Venyov or Venev is a small old Russian city, the administrative center of
the Venevsky district of the Tula region of Russia. The city of Venyov
forms the municipality of the same name with the status of an urban
settlement as the only settlement in its composition.
One of
115 historical cities in Russia. On the territory of the city there
are about a dozen religious buildings, including the temple complex
of the Church of the Epiphany, the Church of the Resurrection of
Christ and others. As the writer PI Malitsky noted, “this is the
historical feature of Venyov”.
The quarterly layout of the city was formed according to the urban
planning plan. On one side the city abutted the steep bank of the
Venevka River, on the other it was limited by the current Bundurina
Street.
The main historical street is Lev Tolstoy Street. It
starts from Bundurina Street, from which it is cut off by concrete
flower beds. The street goes down, crosses Ilyich Square after a block,
and after another three blocks it ends up with Red Square, where the
city's main attractions are located. Parallel to Leo Tolstoy Street are
Volodarsky Street on one side and Proletarskaya Street on the other. The
latter goes down to the river, like Pervomaiskaya. In fact, these
streets cover, if not the boundaries of the old city, which are several
streets more to the right and left, then at least all the objects that
need to be seen in the center.
The urban districts of
Pushkarskaya and Streletskaya Sloboda illustrate the history of the
fortress city; however, as before, this is a private development that
will be of little interest to travelers.
A separate interesting
place that is worth visiting is the area of the railway station, located
at the end of Streshneva Street.
Tourist Information Center MUK "MKDC" , Volodarskogo, 11 (in the
cinema building). ✉ ☎ +7 (910) 943-30-38. Tue–Fri 10:00–18:00, Sun and
Mon — closed.
At the tourist information center there is an
exhibition hall where art and photo exhibitions are held. There is a
souvenir shop here. The club of local historians "Venevsky Uyezd" holds
its meetings. By contacting the tourist information center in advance,
you can arrange private excursions for a reasonable fee.
It may sound paradoxical, but Red Square is now actually a street
that winds its way around the main attractions and along the surrounding
alleys. Once upon a time there really was a square here, of a regular
rectangular shape. Its outer perimeter was formed by the buildings
standing here, and inside there was a massive fence of the St. Nicholas
Church and the church itself. Now only one bell tower remains from the
church.
1 The bell tower of St. Nicholas Church. The high-rise
dominant feature of the city is the bell tower on an earthen embankment
in the center of Red Square. The height of the bell tower is about 75
meters. It is believed that this is the tallest building in the Tula
region. Nearby there is a worship cross as a sign of memory of the
temple complex of St. Nicholas Church. The St. Nicholas Church itself
took a long time to build, from 1801 to 1843, and the bell tower took
even longer - until 1860. The completion of construction was hampered
either by the war of 1812 or by the terrible fire of 1834, and money was
collected bit by bit. They began to dismantle the church in the 30s of
the 20th century and by the 50s it was completely destroyed. The name of
the architect of the temple is unknown, perhaps the authorship is
Bazhenov.
2 Bishops' stone chambers (Venevsky Museum of Local Lore),
Red Square, 32. The oldest building in the city, and the oldest civil
building in the entire Tula region, dates back to the end of the 17th
century. The two-story building, several rooms per floor, belonged to a
merchant. Later, a magistrate, a council, a council, a court and even a
bank were located here. With the advent of Soviet power, the house was
given over to a library, and since 1981, a local history museum has been
located here. Historically, the entrance to the first and second floors
was carried out separately from the street, but in our time an extension
with a staircase was made. Recently, as a result of renovation work, a
void was discovered, which turned out to be a twisted stone staircase
between floors. However, its size is surprisingly small.
3 Pokrovskaya Church. The unsightly and currently crumbling church
building has an interesting history. The current stone church was
erected in 1737 on the site of the old wooden St. Nicholas Church:
naturally, the former name was preserved. But the reconsecration to
Pokrovskaya took place in 1862, when the name “went” to the newly built
temple nearby, of which now only the Nikolskaya bell tower remains.
4 Epiphany Monastery. At the bottom of Red Square, almost at the river
cliff. Venevka, there is a temple complex consisting of the
Assumption-Nikolskaya Epiphany and Kazan churches. The first of them was
the main church of the Epiphany Monastery, which existed in the
17th-18th centuries and was abolished as a result of the famous
Catherine’s reforms. Nearby is the squat Kazan Church, which was built
in 1775 by the Borovkov merchants and was later used as a regimental
church for troops stationed in the city. In recent years, through the
efforts of the community, the churches have been restored, and the
former brick walls were painted white. Now these are the most beautiful
and well-kept churches in the city.
5 The building of the former
city school, Red Square. 2. The building was built in 1881 with the
money of the merchant Makhotin, who made his capital by trading vodka,
and then opened a bank and became the mayor of the city.
6 The
building of the former women's city school (House of Pioneers), Red
Square. 28. With a gradual increase in classes, the main school building
was expanded in 1913 by constructing a separate building, where the
girls' school was transferred.
Lev Tolstoy Street, formerly Bolshaya Moskovskaya or simply
Moskovskaya, is the central street of the city. The street is connected
to the two main city squares and is a natural tourist artery. The urban
development is well preserved and is represented mainly by two-story
stone houses with urban hipped roofs.
7 Former house of the Zuev
merchants, st. Lev Tolstoy, 19.
Moving up the street, one can observe
a typical urban civil development of the 19th century. Each of these
buildings has its own history. The most beautiful house on the street,
No. 16, attracts special attention with its ornate façade. This is also
the former house, this time of the merchant Tulin. But house No. 10 is a
Stalinist “remake”; on the site of the demolished house, a two-story
building typical of that time was built.
8 House of landowners
Zmievs, st. Lev Tolstoy, 17. Previously, the city border ran between
houses 15 and 17; a barrier was located here. Several interesting
stories are associated with the house itself, including the Rzhevskys
who lived here, one of whose representatives served as the prototype for
the famous lieutenant.
Three blocks from Red Square, at the
intersection with Dekabristov Street, Lev Tolstoy Street opens onto
Ilyich Square with a park located in the middle and either a circular or
diamond-shaped traffic pattern. Now this is the administrative center of
the city, the administration, tax, court, traffic police, pharmacy, post
office and Rostelecom office are located here. The square has an
interesting and remarkable octagonal shape. Previously, it was called
Torgovaya or Khlebnaya, and until the middle of the 20th century it
fulfilled its direct function - a universal market was located on the
site of the park, and fairs were held twice a year.
9 Square of
Ilyich Square. The central part of Ilyich Square with a clear monument
to Lenin and the Alley of Heroes. Note the provincial lanterns on the
light poles.
10 City administration building, pl. Ilyich, 4. The
large coal building was built in the 1820s as a merchant's house. Before
the revolution there was a hotel here. You should pay attention to the
columns at the entrance, which in the middle of the last century were
taken from one of the destroyed Venev churches and built into the
facade.
11 Post building, pl. Ilyich, 3. House of the Kireyev
merchants, built in the 1830s. The building, located on the central
square, has a rich history: it housed a merchant's shop, the NKVD in the
first decades of Soviet power, and now there is a post office. On a
rather ordinary building you can see an interesting decorative element
of the facade, a discovery and pride of local historians, the so-called.
"Venev Cheburashki" This kind of design can be found on three more
buildings in the city: for example, at the Zarya Hotel. This is probably
a primitive representation of three triumphal Roman wreaths, which were
also often used as an element of facade decoration in the Classical era.
12 Traffic police building, st. Lev Tolstoy, 2a. The historical
building of the office and warehouse of the merchant Ovodov.
Ilyich
Square is separated from Bundurina Street by a short section of Lev
Tolstoy Street, on which several interesting houses are located.
Bundurina Street is separated from the main tourist artery by concrete
flowerpots marking the historical border of the city: the main roads
leading into the city ended here, and an entrance with a police box and
a barrier was organized.
13 St. John the Baptist Church, st.
Bundurina, 7a. Although the cemetery church is not located directly on
Lev Tolstoy Street, it is a logical continuation of its line of
attractions. The church in the rustic baroque style dates back to the
end of the 18th century, and the bell tower, built twenty years later,
already reflects the era of classicism.
Volodarskogo Street (formerly Preobrazhenskaya) is the second most
important street in the city and is also rich in civil architectural
monuments. Here you can see a tall merchant trading building in house
No. 7, and a squat one (at 15 Dekabristov Street) of the former cinema
"Rome", and in house No. 11 there was also a cinema, but at a later
time, by the way, recently it has been re-established works. Interesting
are houses No. 9 and No. 10 on K. Marks Street at the intersection with
the street. Volodarsky. And house No. 44, although unsightly, has an
interesting fact in history: a drinking house, the Balchuzhny tavern,
was located here. At the bottom of the street near the district military
registration and enlistment office there is another temple - the
Resurrection Cathedral.
14 Resurrection Cathedral, st.
Volodarsky, 58. The cathedral was built in 1825, on the site of the
wooden Pyatnitskaya Church, which had been within the walls of the
fortress since the 1560s. Before the revolution, the cathedral was the
main temple of the Venevsky district. The cathedral has a chapel to
Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, who was considered the patroness of Venev.
There is nothing special to see on Proletarskaya (formerly
Dvoryanskaya) Street, with the exception of the complex of religious
school buildings. Those who want to take a longer walk should go down to
the Venevka River along Pervomaiskaya Street, which was previously a
bypass road along the city border, and from Pushkarskaya Sloboda see a
panorama of the central part of the city.
15 Theological school
building, st. Sovetskaya, 18. The buildings of the religious school
include an old, one-story building in the courtyard and a majestic
two-story red brick building, stretching along Proletarskaya Street. The
new building was built in 1888, the school was central for three
counties. In Soviet times, school No. 1 in Venev was located here.
1 Venevsky Museum of Local Lore , Red Square, 32. ✉ ☎ +7 (48745)
2-55-82. Tue–Fri 09:00–18:00, Sat 09:00–17:00, lunch 13:00–13:47(!),
weekends: Sun and Mon, as well as the last Friday of the month. 50 rub.
The exhibition is traditional for a local history museum; it includes
archaeological finds and exhibits from the time of the Zasechnaya Line
to the Great Patriotic War. The life of the peasantry, nobility,
bourgeois district town, and partly the clergy is presented. Thematic
expositions and exhibitions are held.
2 Open-air Museum of Railway
Equipment, st. Station (near the railway station). Located near the
recently restored railway station building, it includes a complex of
connected buildings, a model of the Cherepanov steam locomotive and a
real Soviet mass-produced steam locomotive L-3645 "Lebedyanka", a heated
carriage, a replica of the BA-11 heavy armored car, a monument to I.
Likhachev and other objects.
3 3D Cinema , st. Volodarsky, 11. ☎ +7
(48745) 2-45-49. from 10:00 until the last session. Municipal cinema,
which opened in January 2015. The auditorium is equipped with modern
digital equipment: a film projector, multi-channel sound, and a screen
with a special coating.
4 City Park of Culture and Recreation , st.
Streshneva. In the summer, it’s worth going to the park to ride on a
Ferris wheel, which is completely atypical for small towns, and enjoy
bird’s-eye views of the city.
5 Exhibition Hall of the Tourist
Information Center , st. Volodarskogo, 11. Tue-Fri 10:00-18:00 Sat
10:00-17:00. The exhibition hall regularly hosts exhibitions of
paintings and photographs, excursions, round tables, master classes, and
creative meetings.
By car
Five kilometers west of the city there is the M4 Don
federal highway, then take the exit to P132, which passes directly
through the city. The distance from the Moscow Ring Road to the city is
about 150 km. The P132 road, in turn, connects Tula and Ryazan through
Mikhailov, and 25 kilometers northeast of Venev there is another M6
“Caspian” highway, which can be reached by a numberless road to
Serebryanye Prudy near Moscow, as well as by P132.
There are no
problems with parking in the city. It is advisable to leave the car in
the parking lot at the local history museum or on the street. Bundurina
near the beginning of the street. Lev Tolstoy. However, if you don’t try
to drive into Ilyich Square, any central streets will do for temporary
parking - of course, taking into account road signs.
By bus
Venev is connected by frequent bus services to Moscow and Tula.
Departures from Moscow from Krasnogvadeiskaya / Zyablikovo about ten
times a day, the journey takes about three hours. From Tula there are
buses every 30-40 minutes, pick-up from the Zarechye bus station.
Local buses go to Novomoskovsk several times a day.
Bus
station, st. Bundurina, 1a. ☎ +7 (48745) 2-59-00. 04:00-19:30. Find out
the current schedule and buy a ticket.
Bus station "Yuzhnaya",
Yuzhny microdistrict, 13b. ☎ +7(48745)2-32-30. 04:45-18:45. From the
Yuzhnaya bus station you can get to Moscow, Tula, Orel, Kursk and
Ryazan. Buses run daily. Current schedule and purchase tickets online.
By train
Once part of the Moscow-Donetsk main line, the
Ozherelye-Venev-Uzlovaya railway does not have electrification and is
now used mainly for freight transport. Long-distance passenger trains
run along it, some make a stop in Venev: St. Petersburg-Volgograd,
Moscow-Voronezh, Moscow-Lipetsk, and in the summer Moscow-Anapa. The
Ozherelye-Uzlovaya diesel train runs three times a day, which has long
attracted railway fans, since the line operated old Hungarian D1s, now
almost out of service.
2 Railway station, st. Stationnaya, 15 (1
km west of the center).
All attractions in the city are within walking distance.
City
taxis:
"Taxi Lika" - tel. +7 (48745) 2-23-23, 2-22-44
"Magnit" -
tel. +7 (48745) 2-22-20, 2-22-22, (920) 274-44-44, (920)744-44-88
"Troika" - tel. +7 (48745) 2-33-33, (961) 255-13-03, (910) 704-72-59
"Visit" - tel. +7 (48745) 2-10-00, (960) 602-94-94, (953) 965-14-14
The main trade in the city is concentrated along Bundurina Street.
This is due both to the transit position of the road (as we know, small
towns target numerous summer residents) and to the historical purpose of
the place. In the market area there was a shopping area called Sennaya
Square. Nowadays the Venevsky shopping center is located here. Trade in
the city is represented by grocery stores, including chain stores, a
variety of hardware stores, and shopping centers of all types, shapes
and sizes.
More civilized, targeted trade takes place in shops
located on the even side of the street. Volodarsky.
Souvenir
shop, st. Volodarskogo, 12. One of the places in the city where you can
buy souvenirs. The souvenir shop is located in a store that sells
computer equipment. A choice of magnets, postcards, small items with the
symbols of the city. Pay attention to brochures and books about Venev
from local historians. Maybe you’ll be able to meet one of them here.
The city has an authentic product - the Venevka bun, a double bagel
in the shape of the letter V. You can buy baked goods in the city’s
bakery stores or directly at the bakery.
Tourist Information
Center, st. Volodarsky, 11. In the TIC you can buy souvenirs, books on
the history of Venev, products of local craftsmen and paintings by
artists. Or you can buy a postcard with views of the city and send
“Hello” to your friends from your trip.
There are not many good places to sit or have a quality meal.
Eateries can be found near the bus station, while more decent
establishments are located on the main street. Interestingly, almost all
of them are located in historical buildings.
1 “Dining room No.
1”, st. Lev Tolstoy, 3. ☎ (48745) 2-40-54. The building with a flashy
acid-colored facade immediately attracts attention. Here you can eat
deliciously and inexpensively, or you can order food to take away. It is
curious that after a century the purpose of the building has not
changed. Before the revolution, on the ground floor there was a tavern
for ordinary people, and upstairs there was a more respectable
establishment for gentlemen.
2 Cafe “Vensal”, st. Bundurina, 5a. ☎
+7 48745 2-48-45. Summer terrace, business lunch, coffee to go, payment
by card, takeaway food, Wi-Fi. Cuisine: Russian. Prices: average.
3 Truffle Restaurant, Yuzhny microdistrict, 94. ☎ +7 (48745) 2-23-91.
The city's nightlife is centered around the Rendezvous entertainment center and the Sports Bar. Venev is not a city where people come for thrills, and these establishments are unlikely to be able to offer anything exotic. It is better to devote your free time to a cultural program.
Gostiny Dom, Yuzhny microdistrict, 41a. ☎ +7 (48745) 2-37-30.
The
remaining hotels and overnight accommodations are located in the
outskirts of the city, mainly on the Don highway.
"Minihotel",
st. Bundurina, 6v. ☎ 8 (48745) 2-50-05. Located in the very center of
the city. Five numbers are available for order. On the second floor
there were three rooms, more like a good hostel. All rooms are equipped
with bathrooms. The attic on the third floor is occupied by two suites,
Common for small towns: in the evening and at night, unlit places and drunken companies should be avoided. The public order department is located in the city center on the square. Ilyich, 2A (next to the post office), and the police station is at the exit from the city in the Yuzhny microdistrict, 22A.
The city has stable communications from four major mobile operators. The city post office is located on Ilyich Square, and free Wi-Fi can be found in the main public places: at the railway station, Ilyich Square and in the city park of culture and recreation.
The city got its name on a geographical basis - from the Venevka river (the former name is "Venev"). The word comes from the ancient Russian vit with the formation of the words wreath, broom, which meant tortuosity (a characteristic feature of the river bed in the area). According to archaeologist and ethnographer N. I. Troitsky, the creator of the Museum of the Tula province "Chamber of Antiquities", the name "Veneva" may have Finnish origin - from the settlement of these places by the Finno-Ugric peoples (Russia in Finnish - Venäjä). In his works of local lore "Venevskie antiquities" the first superintendent of the Venevian Theological School DG Gedeonov wrote that the first local settlers called the birch with the word "Venev".
Venyov is located in the northeast of the Tula region on a hill cut by ravines, on the steep slopes of the left bank of the Venevka River, 163 km south of Moscow and 52 km east of the regional center - Tula. The P132 motorway (Vyazma - Ryazan) and the M4 motorway pass in the immediate vicinity of the city. In the city itself, there is the Venev railway station of the same name, through which trains follow the route Moscow - Abkhazia, Moscow - Anapa, Moscow - Novorossiysk, St. Petersburg - Volgograd.
Old Veneva and Gorodenesk
The first written records of the Venyov
settlement date back to the 1390s. Initially, it was located,
presumably, 7 kilometers from modern Venyov on the Osetra River in
the area of the present village of Guryevo. In 1408, in the battle
of Venyov, the soldiers of the Pronsk principality and the Horde
defeated the Moscow grand ducal army. In 1483 and 1494, the old
Venyov is still mentioned in the agreements of the Moscow prince
with the Ryazan and Lithuanian principalities.
In its present
place, the settlement appeared as a fortress called "Gorodenesk on
Venyov" in the middle of the 16th century. The fortress was founded
by the boyar and governor I. V. Sheremetev. The city had a good
natural fortification location: on one side there was a river with
steep banks, on the floor side there was a deep ravine connecting
with the river. Soon the fortress passed into the possession of
Prince I.F.Mstislavsky. In 1571, after a raid by the hordes of the
Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, Tsar Ivan IV took possession from
Mstislavsky, accusing him of treason. In 1572 the fortress was
renamed Venev. The city suffered especially badly during the
invasion of the Tatars in 1633. It was almost completely burned.
County town
In 1708, after Peter I divided the country into 8
large provinces, the city of Venev became part of the Moscow
province. In 1719, after the second administrative-territorial
reform of Peter I, Venev became the center of the district (from
1727 - the district) of the Tula province of the same province. In
1777, Venev, by the decree of Catherine II, officially received the
status of a county town in the Venevsky district of the Tula
governorate (since 1796 - the Tula province) and received its own
coat of arms.
In the 19th century Venev began to occupy one
of the leading places in the supply of bread and agricultural raw
materials to the Moscow region. A horse-drawn trade route from
Yelets and Lieven passed through the city. In the late 1890s, a
railway line from Moscow was laid here to the city.
Newest
time
On December 1, 1917, by decision of the Venevsky Soviet of
Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, a decision was made to recognize
Soviet power. Since 1924 Venev became the regional center of the
Venevsky district of the Tula province. From 1929 to 1937 it was
part of the Moscow region, from 1937 it is part of the Tula region.
After the outbreak of World War II in November 1941, Venyov
found himself in the path of the Wehrmacht troops advancing towards
Moscow from the south. On November 21, 1941, the Military Council of
the Western Front created a "Venevsky combat area" from several
infantry and tank formations. Major General A.D. Tereshkov,
commander of the 413th Rifle Division, became its chief. The defense
of the city lasted five days, but the city fell - on November 24,
Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army entered Venyov, and the Venevsky combat
site ceased to exist. He was liberated on December 9, 1941 during
the Tula offensive operation by the forces of the 1st Guards Cavalry
Corps, Lieutenant General P.A. Belov, together with the 173rd Guards
and 322nd Rifle Divisions.
The city was under occupation for two weeks. Immediately after the liberation, responsible party Soviet workers of the district executive committee, the city council and other institutions returned to the city. Local residents organized themselves into brigades to restore the destroyed economy: they cleared the ruins, adapted dilapidated houses for temporary housing, restored and improved the roads, city streets and squares, put in order a kindergarten, nursery, hospitals, repaired water supply, restored a railway, an electric station and telephone communication. A canteen, shops, bakeries, a bathhouse, a hairdresser's, a hotel, and a printing house began to work. The publication of the "Kolkhoznaya Gazeta" - the regional newspaper of the Venevsky regional party committee was resumed. In the postwar years, intensive construction of comfortable housing and public buildings began. The administration building was built - the House of Soviets, an electrical substation, a cinema for 400 spectators, a central department store, and a stadium. A new settlement Pristansionny has appeared; new streets appeared: Komsomolskaya, Lugovaya, Pionerskaya, Privokzalnaya, Sadovaya, Station, Shkolnaya. In 1973, the construction of the Venevsky hospital town was completed. In connection with the development of coal mining in the area in the mid-1970s, two stages of the Gryzlov open-pit mine were put into operation with an annual production of 2.3 million tons of brown coal. A residential miners' neighborhood was built.