The city of samovars, gunsmiths, accordions and gingerbread, the homeland of lefties - the Russian land of masters. All this is the city of Tula, whose museums and attractions are located in its historical center. The city is extremely convenient for travelers: it is three hours drive from the capital and stands on the railway and road routes of the southern direction of Russia.
Where to start learning
By today's standards, Tula is quite large. Nevertheless, its main attractions can be seen in just one day. It is better to start acquaintance with the city from the Tula Kremlin. After that, you can stroll along the ancient streets, which have weapons names. And of course, you must definitely see the three most unique sights: the museum of the Tula gingerbread, samovars and weapons.
For lovers of history and literature in the city there are many interesting places. The Veresaev Museum of Local Lore and other state museums of Tula, and simply the ancient buildings of the 18th-19th centuries - merchants and apartment buildings, official buildings and noble estates will attract the attention of visitors.
Tourists will definitely walk along the “wooden” Tula, along the old streets, which are living their last days. Despite the fact that many of the houses are not very well preserved, among them you can see real masterpieces of carving masters.
Tula Kremlin
It is somewhat different from other Russian similar buildings. The Kremlin is not standing behind the river, but in front of it. It is hard to say that its architecture is amazing.
However, as part of the city’s fortification system, it was one of the most powerful Russian fortresses. In the entire history of its existence, the
Tula Kremlin has never been taken by enemies. Even during the years of
the Bolotnikov uprising, only after flooding it, they managed to oust the rebels from the city.
The shape of the Kremlin is quite simple. It is built in the shape of a quadrangle. The foundation with the lower part is made of white stone, and the top is made of brick. The length of the walls is a little more than one kilometer, and the height is ten meters. The Kremlin stands on a base assembled from oak piles. They have a foundation built that goes eight meters deep. Today, all nine towers of the fortress are preserved, of which four are round, and the rest are square.
Weapons museum
In 1989, in the building of the former local cathedral, it was decided to place the collection, exhibits for which the Tula arms factory has been collecting for many years. It is interesting that Peter the Great commanded so, having even issued a decree about it. Today, thanks to this wise decision, tourists have the opportunity to see the most interesting samples created by gunsmiths, from Peter the Great to the present day.
It is believed that it was in Tula that the most complete collection in our country was put on public display. In the museum you can trace the evolution of Russian weapons.
However, not only samples of Tula masters are presented here. The museum also has firearms, which were created in England, Japan, France, Iran, Turkey, Belgium, Germany and other countries. The exhibits from the Royal Guns collection are especially admired.
The microscope is a huge success with visitors. Everyone can look into it to see a flea that was savvy by the famous Tula master. A ticket to the museum costs 80 rubles for adults, 100 rubles - with permission to take pictures.
Assumption Cathedral
It was erected in the center of the Kremlin made of stone. Its foundation dates back to 1628-1629 years. Initially, the Assumption Cathedral was built as a summer temple. Currently, this building is of interest not only in terms of architecture, but also for its artistic value. Among the paintings here you can see rare paintings that depict Ecumenical Cathedrals. In 2012, restoration work began on the bell tower of the Assumption Cathedral. It was decided to completely restore the belfry, which once stood up seventy meters. And twenty-two bells decorated it.
Epiphany Cathedral
If the Assumption Cathedral held services only in the summer, then in this temple they were performed year-round. It was built much later - in 1865, in memory of soldiers who died in World War II. In 1892, it was considered unique, because water heating was carried out in it, which was very rare for Russia in those years. But then, in the Soviet years, the Epiphany Cathedral was placed at the disposal of the flying club, and after that - to athletes.
Tula gingerbread
In Tula, this delicacy is extremely popular. Who will refuse to drink a cup of tea with honey gingerbread? For many centuries, the Tula gingerbread delights with its amazing taste and quality. And more recently, he also acquired his own museum, in which each visitor can enjoy a variety of “tasty” exhibits. It all started a long time ago ...
How to cook Tula gingerbread
No one will undertake to say who and when first made it. The first references to the Tula gingerbread are stored in the museum scribe book of 1685. To our days, special boards have been preserved, on which contemporaries can judge the variety of carriages. They were carved from birch or pear. The tree must be at least thirty years old. For the gingerbread board, only the lower part of the barrel was used, which was cut into pieces about five centimeters thick and dried for almost twenty years.
The edges of the board for the strength of the master were smeared with wax or resin. After the tree was ready, the carver-artist began to apply the drawing. Such boards, in essence, were the form on which the Tula gingerbread was baked.
Description
The first gingerbread in Russia was called "honey bread". They were brought to the Russian land by the Vikings. It happened in the 9th century. It was then in Russia that they also learned what yeast pancakes and dried fruit blasts are. At that time, gingerbread cookies were rye flour dough mixed in berry juice and honey, with the last ingredient making up almost half of the total volume.
Later, roots and forest herbs began to be added to honey bread. And already in the XII-XIII centuries, when various exotic spices began to be brought to the Russian land from the Middle East and India, the gingerbread, having received its current name, almost completely formed into that amazing delicacy that everyone knows today.
Taste variety depended on the dough, its composition, the method of preparation and baking. Spices and additives, which in the old days were called "dry perfumes", played a significant role. Among the most popular were lemon, black pepper, mint, Italian dill, vanilla, orange peel, as well as ginger, caraway seeds, anise, nutmeg and cloves.
By the end of the XVIII century, Tula gingerbread was already known in Perm and Arkhangelsk, in Kursk and Kharkov, in Kaluga, Novgorod, etc. Gradually, they began to establish their own production of delicious mats. Tver gingerbread men had shops in Paris, Berlin and London.
Museum Creation
The idea of ​​opening an exhibition originated in 1994. And two years later, on October 10, 1996, the Tula Gingerbread Museum (address: 45a Oktyabrskaya St.) was inaugurated. It is located in the district, quite far from the historical center. Under the museum of the Tula gingerbread, a complex of the 19th century was allocated. These were the former wings of the Lyalyin brothers, gunsmiths and samovars. In the immediate vicinity there is also a workshop where gingerbread is baked, as well as a company store where tourists can buy a fresh treat and various souvenirs.
Museum tour
Visitors can see gingerbread cookies of the most incredible sizes and shapes, from the smallest, the size of a penny, to the pound. All of them were made in connection with some special case. In the collection of the gingerbread museum there are historical gingerbreads, honorary, congratulatory, personalized and many others.
Those who are lucky can become participants in an interesting event, a tea party with gingerbread, which is organized by the Tula Gingerbread Museum. Prices for the tour start at one hundred rubles in ten minutes, and delicious treats with different flavors will pleasantly surprise visitors. But the gingerbread cookies themselves, baked in the next workshop, are served with hot heat and have an amazing and unique aroma of honey and oil. The whole procedure is very popular with visitors. Maybe that’s why the Tula Gingerbread Museum in an unexpectedly short time has gained great popularity. It turns out that in order to get into it and go through the halls, accompanied by a guide, it is necessary to record almost a month.
Exhibits
"History of the Russian State" - under this name, an exposition belonging to the local confectionery factory "Old Tula" is exhibited. This enterprise has a long history and experience in the manufacture of traditional printed gingerbread cookies in the old-fashioned grandfather way, namely by hand and using only wooden forms.
The most interesting exhibit of the museum and this exposition is a huge metering per meter in size. It is written on the wish of health, success and happiness from the Charity Fund "Old Tula". And literally next to it is the smallest gingerbread, which weighs only fifty grams.
The Tula Gingerbread Museum is one of the youngest in the city of Tula. For almost two decades of work, he gained popularity not only in Tula, but also in Kaluga, Chekhov and even in Moscow. Here is the history of a truly Russian ancient goodies that came to us from the depths of centuries. Gingerbread production experienced its ups and downs: there were losses and rebirth.
Visitors will be told about all the ancient rituals and traditions associated with unique carving. They can see and compare how it is created in modern conditions and how those samples that were made on ancient forms look like.
Here are presented as the smallest, slightly larger than an ordinary fifty gingerbread, gingerbread, and the largest - pood, which is the only one in our country.