, dedicated to the military history of
Smolensk. Nearby is a monument to Fyodor Kon, the architect of the
fortress. On the outside of the wall there is a Square in memory of
heroes with an eternal flame (opposite the Donets Tower), which then
turns into the Lopatinsky Garden.
16 Square of Memory of
Heroes (near the spinning wall, near the Donets Tower). Some of the
monuments in the park from Soviet times are the Eternal Flame, the
necropolis near the fortress wall and the Alley of Hero Cities. Among
others, Mikhail Egorov is buried in the necropolis, who, together with
Kantaria, hoisted the banner over the Reichstag in 1945. The remaining
monuments are dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812. The monument to
the heroes of the Patriotic War is popularly known as the “Monument with
Eagles,” although its official name, which coincides with the
inscription, is “Grateful Russia to the Heroes of 1812.” The monument
was erected for the centenary of the war, sculptor Stepan Nadolsky.
Busts of commanders (Kutuzov, Barclay de Tolly, Bagration, Raevsky,
Neverovsky, Dokhturov and Olenin), as well as a monument to partisans,
were erected in Soviet times, with the exception of the bust of Kutuzov,
which has also stood here since 1912.
17 Lopatinsky garden. It was
defeated in 1874 by order of Governor Alexander Lopatin on the site of
the former Royal Fortress, built by the Poles in the 17th century.
Initially it was planned as a landscape park (the Bridge of Sighs across
the former moat was preserved), but over time it turned into a standard
provincial cultural park with all sorts of amusements. The most
interesting thing here is the Royal Bastion, the preserved earthen
ramparts of the Polish fortress. On them there is a monument in honor of
the Battle of Smolensk on August 4-5, 1812 (sculptor Antonio Adamini)
and a monument to the Sofia Regiment (Boris Tsapenko). Both were staged
for the centenary of the Patriotic War in 1912.
18 Blonje City
Garden (Garden named after M.I. Glinka) , st. Lenin. It is located
inside the fortress wall and was destroyed in 1880. The garden has a
square shape and is bounded by Lenin, Glinka, Communist and October
Revolution streets. In addition to the fact that this is the oldest
public garden in Smolensk, it is remarkable for two more monuments. The
monument to composer Mikhail Glinka was unveiled in 1885, sculptor
Alexander von Bock. This is one of the first public monuments in Russia;
money for it was collected by subscription. After the war, a bronze
statue of a deer, brought from Germany, was placed in the garden. It was
originally made by the sculptor Richard Friese at the beginning of the
20th century for the hunting castle of Wilhelm II in Rominten in East
Prussia, and then at some point ended up at Goering's dacha, where it
was requisitioned by the Soviet Army in 1945. The name of the garden
does not come from a surname, as it might seem, but means “outskirts”.
19 Smolensk Administration Building (City Hall, City Council), st.
October Revolution, 1. The building was built in 1908 in the
neoclassical style according to the design of Fyodor Shekhtel.
20 Ascension Monastery, st. Konenkova. The monastery was founded in the
17th century (nothing has survived from this time), is located in the
very center of the city and consists of three churches standing next to
each other, there is not even a closed fence. The cells have not
survived, and the monastery is not active. The largest church, the
Ascension Cathedral, was built in the 1690s, believed to be in the
Baroque style. It has a rather complex composition - the cathedral
itself is three-story and cubic, with a small dome, like other Smolensk
baroque churches. On the eastern side, an altar part, clearly visible
from the outside, is attached to the cube, and on the western side, with
the help of a two-story refectory, it is connected to a later bell
tower. Unlike most Smolensk churches, the cathedral is plastered, but
not painted, and its walls are white. Attached to the cathedral from the
north is the Church of Our Lady of Akhtyrskaya, painted poisonous green.
The church was built in 1830 in the late classicist style and is not
particularly interesting. The third church of the monastery, Catherine
(1764-1765, Baroque), is very small and also attached to the cathedral.
It is not visible from the street; you need to go through the arch to
the courtyard. The church is active.
21 Engelhardt House, st.
Glinka, 4. Nowadays the wedding palace. Built in 1879 according to the
design of the architect Yulian Konoplyansky for the Smolensk mayor
Alexander Engelhardt in the eclectic style as a Baroque stylization.
22 Phoenix Chess Club (former Lutheran Church), st. Lenina, 12. The
church building was built in 1859 and consecrated in 1860. The
parishioners were Germans living in Smolensk. Because of the church, the
street was called Kirochnaya for sixty-five years (before that Blonnaya,
after Lenin).
23 Administration building of the Smolensk region
(House of Soviets), pl. Lenina, 1. Built in 1932 according to the design
of the architect Sofia Ilyinskaya, in the then usual constructivist
style. Ilyinskaya was shot in 1942 in Moscow for counter-revolutionary
agitation, and from 1949 to 1952 the building was for some reason
converted into Stalinist baroque, and now it stands out little from
hundreds of similar buildings in other cities of the country.
24 Building of the former Noble Duma, st. Kommunisticheskaya, 6. The
building was erected in 1886 and has been extensively rebuilt since
then. The tower built into the building was originally a fire tower.
25 House with lions, st. Kommunisticheskaya, 5. Formally, the “House
named after the heroes of the Iron Stream,” the house is a monument to
constructivist architecture of the 1930s. At the entrance there are two
lion statues. The house has been literally falling apart lately, and
renovations could begin at any time (the lion statues could be removed
before the renovations are completed).
26 Art school (former house
of the governor of the Smolensk province), st. October Revolution, 8.
1781, the house was originally built in the style of Baroque, which was
already going out of fashion, but in the 19th century it was rebuilt in
the style of classicism, in particular, the third floor was completed. A
massive rectangular building without any frills.
27 House-commune,
st. Konenkova, 9a (in the depths of the block bounded by Konenkova,
Przhevalsky and Voykova streets). The seven-story house on the slope of
Resurrection Mountain was built in 1931-33 according to the design of
the architect Wutke, named after the Paris Commune. A monument of
constructivist architecture, the first constructivist building in
Smolensk. The building is now abandoned, since it is impossible to use
it as a residential building in modern times: it has no water supply and
sewerage, as well as elevators. The architect expected that large
families would live in the building. Actually, this is what happened
until the 1980s. There is a staircase in the center of the building (now
in disrepair), and all apartments open directly onto it. How long the
house will stand, and what will happen to it, is still unclear. Most
likely, according to Russian traditions of treating architectural
monuments, they will be demolished.
The eastern half of the Smolensk fortress is more like a suburb or
even a village: the city here somehow ends, giving way to one-story,
mostly wooden houses and narrow winding streets.
28 Southeastern
section of the wall. The longest and best-preserved section of the wall
is also remarkable because it runs through some kind of rural landscape,
among one-story buildings. It starts in the north from the Veselukha
tower, standing slightly away from the Dnieper. To the south of it there
are successively the Pozdnyakov, Orel, Avraamievskaya and Zaaltarnaya
towers. They are all abandoned. From Zaaltarnaya the wall turns to the
southeast, where the Voronin, Dolgochevskaya, Zimbulka and Nikolskaya
towers stand. Behind Nikolskaya this section of the wall ends. These
towers are also abandoned, except for Nikolskaya, which houses the
Smolensk Flax Museum. Nikolskaya Tower is a travel pass. The through
passage through it is closed, but you can go up and look inside. An arch
was broken into the wall near the tower in 1898-1900, through which a
tram ran since 1901 (removed in the 2000s).
29 Abrahami Monastery ,
st. Marshala Zhukova, 22. This monastery is located in the eastern part
of the city center near (inside) the wall. Founded in the 13th century
by Abraham, hence the name, but the oldest surviving buildings date back
to the 18th century. This is, first of all, the Transfiguration
Cathedral (1755), three-story and white. The cathedral is richly
decorated on the outside and is closest in style to Ukrainian Baroque.
The rector's house (1770s) and the seminary building (second half of the
18th century) have also been preserved. Both buildings are brick and
plastered; fragments of the external decor have been preserved. The
monastery is active.
30 George Church, st. Furmanova. The church is
conveniently located inside the wall, in the eastern part of the old
city, in the middle of single-story buildings on steep hills. Built in
1782 in Baroque style, now plastered and painted red. A three-story
building with a large dome. The bell tower was added later, in 1826.
31 Pokrovskaya Church, st. Timiryazeva, 5. Located on the inside of the
wall near the Veselukha tower. The church was built in the classicist
style (1789-1794) and has a rather complex composition, plastered and
painted green.
32 Spasskaya Church, st. Revolutionary Military
Council, 13. Large church in the Baroque style (1766-1768). The standard
composition for this style is a two-story quadrangle connected by a
refectory with a bell tower. The bell tower is missing several upper
tiers, which were once lost. The church is not functioning and needs
restoration.
33 Northern section of the wall. The shortest, but it greatly
benefits from the fact that it overlooks the Dnieper. Its best views
open from the right bank. There are three towers on the site. The
westernmost of them, Pyatnitskaya, is adjacent to sections of the wall
on both sides. The western one is very small, and the eastern one goes
to Bolshaya Sovetskaya Street, which forms a gap in the wall. The
Pyatnitskaya Tower was blown up in 1812 by retreating Napoleonic troops
and rebuilt in the Empire style. For a long time it served as a church
(the Church of Tikhon of Zadonsk), and now it houses a vodka museum and
a restaurant. The Pyatnitskaya tower is plastered and stands out
noticeably against the background of the red brick wall. To the east of
Bolshaya Sovetskaya the wall goes to the heavily destroyed Volkova
Tower, and along the road the Dnieper Gate with the Church of Hodegetria
from 1793, also Empire style and also plastered, is built into the wall.
Finally, even higher along the Dnieper there is a separate Kostyrev
Tower, which was dismantled “due to disrepair” in 1833, and then
restored in 1837 as a stylization.
34 Odigitrievskaya Church at the
Dnieper Gate (Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God), st. Soboleva. The
church is located in the Dnieper Gate of the fortress wall (1811-12) and
once contained an icon of Our Lady of Smolensk. After the Great
Patriotic War, passage through the gate was closed, and now it is also
physically impossible, since the level of Sobolev Street (which the
church faces from the inside of the wall) has been raised. The
Odigitrievskaya Church was built in the classicism style usual for that
time, is distinguished by a variety of forms and looks wonderful from
the other bank of the Dnieper.
35 Church of Tikhon of Zadonsk, st.
Student. It is located in the Pyatnitskaya Church of the fortress wall
and until 1862 served as a prison church.
36 Resurrection Church,
st. Voikova. A nice baroque church (1765), the main volume of which is
almost a cube with a small dome. It is connected to the bell tower
through a short refectory. Does not work, used as a planetarium.
37 Nizhne-Nikolskaya Church, st. Novo-Leningradskaya, 4A. Another
Baroque church, built in 1745-1748. On the top floor there is the temple
itself, and on the lower aisle, so the church has a horizontal rather
than vertical shape. The red paint of the walls contrasts well with the
green color of the roof. The church is located on the right bank of the
Dnieper opposite the Dnieper Gate, and the best view of it is from there
across the Dnieper. The only problem is that there is parking between
the church and the Dnieper, so come early in the morning for photos. A
little to the side, on the main street, there is a chapel of St.
Nicholas the Wonderworker (1901) attached to the church in
pseudo-Russian style.
38 Church of the Exaltation of the Cross,
Novomoskovskaya st. 33B. This church is located on the right bank of the
Dnieper, quite far east from the station. However, it is well worth
going to see it. The church itself (1764-1767), like most other baroque
churches in Smolensk, is two-story, with a dome standing on a thin drum.
It is connected to the bell tower using a one-story refectory. The whole
complex is painted green and looks great.
39 Trench Church (Savior
Not Made by Hands), st. Trench. The former cemetery church (1776), is
located in the east of the city, on the right bank of the Dnieper. Built
in Baroque style, with a later Classicist bell tower, painted red and in
good condition. Nearby is the grave of the priest and historian of
Smolensk N.A. Murzakevich (1769-1834) is the oldest grave in Smolensk.
The area south of the fortress wall was mainly developed during
Soviet times. There's not much interesting here.
40 Church of
the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, st. Uritsky, 10. Built in
1894-97. designed by the architect Meischner to replace the demolished
church, which had become too small for the Catholic community of
Smolensk. There were always enough Catholics in Smolensk, which was part
of Poland for a long time, before the Stalinist resettlement, and
Catholic churches have existed here almost since the 12th century. The
church was built in a completely standard pseudo-Gothic style; almost
all Catholic churches of that time in Russia were built this way. The
red brick church with a portal and two towers is not active and is in
poor condition.
Among the streets of Smolensk, where interesting buildings have
largely been preserved, the following can be distinguished:
Bolshaya Sovetskaya street (Pre-revolutionary buildings, Stalinist
Empire style).
Lenin Street (Pre-revolutionary buildings, post-war
houses). Until 1860 Blonskaya (from the word blonye, after which the
Blonye garden was named), then until 1924 Kirochnaya, after the Lutheran
church. The western section, between Lenin Square and Bolshaya
Sovetskaya Street, has changed little since the end of the 19th century.
Kommunisticheskaya street (Pre-revolutionary buildings, Stalinist Empire
style, post-war houses).
Przhevalsky Street (Stalin Empire style).
Glinka Street (Pre-revolutionary buildings).
Mayakovsky Street
(Pre-revolutionary buildings).
Karl Marx Street (Pre-revolutionary
buildings).
1 Smolensk Historical Museum, st. Lenina, 8. ☎ +7 (4812) 65-68-71.
Tue and Sat–Sun 10:00–18:00, Thu 11:00–19:00, Fri–Fri 10:00–17:00, last
Thursday of the month is a sanitary day. 50 rubles (2013). The permanent
exhibition has two halls: archeology and history up to the early Middle
Ages.
2 Smolensk region during the Great Patriotic War, st.
Dzerzhinsky, 4a. As of 2013, closed for renovation. There is a
collection of military equipment on the street, but it is unclear
whether it is accessible to the public.
3 Smolensk - Shield of
Russia (weapon museum), Thunder Tower, st. October revolution. ☎ +7
(4812) 38-41-73, +7 (4812) 38-32-65. Tue–Thu 10:00–18:00, Fri–Fri
10:00–17:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–18:00, last Tuesday of the month is a
sanitary day. 50 rubles (2013). On the second floor there is an
exhibition on the history of the construction of the Smolensk fortress,
on the third - about the Battle of Grunwald, on the fourth - an
observation deck. In addition, a ticket to the museum allows you to see
the structure of the tower from the inside.
4 City forge of the 17th
century. , st. Lenina, 8a. ☎ +7 (4812) 38-38-62. Tue–Thu 10:00–18:00,
Fri–Fri 10:00–17:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–18:00, last Thursday of the month is
a sanitary day. 50 rubles (2013). The oldest surviving civil building in
Smolensk was built in the 1st half of the 17th century. This is a
one-story tiled brick house located at the back of Lenin Street (walk
between houses 10 and 14, and then keep to the right). Inside, the
blacksmith's exposition has been restored, and sometimes demonstrations
of the blacksmith's work are held. The exhibition is very small and of
limited interest.
5 Museum “Smolensk Flax”, Nikolsky Gate tower, st.
Tukhachevsky. ☎ +7 (4812) 38-16-11. Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00, closes one hour
earlier on Friday, last Wednesday of the month is a sanitary day.
Entrance ticket 80 rubles, excursion for a group of less than 10 people
- 800 rubles. Exhibit on the history of flax processing, including a
working loom. Plus the opportunity to see the tower from the inside.
6 Museum of Nature and Ecology , Temporarily located at: st.
Tenisheva, 7. ☎ +7 (4812) 38-15-91. Tue, Thu, Sat–Sun 10:00–18:00, Wed
10:00–17:00, Fri 12:00–20:00. You can see the skeletons of mammoths,
cave bears, stuffed animals and birds, collections of insects,
butterflies and plants. The exhibitions were created in the 80s and were
not updated much later, so you shouldn’t expect much.
7 Museum named
after. P.S. Nakhimova, st. Tukhachevsky, 1. ☎ +7 (4812) 38-09-17. Six
halls dedicated to natives of Smolensk, one way or another connected
with navigation, shipbuilding and naval aviation. One hall is dedicated
to Admiral Nakhimov.
8 Museum-apartment “A.T. Tvardovsky in
Smolensk”, per. Zapolny, 4, apt. 26. ☎ By prior request, call +7 (4812)
38-27-96, 38-38-62. Sat–Thu 10:00–18:00, closes 1 hour earlier on
Thursday. Entrance ticket 50 rubles, excursion for a group of less than
10 people - 600 rubles. An apartment with furnishings from the
1950s-60s, where Tvardovsky lived and worked from 1943 to 1944. The
poet's books, photographs, letters, and drawings by O. Vereisky are on
display.
9 Museum of Sculpture S.T. Konenkova, st. Mayakovsky, 7. ☎ +7 (4812)
38-20-29. Tue-Thu and Sun 10:00–18:00, Fri 10:00–17:00, Sat 11:00–19:00,
last Wednesday of the month is a sanitary day. Entrance ticket 80
rubles, excursion for a group of less than 10 people - 800 rubles. There
is WiFi, they offer to listen to a free audio guide online. Sergei
Konenkov is one of the most famous Russian sculptors of the 20th
century. He was born in the Smolensk province, studied in Moscow, then
emigrated to the USA, returned to the USSR in 1945 and died in Moscow in
1971 at the age of 97. Why the collection of his works ended up in
Smolensk, where Konenkov never lived, is not very clear - formally
according to his will, but the fact is that the museum has the largest
and fairly representative collection of works by Sergei Konenkov (mainly
in wood) from different periods of his life . If you are interested in
this, be sure to check it out. The museum building is also interesting
and is a monument of urban architecture of the 19th century.
10 Art
Gallery, st. Kommunisticheskaya, 4. ☎ +7 (4812) 38-06-95, +7 (4812)
38-74-41. Tue-Wed and Sat-Sun 10:00–18:00, Thu 11:00–19:00, Fri
10:00–17:00, in summer Thu 10:00–19:00. Entrance ticket 120 rubles,
excursion for a group of less than 10 people - 1000 rubles. A standard
second-tier Russian art museum, which, however, somehow managed to solve
the problems of both the relative paucity of the collection and the lack
of space. You will see a standard selection, one painting at a time, of
Russian artists of the 19th century and a number of works by foreign
artists that you have most likely never heard of. However, the most
interesting part of the collection is Russian painting of the 20th
century, both pre- and post-revolutionary, For which it is worth
spending an hour and going to this museum. The building of the former
Alexander Real School (1877) is an architectural monument; don’t miss
the interiors.
11 Cultural and Exhibition Center named after.
Tenishev, st. Przhevalsky, 3. ☎ +7 (4812)20-54-02, +7 (4812) 20-54-29. A
modern exhibition complex, opened in 2013. There is a cafe on the ground
floor and free Wi-Fi. There is a permanent exhibition "Tales from
Glass", created by the Andronovs, who worked for 30 years at the
electric lamp plant. In addition to it, there are temporary exhibitions,
in 2017 - a photo exhibition of Andrei Gudkov “Neighbors on the Planet”,
exhibitions “European Silver of the 18th-20th Centuries” and “Smolensk
Plat”.
12 Drama Theater named after. A.S. Griboedova, pl. Lenina, 4.
13 Puppet Theater named after. D.N. Svetilnikova, st. Dzerzhinskogo,
15a.
14 Chamber Theater , st. Nikolaeva, 28. ☎ 66-35-13.
15 Theatre-studio “Dialogue” , st. Lenina, 16. ☎ 38-03-05 from 15:00,
38-49-93 from 9:00. And
16 Philharmonic, st. Glinka, 3.
17 October Cinema, pl. Victory, 1.
18 Cinema “Sovremennik”, st.
October Revolution, 15.
Cinema "Russia Premiere", st. Dzerzhinsky,
23/2.
19 Cinema “Smena”, st. Barclay de Tolly, 5. Children's cinema.
Cinema "Red Partisan", st. Kashena, 5.
Cinema "Malyutka", st.
Popova, 11.
Boat trips along the Dnieper.
20 Ice Palace (public skating), st.
September 25, no. 39.
21 Planetarium, st. Voikova, 9. Mon–Fri 9:00–18:00, Sat–Sun
10:00–16:00, Mon — closed. The planetarium is located in the building of
the Ascension Church; There is a small observatory nearby. The
planetarium has a 12-meter Foucault pendulum, illustrating the rotation
of the Earth.
22 Smolenskaya Izba (pottery art workshop), st.
Tukhachevsky, 5.
23 Smolensk Zoo (children’s ecological and
biological center), st. Pamfilova, 3b. ☎ +7 (4812) 55-21-96.
24 Museum “In the World of Fairy Tales”, Lenin St., 15. ☎ +7 (4812)
38-22-26. Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00, closes one hour earlier on Friday, last
Wednesday of the month is a sanitary day. Entrance ticket 50 rubles,
excursion for a group of less than 10 people - 600 rubles. A museum for
children, where they can touch all the toys, clay whistles, and
fairy-tale objects on display.
By plane
There are no civil flights. There are two airports,
“Northern” and “Southern,” and projects arise from time to time to
transfer them to civil aviation.
By train
The main line
Moscow-Minsk-Brest passes through Smolensk, along which 15-20 trains
travel daily, as well as several secondary lines with rare traffic.
The Lastochka express train runs from Moscow twice a day, the
journey takes a little over 4 hours - you can go in one day, the time to
explore the city will be about 8 hours; In summer and on holidays there
is also a night train (the journey takes 6 hours). Since October 2020, a
double-decker express train No. 743/744 also runs to Smolensk, due to
the larger number of seats, its price is cheaper than the Lastochka, but
it runs only on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and departs
from Moscow a little before 10 o'clock in the morning. Trains going from
Moscow to Belarus and European countries pass through Smolensk, but
neither the travel time (4.5-5.5 hours) nor their schedule for getting
to Smolensk are usually inconvenient. "Lastochka" also makes stops in
cities along the way - Mozhaisk, Gagarin, Vyazma. Communications from
St. Petersburg are worse, but nevertheless, they are present. A direct
train from the city on the Neva does not run every day; the journey
takes 15.5 hours. It takes about the same time to get to Kaliningrad;
you can leave every day. There are trains to Bryansk several times a
week (4.5 hours), as well as a chaotic and highly seasonally dependent
set of trains with a terminus in Adler, but buses run more often in any
case.
It's about 4 hours from Minsk and there are many trains for
every taste. You can get to Orsha and Vitebsk by train with a short
transfer at the border stations Krasnoye and Rudnya, respectively - it
will take about 3 hours. Please note that tickets on the Belarusian
train will be sold only for Belarusian rubles, and in the Russian train,
accordingly, only for Russian rubles.
Smolensk-Tsentralny railway
station, Privokzalnaya Square, 1 (right bank of the Dnieper, north of
the city center). An island station unusual for Russia, surrounded on
both sides by railway tracks. Don't miss the station building - a good
example of Stalinist baroque.
By car
Along the federal road M1
"Belarus" (from Moscow 406 km), regional roads A141 (from Orel 372 km,
from Rudnya 64 km), R133 (from Nevel 200 km), R134 (from Zubtsov 280
km), R135 (from Krasny 48 km).
By bus
The city is connected by
intercity bus routes to the cities of: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Pskov,
Velikiye Luki, Tver, Nelidovo, Kaluga, Tula, Bryansk (about 10 trips per
day, 5 hours), Dyatkovo, Orel (several trips per day, 8 hours ), Kursk,
Belgorod, Kiev, Riga, Vitebsk (several flights per day, 3 hours),
Novopolotsk, Mogilev, Mstislavl. Also within the region there is a bus
service with regional centers and other settlements.
Bus station,
Kashena str., 13 (next to the railway station). ☎ +7 (4812) 27-09-52.
Buses of alternative road carriers usually stop near the railway
station.
You can get from Moscow to Smolensk by buses from
different companies. Travel time is about 6-7 hours.
Most often
buses depart from the Belorussky railway station, carried by the Russian
Road group of companies. Buses depart from 7:30 to 23:30 every hour and
a half. The cost of travel along the route is 900 rubles (2016). Reviews
about the quality of service are different, including negative;
An
alternative way previously was to travel by bus, which departed from the
Teply Stan bus station. There was a regular night flight (23:00-6:00),
information about the existence of this route is currently
contradictory;
finally, there is an opportunity to go to Smolensk
from Shchelkovsky, Tushinsky and other popular bus stations in Moscow,
however, it is hardly worth focusing on these routes, since they go in
transit (including foreign flights), according to a special schedule,
and, as a rule, at inconvenient times time. It is likely that the bus
will not enter the city, and how to get from the highway to Smolensk
will become an additional task for the traveler.
On the ship
There is no navigation on the Dnieper River.
By bus, minibus, tram or trolleybus
A
single ticket for bus, tram or trolley use (different tickets for
each kind of transport) costs 18 RUB purchased from the service
person in the bus (cash only) and is valid for a single ride. No
special validation needed. It is highly recommended to buy the
ticket, because the controls are regular, especially during the
first days of each month. There is a number of discount tickets for
students and elderly people, in public buses (trams or trolleys)
only. The list of public transport routes is found here (in
Russian), their timetable is given here (note that not all buses are
included). There is an enormous fleet of minibuses on the same
routes. The price is the same as with a public bus (you get no paper
tickets in a minibus, though). Minibuses operate every 10-15
minutes, which makes them more convenient than a bus. During rush
hours, however, minibuses are often cramped.
By taxi
There
are several cab companies offering their services. A regular cab may
cost about 130 RUB if you need to get from periphery of the city to
the center. You should always call a taxi by phone, even if you see
a taxi on the street nearby. Street taxis may charge a higher price
than taxis called by phone. Every company has their phone number
written on its vehicles; it's very convenient for tourists.
By bicycle
Currently Smolensk is not a bike-friendly city due to
the lack of cycling lanes. However, the central park area, the
streets nearby as well as a big green area to the south-west are
easy to use. In case you decide to go cycling, note that some
inhabitants are riding on sidewalks while others prefer the right
side of the road.
On foot
The historical part of the city
(within the Fortress) can be easily explored on foot. Note that the
area is sometimes hilly and several central streets are paved so
choose appropriate footwear.
In addition to traditional souvenirs, tourists are interested in
products that are produced directly in the city. Products made from
Smolensk flax will be an original purchase. In a practical sense, it is
useful to purchase hosiery products and knitwear from the largest
hosiery factory in Russia. Diamond connoisseurs should take a closer
look at the jewelry from the Smolensk Kristall factory.
The shops
1 Smolensky Central Department Store, st. October Revolution, 17.
2 House of Books, st. Bolshaya Sovetskaya, 12/1.
3 Smolensky Flax
(Brand store of JSC “Smolensky Flax Mill”), st. Przhevalsky, 6/25.
4 Chain of stores “Nina” (products of a hosiery factory), one of the
addresses is Neverovskogo St., 1.
5 Salon-shop “Princess” (Smolensk
embroidery), st. Dzerzhinsky, 8.
Markets
Kolkhozny market, st.
Belyaeva, 1.
Cheap
1 Hotel “Derzhava”, st. Kashena, 5a (next to the
station). ☎ +7 (4812) 27-02-79, +7 (4812) 27-02-92. Double room:
1700–2300 rubles (2013). Rooms with amenities, reviews from guests
are extremely contradictory. Free Wi-Fi (apparently not in all
rooms).
2 Hotel “Medlen”, st. Rumyantseva, 19 (half an hour walk
from the center). ☎ +7 (4812) 55-41-35. Double room: 1800 rubles
(2011). The guests are not happy. There is Wi-Fi.
3 Hotel
“Patriot”, st. Kirova, 22g (from the center half an hour on foot). ☎
+7 (4812) 38-49-36. Room without amenities: 600–850 rubles/person,
double room with amenities: from 1,700 rubles (2013). The hotel is
based on a former hostel, and you can feel it, although the guests
claim that everything here is not as bad as it seems at first
glance. It is cheapest to live in rooms for 1–4 people with
amenities per block. There are complaints about the lack of hot
water. Free Wi-Fi.
4 Hotel “Uyut”, st. Kozlova, 3A (center). ☎
+7 (4812) 38-30-16. 500–550 rub/person (2009). A dormitory for the
agricultural academy, the upper floors of which are given over to a
hotel. The conditions are appropriate, amenities for a block of
three rooms. Clean, but there may be problems with hot water.
5 Hostel “Felix”, st. Dzerzhinsky, 19 (center). ☎ +7 (904)
360-00-32, +7 (8412) 40-10-32. 500 rub/person, double room: 1000 rub
(2013). Rooms for 4-5 people and one double room, the same amenities
for everyone. Free Wi-Fi, kitchen and everything that hostels
usually provide. Reviews are good.
6 Hotel “Nika”, Gagarin Ave.,
58 (on the outskirts). ☎ +7 (4812) 55-15-61. Double room: 1500–1700
rubles (2013). Rooms with amenities, reviews are mostly positive.
Wi-Fi.
Average cost
7 Apart-hotel, st. Bolshaya
Sovetskaya, 18/18. ☎ +7 (4812) 40-57-53, +7 (904) 360-00-58. From
2000 rubles (2013). Beautiful studio apartments in the center of
Smolensk, each decorated in its own style.
8 Hotel
“Christina-A”, st. Novo-Leningradskaya, 11 (right bank of the
Dnieper, next to the station). ☎ +7 (4812) 28-40-04. Double room:
2400–2600 rubles (2013). The old garment factory building has been
converted into a hotel. The interiors are reminiscent of an average
noble estate, and while the stucco molding could still be tolerated,
the sculptures look completely tasteless. However, cheap rooms just
look simpler. Free Wi-Fi is promised.
9 Hotel “Prague”, st.
Krupskaya, 64a (on the outskirts). ☎ +7 (4812) 63-33-61, +7 (4812)
46-06-09. Double room: 2400 rubles (2013). Guests mostly praise it,
but complain about the noise from the restaurant.
10 Hotel
“Black Pearl”, st. Kolkhoznaya, 48v / Kyiv per. 16 (on the
outskirts). ☎ +7 (4812) 63-16-66. Double room: from 2100 rubles
(2013). A hotel with a sauna or something similar. Conflicting
reviews. Wi-Fi.
11 Hotel complex “Christina”, 3rd Northern lane.
2 (right bank of the Dnieper). ☎ +7 (4812) 44-44-95, +7 (4812)
44-43-67. Double room: 2500–2700 rubles (2013). In addition to the
usual restaurant, the hotel has a sauna, hookah room and billiards.
However, it is located very far from the center and from the
station. Wi-Fi.
12 Hotel complex “Usadba”, st. Bakunina, 2b
(almost in the center). ☎ +7 (4812) 38-59-31, +7 (4812) 38-59-33.
Double room: 2700/3500 rubles (2013). In a quiet area just north of
the city center. Guests praise it, but complain about weak Wi-Fi.
13 Hotel “Seven Hills”, st. Smolyaninova, 5 (on the outskirts). ☎
+7 (8412) 20-95-74. Double room: 2700/3400 rubles (2013). The hotel
is located in the middle of an industrial zone and, given the
mediocre service, costs more than it should. Free Wi-Fi.
14 Entertainment complex “Seven-forty”, st. Krasninskoe highway, 35
(on the outskirts). ☎ +7 (4812) 20-94-94, +7 (905) 163-08-08. Double
room 3000 rubles, single attic room 1500 rubles. The hotel is more
designed for visitors to the entertainment complex than for
tourists. Reviews are extremely contradictory.
15 Hotel
“Respect”, st. Paris Commune, 18. ☎ +7 (4812) 38-21-38. from 2300
rub. for a single room. A new small hotel located on Paris Commune
Street, on a steep descent from Kozlova Street.
Expensive
16 Hotel “Aurora”, st. Bagrationa, 7a (almost the center). ☎ +7
(4812) 35-50-05, +7 (4812) 35-43-53. Double room: 3700 rubles
(2013). Nice new hotel with spacious rooms. However, the breakfasts
leave much to be desired. Wi-Fi.
17 Hotel “New”, st. Gubenko, 26
(at the northern entrance to Smolensk). ☎ +7 (4812) 27-22-73, +7
(4812) 27-93-79. Double room: 3900 rubles (2013). Unanimously bad
reviews.
18 Mini-hotel “Chaplin”, st. Krupskaya, 64a (southern
outskirts). ☎ +7 (4812) 61-10-50. Double studio room 3000 rub. Hotel
with 6 rooms at the nightclub of the same name.
19 SmolenskHotel, st. Lenina, 2/1 (center). ☎ +7 (4812) 38-36-04
(administrator), +7 (4812) 32-69-91 (reservation), smo
Cheap
The establishments in this section belong to the same
Domino Pizza chain; they are all united by the same prices and not
the best quality of food; the differences are manifested in the
interior and small changes in menu items.
1 Cafe “Russian
Court”, Blonier Garden. ☎ +7 (4812) 68-39-99. Sun–Thu 10:00–23:00,
Fri–Sat 10:00–24:00. Hot dishes: 80–120 rubles (2013). Fast food,
richly decorated in Russian folk style with fabulous birds, tiled
stoves and painted tables. The prices are higher than in a regular
cafeteria, but the food is quite good: soups, pancakes, hot dishes,
and also inexpensive desserts.
2 Pie shop “Samovar”, st. Lenina,
14. ☎ +7 (4812) 32-81-53. 10:00–21:00. Pies, hot: 60–80 rubles
(2013). There is a large samovar on hand, a lot of pies, but in
general this is an ordinary canteen, which serves soups, salads, and
hot dishes.
✦ Domino's pizza. Soups, pancakes: about 50 rubles;
hot: 100–150 rubles (2013). It looks like “Russian Court”, that is,
fast food, also beautifully decorated and varied - the only
difference is that there are fewer hot dishes here, and instead
there are pizza and burgers. However, soups, pancakes and salads are
also available. edit
3 Gagarin Ave., 1 (TC “Yunona”). ☎ +7
(4812) 38-47-50. 10:00–23:00.
4 st. Dzerzhinsky, 16 (Lopatinsky
Garden). ☎ +7 (4812) 38-15-10. Around the clock.
5 st. Bolshaya
Sovetskaya, 18/18. ☎ +7 (4812) 35-61-82. 10:00–22:00.
6 Kolkhoznaya sq. 2 (near the station). ☎ +7 (4812) 27-07-58.
9:00–21:00.
✦ Tangerine Goose Tavern. Hot dishes: 80–120 rubles
(2013). Another establishment of the same format: a dining room in
Russian folk style. There are no geese on the menu - neither with or
without tangerines.
7 st. October Revolution, 7 (center). ☎ +7
(4812) 38-41-72. 10:00–23:00.
8 st. Kirova, 59 (center). ☎ +7
(4812) 61-18-50. 10:00–23:00.
9 st. Novo-Moskovskaya, 2/8
(center). ☎ +7 (4812) 25-02-56. 10:00–22:00.
Average cost
10 Pizzeria “Ciao Italy”, st. Nikolaeva, 30. ☎ +7 (4812) 66-65-78.
Around the clock. Pizza, pasta: 200–300 rubles (2013). It is not
entirely clear from the name whether it is so good here that one
should forget about Italy, or whether the owners of the restaurant
said goodbye to Italy and started cooking in their own way. Most
likely, it’s the latter, since Italian food here is creatively
reworked in some obscure style. However, visitors like it. Wi-Fi.
Expensive
11 Restaurant “Temnitsa”, st. Studencheskaya, 4
(Pyatnitskaya Tower). ☎ +7 (4812) 244-999. 12:00–24:00. Hot dishes
600-1000 rubles, salads 400-500 rubles. Restaurant serving Russian
cuisine, located in an ancient fortress tower. There are complaints
about the quality of food and service, but overall visitors are
satisfied.
Coffee shops
12 Cafe-club of tea culture
“Double Sun” , st. Barclay de Tolly, 7. ☎ +7 (4812) 63-02-20.
13:00–00:00. This is not quite a coffee shop or even not a coffee
shop at all, but an establishment of a similar format. It’s good to
come here for a cup of tea, which you drink while sitting on the
floor on pillows in the best traditions of the tea ceremony. The
selection of tea is impressive even by the standards of the capital,
not to mention Smolensk. You can also try Japanese or Indian food:
the range is also huge.
13 Coffee house “Terra” , Gagarin Ave.,
3. ☎ +7 (4812) 32-72-22. 8:00–22:00. An ordinary good quality coffee
shop in European style.
14 Chocolate Workshop , st.
Novo-Moskovskaya, 2/8 (Galaktika shopping center). ☎ +7 (4812)
40-96-60. 10:00–20:00. You can drink tea or coffee with a couple of
delicious handmade sweets. Wi-Fi. Apr 2015
There are also two
Donna Clara coffee shops and pastry shops (part of the Domino Pizza
group): relatively cheap (cakes 80-120 rubles), pleasant interior,
but you shouldn’t expect much from the drinks and food themselves.
Night life
1 Nightclub “Ninth Val”, st. Rylenkova, 40.
2 Cafe “Vasabin”. ☎ +7(4812) 68-68-50.
International Music Festival of Mikhail Glinka A series of
concerts in different genres. The participants come from Russia and
Europe. The event is held at the state concert hall. The festival
takes place every year in the last week of May and the first week of
June.
Firework Festival The event is worth visiting due to
magnificent performances of several teams from Russia and Europe. It
is organised at the airfield to the south of Smolensk. The festival
takes place every year around September, 25.
The ark of Smolensk
Theatre festival is held every even year in mid-April.
Slavic
Culture Festival The event is a 2-/3-day festival devoted to the
Slavs, held annually to the west of Smolensk in mid-August.
Smolensk is a relatively safe city;
however, crimes do occur. Use typical common sense. Avoid dark
alleys - like you would anywhere else. Check the advice from your
Foreign Office for entry requirements, health, safety, local laws
and customs.
When visiting bars and restaurants make sure you
know the price before you order and keep track of your spending, so
no cheating is possible. Beware of scammers who strike up
conversations out of the blue and invite you to visit their favorite
club or bar; this is often a favorite way for the fraudsters to rob
the foreigners, and the police are unlikely to help if you get
scammed.
Also note that in winter months, streets in Smolensk
might get quite slippery. Take a pair of grippy shoes or, even
better, boots (to prevent twisted ankles) and a waterproof raincoat.
Take care as ice patches are often hard to spot, even when they
appear to have been cleared or melted. Wearing non-grippy shoes
could result in injury.
Smolensk is one of the first cities of Rus'. The time of its
foundation is unknown. In the undated part of The Tale of Bygone Years
it is first mentioned as the center of the Krivichi tribal union. In the
Ustyug (Arkhangelogorod) vault of the 16th century it is mentioned under
the year 863, when Askold and Dir, on a campaign from Novgorod to
Constantinople, bypassed the city, since it was heavily fortified and
crowded. The reliability of this mention is doubtful, since the Ustyug
Code was compiled more than 600 years after the events of the 9th
century. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, in 882 Smolensk was
captured and annexed to the Old Russian state by Prince Oleg.
This early chronicle date was not considered as evidence of the
existence of Smolensk already in the 9th century (the Initial chronicle
was compiled only at the end of the 11th century), since for a long time
it was believed that there were no archaeological traces of the city on
Cathedral Hill (the historical center of Smolensk) before the second
half of the 11th century . 15 km west of the center of Smolensk there is
a large Gnezdovo archaeological complex, which includes the remains of a
trade and craft settlement and a large number of mounds. The main period
of their creation is determined by the X - beginning of the XI century.
Details of the funeral rite of the complex indicate the ethnic (Slavs,
Scandinavians, etc.) and social (nobility, warriors, artisans, etc.)
heterogeneity of the population. The central settlement arose at the
turn of the 9th and 10th centuries and was a craft and trade center on
the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” Many researchers
considered the Gnezdovo complex as ancient Smolensk, which was then
moved to a new location, which was supposed to explain the absence of
archaeological layers before the 11th century in Smolensk itself.
According to another point of view, Gnezdovo was a graveyard - a place
where the squad stayed and collected tribute, and Smolensk existed at
the same time and was the tribal center of the Krivichi.
Back in
the first half of the 20th century, archaeologists found molded ceramics
on Cathedral Hill in a cultural layer that they dated to the early
period, but these finds did not receive proper coverage. Field research
begun in 2014 by an expedition of the Institute of Archeology of the
Russian Academy of Sciences under the leadership of N. A. Krenke in the
upper part of the northeastern slope of Sobornaya Mountain, on the
territory of the Trinity Monastery and in other places, produced a
number of materials indicating the existence of an extensive settlement
of the end on Sobornaya Mountain 1st millennium AD e., part of a large
complex of Krivichi settlements. These dates were supported by a series
of radiocarbon analyses.
In 1127, the Kiev prince Mstislav the
Great gave Smolensk as an inheritance to his 17-year-old son Rostislav
Mstislavich. After the death of his father, Rostislav became a virtually
independent prince and reigned in the city until 1160, when he took the
Kiev throne. Thus, the foundation was laid for the independent Smolensk
principality under the rule of the Rostislavich dynasty, which on the
eve of the Mongol-Tatar invasion was one of the most powerful Russian
principalities. The Smolensk princes laid claim to the grand princely
throne of Kiev and took possession of it more than once (Rostislav
Mstislavich himself, his sons Roman Rostislavich, Davyd Rostislavich and
Rurik Rostislavich, his grandson Mstislav Romanovich the Old).
The century before the Horde invasion was the heyday of Smolensk: the
city occupied an area of 115 hectares, on which there were about 8
thousand houses with a population of about 40 thousand people. In terms
of the number of stone churches erected at the turn of the 12th and 13th
centuries, Smolensk surpassed any other city in Rus'. Trade between the
Smolensk Principality and the West in the 13th-14th centuries was
conducted primarily along the Western Dvina. In 1229, the Treaty of
Smolensk with Riga and Gotland was concluded - “Smolensk Trade Truth”,
which was important in establishing trade relations of the principality.
After the earthquake that occurred in May 1230 and a two-year
pestilence, the Smolensk principality weakened. In 1232, a feud occurred
between the Rostislavichs and Smolensk was taken by the Polotsk prince
Svyatoslav Mstislavich; at the same time, Svyatoslav carried out a
massacre, killing many townspeople hostile to him.
During the
Mongol invasion, the city was not damaged, but many areas of the
principality were destroyed and Smolensk lost its importance, little by
little becoming dependent on the rising Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At the
end of the 13th century, the Smolensk princes established close
relations with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In particular, during his
campaigns against Moscow in 1368 and 1370, Olgerd received military
assistance from the Smolensk prince Svyatoslav Ivanovich.
In
1387, the Black Death claimed the lives of almost all the city's
inhabitants. There were 5 people alive who “left the city, closing the
gates behind them.”
Olgerd's nephew Vitovt set the goal of
capturing Smolensk, where a struggle broke out between the princes - the
sons of Svyatoslav, as a result of which Grand Duke Yuri Svyatoslavich
was expelled to his father-in-law Oleg Ryazansky in 1392 and replaced by
his brother Gleb. This gave rise to intervention: spreading a rumor that
he was going against the Tatars, Vytautas in 1395 unexpectedly appeared
with an army near the walls of Smolensk and declared a claim to act as
an arbitrator. All the Smolensk princes came to him with gifts; Having
taken the gifts, Vitovt arrested the princes and sent them to the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania, then approached the city, burned the settlements,
took the fortress and installed his governors. The Ryazan prince,
outraged by this, took military action against Vytautas; but Moscow,
where Vitovt’s son-in-law Vasily I Dmitrievich ruled, on the contrary,
favored him.
Smolyan residents, dissatisfied with Lithuanian rule, established
connections with Yuri Svyatoslavich. In August 1401, when Vytautas
weakened after the defeat at Vorskla, Oleg Ryazansky appeared near
Smolensk, took it, killed Roman Mikhailovich, who was then the Smolensk
prince, killed the Smolensk boyars of the Lithuanian party and
imprisoned Yuri Svyatoslavich. Vytautas immediately marched with troops
to the city, but, having besieged the city, achieved nothing; in
Smolensk, the uprising of Vytautas’s supporters was suppressed, and
Vytautas, having stood in vain for four weeks and having concluded a
truce, left. Vytautas’ three-month siege of Smolensk in 1404 also
failed. Oleg Ryazansky died at this time; Yuri asked Moscow for help,
promising his citizenship; Vasily I took an ambiguous position and
hesitated. While Yuri was in Moscow, Vitovt again appeared near
Smolensk, and the boyars - supporters of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania -
surrendered the city to him on June 24, 1404.
At the beginning of
1440, the townspeople of Smolensk attempted to restore independence from
the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by raising the Smolensk Uprising, also
known as the “Great Mutiny.” Yuri Lugvenovich, who also sought
independence from Vilna, was called to reign. He managed to repel the
first siege of the city by the Grand Duke's Lithuanian army, but by the
end of the year, during Yuri Lugvenovich's departure to Moscow, Smolensk
surrendered to the newly approaching large Lithuanian army.
In
1449, an agreement was concluded between the Grand Duke of Lithuania
Casimir and the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily the Dark, according to which
Moscow renounced Smolensk and the Smolensk land for eternal years.
During the new Russian-Lithuanian war of 1500-1503, the Russian army
unsuccessfully besieged Smolensk in 1502. In 1508, Smolensk became the
center of the Smolensk Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
At the beginning of 1513, Smolensk was besieged by a
Russian army led by Grand Duke Vasily III, but the six-week siege was
unsuccessful and was lifted in March. In July of the same year, a
secondary siege began; Smolensk governor Yuri Sologub was defeated in
front of the city walls and took refuge in the city; Having stood in
vain under the city walls until November, Vasily again lifted the siege.
A year later, on July 29, 1514, Russian troops appeared under the walls
of Smolensk for the third time, and after a fierce bombardment, the
Lithuanian garrison surrendered. On August 1, the Grand Duke solemnly
entered Smolensk, where he appointed Prince Vasily Shuisky as governor;
The last Lithuanian governor, Yuri Sologub, was released by him to his
homeland, where he was executed for surrendering the fortress.
However, Moscow power soon began to weigh heavily on some noble Smolensk
residents who were accustomed to Lithuanian liberties. Therefore, in the
same year, after the defeat of the Russian troops at Orsha, the Smolensk
people again resumed relations with Lithuania, and Bishop Barsanuphius,
who had recently solemnly greeted the Moscow Grand Duke, together with
the noblest Smolensk residents, princes and lords, sent his nephew
Khodykin to King Sigismund I with a letter with the following content :
“If you now go to Smolensk yourself or send a governor with many people,
then you can easily take the city.” In the hope of the conspirators, the
king sent Prince Konstantin Ostrozhsky (Orthodox) with a 6,000-strong
detachment. However, by that time, supporters of Moscow had informed the
governor Vasily Shuisky about the conspiracy, who ordered the
conspirators to be captured and soon hanged them (except for the bishop)
on the city walls in sight of Ostrozhsky. As a result, Smolensk remained
with Moscow. For many years it remained the most important fortress on
the western border of the Russian state.
Taking advantage of the
weakening of the Russian state during the Time of Troubles, on September
16 (26), 1609, the army of Sigismund III began the siege of Smolensk.
The defense of the city was led by governor Mikhail Shein, and for a
long time it was quite successful. The besieged made forays, sometimes
very bold. On October 12 (22), 1610, the king launched an assault that
was not successful: breaking the gate with a firecracker, part of the
army broke into the city, but did not receive reinforcements from their
own and was forced out. Undermining also failed, because the besieged
had secret “eavesdroppers” near the walls.
However, the siege,
which lasted 20 months, led to huge losses among the townspeople. Scurvy
and dysentery became rampant in the city. The fate of the city was
decided by the traitor Andrei Dedeshin, who pointed out to the enemy a
part of the wall that had been hastily built in the humid autumn season,
due to which it was fragile. The king ordered the shelling to be
concentrated on this side, after which on the night of June 3 (13),
1611, he launched a decisive assault. The defenders of the city locked
themselves in the ancient (built in 1101) Assumption Cathedral, in the
cellars of which there was a gunpowder warehouse, and blew themselves up
along with the temple. Shein was captured. The long defense of Smolensk
had a decisive influence on subsequent events, since Sigismund, who
spent all his funds on it, was forced to disband his army instead of
leading it further to Moscow. Thanks to this, the Moscow garrison of
Poles, which did not receive serious support, was subsequently forced to
capitulate to the Russian militia.
An attempt to recapture
Smolensk in 1613-1617 ended in vain. Russia recognized Smolensk as the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under the Deulin Truce of 1618.
The annexation of the Smolensk land in 1618 to the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth (Smolensk Voivodeship became part of the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania) occurred after the Union of Brest in 1596. The situation of
Orthodox believers living in the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth and who did not convert to Catholicism or Uniatism
significantly worsened; there was oppression of faiths other than
Catholicism and Uniatism. In 1611, Sigismund III founded the Smolensk
episcopate of the Catholic Church. On November 4 (14), 1611, the city
received Magdeburg Law.
On February 1 (11), 1634, during the
Smolensk War, the Russian army led by M. B. Shein besieged the city, but
the appearance of an army under the command of the King of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Vladislav IV led to the fact that the
Russian army itself found itself under siege and capitulated. Shein, the
hero of the defense of Smolensk in 1634, upon returning to Moscow, was
accused of treason and executed.
In 1654, the Russian army led by
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich again approached Smolensk and besieged the
city. On August 16 (26), an assault was launched, which turned out to be
unsuccessful. However, having exhausted all means of resistance, the
Smolensk garrison capitulated on September 23 (October 3), 1654, and
Smolensk was finally annexed to the Russian state. Legally, this
annexation consolidated the Truce of Andrusovo of 1667 and confirmed the
Eternal Peace of 1686 between Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth.
Since the end of the 17th century, Smolensk,
destroyed by wars and sieges, has been rebuilt. Since 1708 it has become
the center of the Smolensk province. With the installation of Catherine
II in the Smolensk region, Russification begins.
On August 17-18
(30), 1812, under the walls of Smolensk, the Battle of Smolensk took
place between the Russian army and Napoleon’s army, during which both
sides lost more than 20 thousand people. The Russians retreated and
Napoleon captured the city in flames.
The restoration of Smolensk
proceeded slowly. A new impetus to its development was given by the
construction of the Riga - Orel (1868), Moscow - Brest-Litovsk (1870)
railways, as well as the Ryazan-Ural railway (1899).
According to
the First General Census of the Russian Empire in 1897, in the city of
Smolensk 37,305 people named Russian (Great Russian) as their native
language. (79.9% of the total population of the city), Jewish - 4154
people. (8.9%), Polish - 3012 people. (6.4%), Ukrainian (Little Russian)
language - 979 people. (2.1%), German language - 460 people, Belarusian
language - 323 people, Tatar language - 185 people.
In April 1918, in connection with the occupation of
Belarusian lands by German troops during the First World War, secured by
the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Smolensk province of the Moscow region
became part of the Western region, and the administrative center of the
Western region was moved from Minsk to Smolensk.
On the basis of
the Western region, on January 1, 1919, the Socialist Soviet Republic of
Belarus was formed. On January 7, the government of the SSRB moved from
Smolensk to Minsk and already on January 16, 1919, by decision of the
Central Committee of the RCP (b), the Smolensk region was transferred to
the RSFSR. In 1920, a census of the Smolensk province was carried out,
according to the results of which the Russian population prevailed over
the Belarusian, but the Belarusian party leadership, until 1926, did not
give up hope for the possibility of including Smolensk into the
Belarusian SSR.
By the Decree of the Presidium of the All-Russian
Central Executive Committee “On the formation on the territory of the
RSFSR of administrative-territorial associations of regional and
regional significance” dated January 14, 1929, from October 1, 1929, the
Smolensk province was abolished and the Western Region was formed with
its center in the city of Smolensk.
During the Great Patriotic
War, from July 10 to September 10, 1941, the Battle of Smolensk took
place, which significantly delayed the advance of German troops on
Moscow. The defense of the city itself lasted from July 15 to July 28.
On July 16, 1941, the city was occupied by German troops. During the
Great Patriotic War, on the territory of the Smolensk region, Nazi
punitive forces burned to the ground more than five thousand villages
and hamlets, about 300 of them together with civilians. Smolensk was
liberated from German occupation on September 25, 1943 during the
Smolensk-Roslavl operation by units and formations of the Western Front.
During the period of German occupation in the city, all 96
industrial enterprises, 23 hospitals, 33 schools, a power plant, a water
supply system, a tram depot, a railway junction, and both bridges were
destroyed. Of the approximately 8,000 buildings in Smolensk, 7,300 were
destroyed. More than 135,000 prisoners of war and civilians were
exterminated in Smolensk and its suburbs, and more than 20,000 people
were taken to forced labor in Germany. Of the nearly 170,000 residents
of pre-war Smolensk, about 20,000 people remained in the city after
liberation. In the city there was a prisoner of war camp Dulag 126, in
which the killings of prisoners occurred every day without any reason,
the mortality rate from hunger and epidemics was enormous. In addition,
medical experiments were carried out on prisoners in the camp. After
liberation, over 60,000 corpses were discovered in the burial places of
prisoners of this camp.
However, even after the liberation,
Smolensk remained a front-line city for almost a year; 21 German air
raids involving 504 aircraft were carried out on the city and the
Smolensk railway junction in 1943-1944. During the raids, 10 industrial
buildings, 62 residential buildings, 15 warehouses were destroyed and
burned, 2 industrial buildings and 43 residential buildings were
damaged. At Smolensk stations, 31 steam locomotives (2 were damaged),
460 cars (49 were damaged), 4.7 thousand linear meters of railway
tracks, 130 meters of water supply were broken, and communication lines
were destroyed 220 times. 520 people were killed during the bombing, 915
people were injured.
On July 30, 1952, an expedition from Moscow
University led by archaeologist D. A. Avdusin found the first birch bark
letter in Smolensk during excavations on Sobolev Street.
On May
6, 1985, Smolensk was awarded the title of hero city.
On April 10, 2010, during landing at Severny Airport, one of the largest disasters in the history of world aviation occurred, in which top officials of Poland, famous public and religious figures died.
Etymology
There are several versions of the origin of the city's
name. According to one version, it goes back to the name of the Smolnya
River (the Old Slavonic word smol means black soil; Polish linguist
Stanislav Rospond traced the name of the city to the corresponding
Slavic roots) or to the ethnonym Smolyans. The version about the
migration from the Danube lands of the Smolyan tribe, which gave its
name to the city of Smolensk, was put forward by the linguist O. N.
Trubachev.
Another version of the origin mentions the famous
trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.” Residents of the city
were engaged in tar smoking. Resin, as the main product of tar smoking,
was used to tar boats in order to give them greater strength and to
protect them from drying out and rotting. The pine forests located near
the city favored the construction of boats and the closely related
production of resin. People who lived in an area where resin was the
main product of production received a collective nickname - Smolensk,
and their main center of settlement began to be called Smolensk. Similar
professional groups of people were located in other places adjacent to
Smolensk. Evidence of this can be found in the names of such villages as
Smolyaki, Smolyany, Smolkovo, Smolka, Smoliki, Smoli.
A number of
archaeologists consider Gnezdovo to be the original Smolensk. This point
of view gives rise to the version that the ancient name of Gnezdov is
Svinesk, derived from the hydronym Svinets. It is believed that this
name, under the influence of the tarring of ships widespread in the area
(in connection with portage), was later transformed into Smolensk.
Smolensk is located on the territory of the Smolensk
Upland, which is the western part of the Smolensk-Moscow Upland, on both
banks of the upper Dnieper, which originates from the village of
Bocharovo, Sychevsky district, Smolensk region.
The relief of the
urban area is cut by numerous deep ravines and valleys of rivers and
streams flowing into the Dnieper. High inter-ravine and inter-river
ridges, hills and capes form the so-called mountains. The height
difference reaches 90 meters. It is believed that the city lies “on 7
hills.”
The river divides the city into two parts, connected by
three bridges: northern (Dnieper) and southern (Center). The center, the
old part of the city, occupies the high, heavily indented left bank of
the Dnieper.
Smolensk is located in the MSC time zone (Moscow time). The applied time offset relative to UTC is +3:00[12]. In accordance with the applied time and geographic longitude, average solar noon in Smolensk occurs at 12:52.
The climate in Smolensk is moderate continental, moderated by the influence of the Atlantic Ocean. The city is characterized by cool, mostly rainy summers and rather long, moderately cold winters. Based on observational data for the period 1981–2010. the average annual temperature is +5.4 ºС; the average temperature of the coldest month (February) is minus 6.4 °C, the warmest (July) is plus 17.8 °C. The average annual precipitation for the same period is 738 millimeters. During the year, cloudy weather prevails for 164 days, fog for 60 days, and thunderstorms for 25 days. The wettest period is summer. The average annual relative humidity is 80%. The prevailing wind rose in the city is western, southern and southwestern.