Moscow – Kizhi – Hiidenselga – St. Petersburg on the ship Konstantin Korotkov

For every Russian historical city, its ancient architecture is a matter of special pride. Everything in it is precious and unique - from modest houses to rich mansions and beautiful temples. Myshkin, which officially received the status of a city and a county center in 1777, has well preserved a significant part of the old buildings and the provincial merchant lifestyle.

The program includes:

• external inspection of the merchant estate of Timofey Chistov ser. XIX century (buildings have been preserved in the estate: a merchant's mansion, the house chapel of Saints Flora and Lavra, a servants' house, a guest house, a mechanical mill);
• visit to the mansion of the millionaire merchant T.V. Chistov (paintings, tiled stoves, parquet of the XIX century have been preserved in the mansion); exhibition "Eternal values of Russia. Myshkin in old photographs" (in the premises of the former merchant's carriage house);
• visit to an ancient merchant's mill (inspection of mill mechanisms - the way of turning grain into flour, visit to the exposition "Barn mice", the exhibition "Merchant's shops");
• a visit to the Assumption Cathedral (among the iconic monuments of the classical period of the Upper Volga region and Yaroslavl region, the Myshkin Cathedral is one of the most striking and memorable. Even at the end of the XIX century, it amazed the guests of the city with its bold architecture, rich exterior and interior decoration. Its domed space (vault) was compared to the sky). The cathedral was built mainly at the expense of the Myshkin merchant class.

The house of merchant Timofey Chistov stands on the oldest Myshkin Street, not far from the embankment. The estate, built in the second quarter of the XIX century, occupies an entire city block bounded by modern streets - Nikolskaya (Pushkin), Nagornaya, Uglichskaya.

On the territory of the estate, the main building stands out - a two-storey mansion with a mezzanine. In this house in 1866, Chistov, being the mayor, received Tsarevich Alexander. In the 1870s, according to the will of Timofey Vasilyevich, the mansion was sold by the heirs to the city for a hospital for a small amount of money, which has been located in it for more than 100 years. Since 1991, the Opochininsky Library has been located in this house, founded at the end of the XIX century by the county leader of the nobility F.K. Opochinin. The house has preserved paintings of the ceiling ceiling and a wonderful collection of tiled stoves with sculptural inserts.

"In Myshkin, the platbands above the windows are like kokoshniks, elaborately carved, twisted with ornaments, the street looks at the street, the house admires the house." Myshkin has well preserved the wooden buildings of the 19th century. An undoubted monument of wooden architecture for industrial purposes is the mill building of the millionaire merchant Chistov, built of ship pine, which has preserved a significant part of the mill mechanisms inside. The exposition "Tree of Life" is open in the grain warehouse of the mill. This exhibition is dedicated to our ancestors who lived on this land and made absolutely everything out of wood that they needed in everyday life, an example of this are interesting exhibits: a winter fishing rod, household appliances of the 19th century: a vegetable press, a grater, a churn, a bread shovel, a prosak and much, much more.

In the ethnographic exhibition "Transformations of a flaxseed" with the exhibition "Doll- my friend", guests will learn how "a shirt grows in the field"-how flax is grown and processed, what dolls our great-great-grandmothers played with, how dolls were made and what they served for. Here in the museum workshop you will be offered to work – to participate in a master class and create a linen doll with your own hands. Everyone who visits the House of Crafts will see with their own eyes the real magic, the miracle of the birth of a man–made thing! The person who works these miracles carries a rare title today – a craftsman. Our craftsmen will be happy to talk about the secrets of the craft, show traditional techniques of working with a variety of materials (clay, iron)

The XIX century is a golden age for the city of Myshkin, 2 thousand inhabitants, 500 people selling various goods, 200 of them merchants, 5 merchants of the first guild, 5 operating temples for such a number of living people, each with its own parish school. Priests are engaged in historical (local history) work, keeping church records. XXI century-three temples have been preserved in Myshkin: the oldest St. Nicholas Cathedral, the summer Assumption Cathedral and the Church of All Sorrowful Joy. Walking through the streets of the city, you will visit two cathedrals and the photo exhibition "Eternal Values of Russia. The great is seen in the small", the chapel of Saints Flora and Lavra with the performance of the vocal ensemble "Transfiguration".

The male Orthodox monastery is located on the shore of Lake Siversky, in the city of Kirillov, Vologda region, which grew out of a settlement at the monastery. In the XV—XVII centuries, it was one of the largest and richest monasteries in Russia, the center of the spiritual life of the Russian North. The complex of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery includes the ensembles of the Bolshoy Uspensky and Ivanovsky monasteries ("Old Town"), "New Town" and the territory of the fortress Ostrog, which has not been preserved between them. The monastery is surrounded by fortress walls with monumental towers decorated with brick patterns. The main building of the ensemble is the Assumption Cathedral (1497).

Using the example of a small provincial town, the most significant events from the history of the country from the 14th to the 21st centuries are revealed: the foundation of monasteries; the emergence and development of the first settlements in the Russian North; the first decrees on urban planning of county towns; the revolution of 1917 and the Great Patriotic War, as well as what the city lives today.

During a walking tour of the city of Kirillov, founded in 1776 by decree of Catherine II, tourists get acquainted with its history, crafts and crafts of the 18th - 19th centuries, architectural buildings of the central part of the same period and the peculiarities of provincial life in the past and present. The well-preserved merchant houses of the 19th – 20th centuries, the Kazan Cathedral, small parks and other memorable places give a special appearance to the city.

The tour begins at the Vologda Tower of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, where a panorama opens onto the walls of the monastery and Lake Siverskoye. The group visits the city's Lime Park in 1867, moves to Gostinodvorskaya Street, the decoration of which are the houses of local merchants. Tourists get acquainted with the main operating parish church of the city, the Kazan Cathedral of the 18th – 19th centuries.

During the tour, tourists visit the shop "With a Bear" to taste local products (marshmallows, marmalade, gingerbread, lemonade, etc.) and shopping malls with souvenirs near the monastery.

During the tour, tourists visit the Eugene Preobrazhensky Museum. The exposition complex with full multimedia content is located in seven halls of the building of the People's House, located in the city of Kirillov.

The Yevgeny Preobrazhensky Museum is a joint project of the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve and the Russian Military Historical Society. The exhibition project is dedicated to Soviet aviation during the Great Patriotic War, tells about pilots – natives of the Kirillovsky district, participants in the war, designers of aviation equipment and aviation weapons. The main theme presented at the exhibition is dedicated to the life of the most outstanding pilot, born and raised on the Kirillov land, Yevgeny Nikolaevich Preobrazhensky. His name is undoubtedly known far beyond not only the Kirillovsky district, but also the Vologda region.

Meeting of the group with a guide in an ancient Russian costume, an introductory tour. You will hear about the ancient past of Belozerye, starting from the Ice Age, about the famous archaeological monument Krutik, located on the Great Volga way "from the Varangians to the Arabs", passing along the Sheksna River, learn about Princess Feodosia, the daughter of Ivan Kalita, and her husband, Prince Fedor of Belozersk, who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo, get acquainted with the history Goritsky convent and the village of Goritsy, located on the site of the center of the medieval Sugorsky principality.

A visit to the "Princely Gridnitsa" – the ceremonial chamber for feasts and receptions. Acquaintance with ancient Russian architecture, home decoration, costumes, decorations and weapons from the time of the Battle of Kulikovo. The costumed interactive program takes place in the form of a military council of the prince and his retinue, with a selection of historical characters from among the guests themselves, dressed in historical costumes and armor, observing ancient traditions and rituals.
The tour will take place with a minimum group size of 10 people.

Walking tour of the island, visit to the museum of wooden architecture. The ensemble of the Kizhi Pogost is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as evidence of the highly developed carpentry skills of the Russian people.

Characteristics: pedestrian

Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes

Features:

• The walking route is about 3.2 km, the territory of the island is without elevation differences, in wet places the paths are wooden decking
• The route is recommended for visitors visiting the Kizhi Museum-Reserve for the first time

Objects of inspection:

• Kizhi Churchyard Ensemble
• Oshevnev's House
• Elizarov's House
• Shchepin's House
• Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel
• Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus
• Church of the Intercession

The objects of the visit:

• One of the peasant houses
• Church of the Intercession

Kizhi Museum-Reserve

The Kizhi Museum-Reserve is one of the largest open—air museums in Russia. It is a unique historical, cultural and natural complex, which is a particularly valuable object of cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia. The basis of the museum collection is the Kizhi Pogost Ensemble, which is included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List.

During the tour you will see the Kizhi architectural ensemble:

• Oshevnev's house
• Elizarov's house with interior elements of the hut of a simple Zaonezhsky peasant
• Shchepin's house is an example of an outstanding Zaonezhsky peasant dwelling of the early twentieth century
• Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel
• Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus
• Church of the Intercession
• one of the colorful peasant houses with national decoration

A museum with a unique exposition demonstrating the typical decoration of the dwelling of the prosperous peasantry of Zaonezhye in the XIX – XX century. Traditional interior elements are recreated here: an oven, benches along the walls and shelves-funnels passing over the benches.

Souvenirs

A gift shop is located near the marina. There you can buy themed books, photo albums, magnets, mugs, calendars and travel guides.

You can also bring as souvenirs:

• various models for assembling paper, wood and cardboard from which you can make three-dimensional miniatures of attractions
• puzzles with the Kizhi churchyard or the Transfiguration Church
• amulet dolls and wooden toys
• textiles with traditional Karelian embroidery
• products made of shungite and birch bark
• crafts from Karelian birch
• confectionery and tinctures from Karelian berries

Important. For the tour, it is important to choose comfortable clothes and shoes according to the weather, a hat and a supply of drinking water in hot weather, if necessary, take an umbrella or a raincoat with you.

Rules of conduct in temples. To visit Orthodox churches, the following recommendations should be followed: women should have their heads covered (headdress or headscarf), while men, on the contrary, should be uncovered. People in short skirts or shorts will not be allowed into the temple.

Characteristics: pedestrian

Duration: 2 hours and 15 minutes

Features:

• The walking route is about 5 km long, all descents and ascents are smooth and do not require physical training; the route passes through an open area that is not protected from direct sunlight in sunny weather.
• The route is recommended for visitors who come to Kizhi Island again.

The objects of the visit:

• residential and outbuildings of the villages of Vasilevo and Yamka
• Naryina Mountain with the Spasskaya Chapel

Vasilevo village

You will take a walk through the ancient villages in the central part of the island of Kizhi — Yamke and Vasilevo, the first information about which by the middle of the XVI century. Today, museum staff live here. In the village of Vasilevo you will see the largest and most beautiful wooden houses of the island — the Sergeyeva house and the Sergin house with a courtyard, the chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin, built here before the famous multi-headed temples.

Then you will climb Narya Mountain, the highest point of the island, where the chapel of the Saviour stands now. Narya Mountain offers panoramic views of the numerous attractions of the "tourist" and "residential" parts of Kizhi Island, very different in atmosphere, but equally picturesque.

Yamka Village

On the other side of Naryina Gora is the village of Yamka, which also stretches along the shore of Lake Onega and includes numerous historical residential and outbuildings, most of which perform their functions to this day.

After the tour, you can explore the Kizhi architectural ensemble on your own and visit the Intercession Church.

Souvenirs

A gift shop is located near the marina. There you can buy themed books, photo albums, magnets, mugs, calendars and travel guides.

You can also bring as souvenirs:

• various models for assembling paper, wood and cardboard from which you can make three-dimensional miniatures of attractions
• puzzles with the Kizhi churchyard or the Transfiguration Church
• amulet dolls and wooden toys
• textiles with traditional Karelian embroidery
• products made of shungite and birch bark
• crafts from Karelian birch
• confectionery and tinctures from Karelian berries

Important. For the tour, it is important to choose comfortable clothes and shoes according to the weather, a hat and a supply of drinking water in hot weather, if necessary, take an umbrella or a raincoat with you.

Upper Mandrogi is an unusual tourist complex that has revived an ancient village that burned down during the war. The village is located in an area with unusual energy, on an island of the Svir River. The waters of the river originate in Onega and connect Lake Onega with Lake Ladoga.

In Mandrogi you will see beautiful wooden houses in the Russian style, many of them are decorated with intricate carvings painted in bright, juicy colors. During the construction of guest houses and hotels, classical principles of wooden architecture and carved decoration of facades were used. The interior recreates the atmosphere of rustic comfort. There are also traditional Russian craftsman houses where you can view and purchase products, plunge into the life of your ancestors.

Russian Russian folk-style outdoor tent can be used to accompany a folk music concert and enjoy a lunch in nature consisting of simple traditional dishes and immerse yourself in the charm of the Russian village.

Shore meals are organized by the host party

From the pier in the village of Hiidenselga, you will take comfortable buses to the village of Ruskeala, where the largest and most famous marble factories of Karelia have been operating since the XVIII century. Ruskeala village is located 30 km north of Sortavala, 20 km from the state border with Finland. Along the way, you will get acquainted with the history of this picturesque area, which was mastered during the Viking campaigns.

Before reaching the Ruskeala Mountain Park 5 km away, you will have a stop - there are waterfalls with as many as four names. You can walk along the picturesque suspension bridges, breathe clean air and admire the waterfalls of Akhinkoski. The guide will tell you what their name means in Finnish and the episodes of which famous film Stanislav Rostotsky shot here, why the river, where the streams of water flow, is brown in color and how the Finns nicknamed it for its bad and unpredictable temper. After a stop at the Ahinkoski Waterfalls, you will go to the Ruskeala Mountain Park. Nowadays, the park has become a kind of visiting card of the Republic of Karelia. Upon arrival, you will go on a walking tour of the park, which has a very rare status for Russia – at the same time a monument of nature and a monument of industrial culture. You will be able to follow the route of the extended tour "The Road of the Mountain Masters", hear the history of local mining and marble mining, told by our guides, see an abandoned marble factory and a wonderful Italian quarry. And also visit all the most picturesque and well-equipped observation decks, admire the grand Marble Canyon with the purest emerald water. In addition, the guides will tell you which famous sights are decorated with Ruskeala marble in the color of white nights with greenish flashes similar to the northern lights. At the end of the tour in the park you will have free time, you can relax, take a walk, visit the locations that are located on its territory.

At the end of the tour, you will return to the pier in the village of Hiidenselga on comfortable buses.

The ensemble of the Oranienbaum Grand (Menshikov) Palace is an outstanding architectural monument of the first half of the XVIII century, it was founded by Prince A.D. Menshikov in 1711, designed by architect F. Fontana. The construction of the central building of the palace was completed in 1716 under the supervision of architect I.F. Braunstein. At the same time, curved wings of the palace were built adjacent to the central building on the east and west sides. In 1717, the Lower Garden was laid out in front of the palace, and in 1919 the tower pavilions were erected – east and west (church).

After the fall of A.D. Menshikov, the palace was transferred to the Chancellery from the buildings, and in 1736 to the Admiralty Board for the establishment of a hospital.

In 1743, Oranienbaum was granted to the heir to the throne, Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich.

In 1918, the palace was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Local Council and it came under the protection of the Commissariat of Property of the Republic. The Grand Palace housed a hospital, an agricultural college, a forestry college with a dormitory. In 1934, the palace building was transferred to the Navy.

In 1934, the space of the Church Pavilion was divided by interstory ceilings, and the unique iconostasis was dismantled. The transfer of the Grand Palace to the museum-reserve began only in 1995 - the painstaking restoration of the Palace began under the leadership of the GMZ “Peterhof”. September 2011 became a historic landmark date in the life of the museum-reserve - the Bolshoy Menshikov Palace was opened after many years of reconstruction and invited its first visitors to its walls. The work on its restoration does not stop and still continues every year. “Oranienbaum” we offer our guests new museums to visit. In addition to visiting the Great Menshikov Palace, you will have a leisurely walk through the beautiful landscaped park and a fascinating guide's story about the Oranienbaum Nature Reserve.

"Venice of the North" - they talk about St. Petersburg. Two cities born of water, decorated with many water channels and rivers, large and small, their commonality lies not only in this. St. Petersburg, like Venice, is attractive to people not only for its beauty; first of all, these are cities with a special destiny. Both of them, having been born, eventually turned into the main cities of a strong maritime power, and in their atmosphere into a kind of "state within a state" with their own way of life and habits. As there is a special style of Venice, so there is a St. Petersburg style.

St. Petersburg gondolas are comfortable motor ships, boats and "river trams". Some will smoothly guide you along the main waterways, others will rush with the breeze along the main one – the Neva. The whole of Tsar's Petersburg can be seen from the water. The main decoration of rivers and canals are embankments, curly fences and bridges. Giant metal bridges with drawbridges, stone "humpbacked", openwork bridges over small rivers and hanging over small channels. There are more than 340 of them in total. A tour of rivers and canals tells about the present and the past, about what was and remains water and about what has long ceased to exist as a waterway, turning into streets – like, for example, the lines on Vasilyevsky Island. To visit St. Petersburg and not take a tour of the rivers and canals means not to see the "Venice of the North".

During the bus sightseeing tour of the city, you will see the ceremonial center of St. Petersburg, the granite embankments of the Neva River, as well as get acquainted with the historical and modern life of the city.

Bus tour route: Smolny Cathedral Ensemble, Tauride Palace, Summer Garden, Summer Palace of Peter the Great, Savior on Spilled Blood, Nevsky Prospekt (special attention is paid to Kazan Cathedral, Gostiny Dvor, Monument to Catherine the Great in the square of the Alexandrinsky Theater), St. Isaac's Square Ensemble, the Bronze Horseman, Senate and Synod buildings, the Ensemble of the Arrow of Vasilievsky Island – buildings Twelve Colleges, the Stock Exchange, the Kunstkamera, the Zoological Museum, the Hermitage and other attractions of the city.

The order of inspection of objects during the tour may be slightly changed at the discretion of the tour guide.

The Carl Faberge Museum is the first non-governmental museum opened thanks to the Svyaz Vremya Foundation, founded by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. The museum was opened in 2013 and is located in the Shuvalov Palace on the Fontanka River embankment, one of the most beautiful palaces in St. Petersburg, built in the 19th century in the eclectic architectural style. The museum has the world's largest collection of works by Carl Faberge, it houses the masterpieces of an outstanding jeweler, the founder of the company and the dynasty of masters of jewelry in Russia of the XIX- early XX centuries. It has more than 1,000 storage units, among which is the largest collection of famous Easter eggs made by orders of Alexander III and Nicholas II. Easter jewelry in the amount of 9 pieces is located in the blue living room of the palace. Russian Russian porcelain of the XIX century, enamels, stone-cutting products, Russian icons, paintings, silver, precious utensils and memorial items are on display in other halls.

The Lower Park of Peterhof is the most famous part of the palace and park complex. The fountains of Peterhof brought him worldwide fame. The lower park was laid out on the model of the country residence of the French King Louis XIV in Versailles in the then fashionable French style, called regular. The author who defined the basis of the entire composition of Peterhof and its further development was Peter I. himself. The sketches of Peter the Great served as the material for architect I. Braunstein to draw up the Master Plan of the residence. An experienced GMZ tour guide “Peterhof” will tell the story of the creation of fountains and, of course, will show the most beautiful of them, including the greatest fountain - Samson. After the tour, you can take a walk on your own and visit those places of the park that you find most interesting, as well as just enjoy the views of the Gulf of Finland.

Tsarskoye Selo is a museum-reserve in the city of Pushkin, which is a palace and park ensemble of the XVIII-XIX centuries.

The main attraction of the ensemble is the Catherine Palace, built for Empress Catherine I in 1724 under the direction of architect I.F. Braunstein. However, the palace took on its current appearance by 1756 thanks to the architect F. B. Rastrelli, who worked by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

The palace, built in the Baroque style, delights with its size, powerful spatial dynamics and picturesque decor. The palace facades are decorated with figures of Atlanteans and caryatids, gilded lion masks. The gilded heads of the Palace Church rise above the northern building, and the dome with a multi–pointed golden star on the spire rises above the southern one.

The halls of the palace are also luxuriously decorated: the suite fascinates with a variety of styles and decor: huge two-tiered windows and an abundance of gold carvings in the Great Hall, silk with printed patterns and printed parquet in the Blue living Room, walls painted with scenes from Chinese life, and antique motifs of ceiling painting in the Chinese living room.

The real treasure of the Catherine Palace, its pearl, is the Amber Room. The unique decoration of the room consists of 22 large panels, complemented by 180 amber boards. During the Great Patriotic War, the amber panels were stolen. For 25 years, painstaking work has been carried out to restore the room. And by the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the Amber Room appeared before the visitors of the Catherine Palace in all its splendor.

The tour will end with a leisurely stroll through the regular park adjacent to the palace and sightseeing of its attractions.

Kronstadt is a district of St. Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland at a distance of 48 km from St. Petersburg, connected to the mainland by land road. The island's area is 1,584 hectares. Kronstadt is one of the most famous small and medium-sized historical cities in the country and has an outstanding historical and cultural heritage. Over the past three centuries, the city has played a significant role in the history of Russia.

The unique significance of Kronstadt as a naval outpost built to protect the new capital, St. Petersburg, almost immediately after its foundation. The history of the city is inextricably linked with Peter the Great, the formation and strengthening of the Russian Navy, the great inventions and discoveries of Russian scientists, the heroic events of the Great Patriotic War.

The historical part of Kronstadt and the Kronstadt Fortress are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the object "The Historical Center of St. Petersburg and related monument complexes.

There are more than 300 monuments of history, culture, and technology in Kronstadt. Unique hydraulic engineering and defensive structures, beautiful buildings and ensembles such as Fort Kronshlot, a complex of provincial houses of the early 18th century, the world's first self-draining canal-Peter the Great dock, an example of an 18th-century military town, the Naval Cathedral of the early 20th century, in the construction of which the construction techniques of the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople were used, and other monuments they attract the attention of numerous tourists.