Meet: Podolsk. The Museum of Local Lore, the noble family estates, ancient churches and modern city sculpture create the original look of this second-largest city in the Moscow region.
Podolsk is easily accessible from the capital: it is only 15 km from the main highway - the Moscow Ring Road. Here, with pleasure you can spend a day or two, sightseeing and enjoying the feeling of a cozy town, leading its chronicle from the XVIII century.
Meet: Podolsk
The first stop in Podolsk is the local history museum (Sovetskaya sq., 7). The most amazing thing is that it was created by the residents themselves. After the decision was made in the 70s of the 20th century to create a museum (then still on K. Marx Square), they began to bring family heirlooms, preserved household items, photographs and documents. Materials about the nature of Podolsk were presented by the biologist Z. Shekhtel. Found archaeological objects also entered the museum fund.
Gradually, the Podolsk Museum of Local Lore grew, expositions occupied more and more space, and in the 90s it was decided to move the museum from a two-story house to Ivanovskoye estate.
But soon the estate became cramped: the museum’s fund was constantly replenished, for example, with paintings by urban artists. And in honor of the 230th anniversary of the city, the museum received a restored old mansion as a gift - in the 19th century, it housed the chambers of public places. In the building located in the city center (Sovetskaya sq., 7), the exposition "Podolsk Meridian" is presented. It occupies seven rooms on the second floor.
The description of the Podolsk Museum of Local Lore will be incomplete, not to mention the educational work. Employees arrange tours, including walking tours of the city, organize exhibitions, hold meetings.
Branch
As before, in the left wing of the Ivanovskoye estate (Parkovaya St., 1) there is a branch of the Podolsk Museum of Local Lore. In three halls there are interesting expositions telling about the life of citizens, their occupations and crafts. One of them is dedicated to the findings of archaeologists. In the garden pavilion there is an exhibition of the natural features of the region and the city.
But the estate itself is of interest. It was built at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries for one of the representatives of the Count Tolstoy family. The building is designed in a classic style, the facade is decorated with columns and a portico. The steps offer a beautiful view of the Pahra River.
Other museums of the city
Passing along Lenin Avenue, you can look into house 47, where the Podillia Museum is located. The basis of the exposition is the house of one of the founders of the October Revolution, V.I. Lenin: the architectural appearance of the building, its interiors are preserved in their original form. An archaeological collection of 2.5 thousand objects is also presented here - these are tools, utensils, jewelry, bronze and iron products.
A little further, on Lenin Ave., at 113, there is an exhibition hall. On an area of 2 thousand square meters, various art projects, exhibitions of both famous artists and beginners - students of the art school are held. The hall is equipped with lighting and sound equipment, allowing you to arrange grandiose events.
The poster of Podolsk is constantly being updated, thanks to the events held in the exhibition hall.
Temples in Podolsk
There are many ancient temples pleasing with grace in Podolsk. The Resurrection Church on the banks of the Pakhra River is the oldest in the city. The date of its foundation is lost, but it is known that already at the time of Ivan the Terrible, she received parishioners. At the beginning of the XVIII century. the wooden structure burned down, and the new stone was for a long time the main temple in the city. In Soviet times, the church housed a tank repair workshop. The temple was restored only in the 20th century. It is located in house 24 on the street. Red.
Walking along the street Bolshoi Serpukhovskaya, it is impossible not to notice the Church of St. George the Victorious, built not so long ago, in 2006. It is designed in the tradition of ancient Russian tent churches and is made of wood. Decoration - five gilded domes.
Passing through the Cathedral Square, you need to look into the Trinity Church. It was built in honor of the end of the Patriotic War of 1812 according to the plan of the famous architect O. Beauvais. The church survived in the most difficult times, worship was performed in it even in the Soviet years. The style of the temple is empire; five domes crown it.
Nearby is a three-tier bell tower. It is in the Trinity Church that the icon of the Mother of God of Jerusalem, which has miraculous power, and the relics of 140 saints, is located.
And another unique church of Podolsk, Znamenskaya, is located in the village of Dubrovitsy - the former estate of Prince Golitsyn. It was erected by domestic and invited masters from Italy at the expense of Prince B. Golitsyn. It is sustained in the Baroque style, unique for Russia, reminds a Catholic church. The snow-white stone of the walls, the numerous sculptures of the apostles on the facade, the decor of stone flowers, grapes, fruits - you cannot find a second such church! The temple is crowned with a gilded crown.
Homesteads
Noble estates are surprisingly well-preserved sights of the city of Podolsk. Such a variety of classic Russian estates is nowhere else. Each of them today is a museum.
Ostafyevo estate is better known under the name "Russian Parnas". The estate, which belonged to Prince A. Vyazemsky, became a haven for many poets and writers, among them Pushkin, Gogol, Griboedov, Karamzin and others. At the end of the XIX century. the owners opened access to the estate, which became the Pushkin Museum. Today in "Russian Parnassus" poetry holidays are held.
There is a museum of history in the Shchapovo estate, which began to be built in the 17th century. Today, visitors come to enjoy the sounds of the organ, take a walk in the landscape park.
Here are some other estates that attract attention in Podolsk:
- Dubrovitsy. The Church of the Sign of the Virgin was perfectly preserved.
- Red. The picturesque park is the main attraction.
- Vorobyevo. It is made in the style of a classic Russian estate, surrounded by a lime garden.
- Pleshcheevo. It is known for the fact that the composer P. Tchaikovsky often rested here.
- Watering. The building was designed by the famous Russian architect V. Bazhenov. On the estate, soldiers who died during the war of 1812 are buried.
- Rodnevo. Designed in an eclectic style by architect N. Eichenwald.
Walk the streets
It is pleasant and easy to walk around Podolsk, looking at the monuments and city sculpture.
What to see in Podolsk? Here are the monuments that are worth the time:
- Empress Catherine II and the working class of Podolsk on Vokzalnaya Square;
- St. Peter and Fevronia on the street. Chekhov;
- those who participated in the liquidation of the Chernobyl accident (B. Zelenovskaya St.);
- memorial in memory of those killed during the Second World War on Sq. Fame;
- on Kirov street - a monument to Podolsky cadets and A. S. Pushkin;
- on Cathedral Square - a monument to the grenadiers, who, under the command of General Miloradovich, defended the capital from Napoleonic troops;
- Russian hero (Vysotnaya St., 1);
- on the Art Embankment - a monument to the Golden Fish, and on Sovetskaya Square - the Singer sewing machine.
Passing along L. Tolstoy Boulevard, it is worthwhile to linger at an unusual fountain composition rotating in jets of water (and in the evening with backlighting). This is the most famous Tolstoy heroine Natasha Rostova dancing at her first ball.