Moscow region

• The Moscow region was founded in 1929

• Regional centre – city of Moscow

• Region's area – 47,000 sq. km (0.28 % of Russia's total area)

• Region's population (c. 1.01.2000) – 6,547,000 people (4.46 % of Russia's population)

• Density of population – 143.5 p./sq. km

• Administrative regions – 39

• Cities of regional subordination – 56

• Population of the largest cities: Podolsk – 198,300; Lubertsi – 166,000; Kolomna– 53,400; Mitischi – 149,200

History and Culture

The Moscow region comprises 47,000 square km in the basins of the Volga, the Oka, the Klyazma, and the Moskva Rivers.

The Moscow region is rich in unique vegetation zones. 20 per cent of all scientific organisations in Russia are located in the Moscow region.

Korolev, Dubna, Protvino, Zhukovsky, Krasnoarmeysk, Dmitrov, Belozersk, Sergiev-Posad, Chernogolovka, Khimki, Reutov, Fryazino, Pushchino; this list of scientific centres of the Moscow region that are of national importance is far from being complete.

The Moscow region is a historically formed centre of Russia's economic and cultural life.

The Moscow region is rich in architectural, historic and cultural monuments of national and global importance. They are associated with the names of many famous Russian artists, composers, poets, writers, actors, military leaders, public and political men.

Currently, there are 1,099 churches and 27 manasteries open in the region.
896 temples and chapels are declared to be historic and cultural monuments.
Along with the restoration of temples that were destroyed in past decades, new churches are constantly being built throughout the region.

In the 18th-19th centuries, a variety of artistic crafts originated in the Moscow region. Examples of world-famed crafts of the Russian region include wooden toys made by engravers from Bogorodskoe and Kudrino, the lacquered miniatures of Fedoskino, ornamental metal trays of Zhostovo, as well as jewellers' and bone-carvers' works and splendid laces and embroideries.

Sights

The Troitse-Sergieva Lavra (of the Trinity and Reverend Sergiy)
The Troitse-Sergieva Lavra is situated in the very centre of Sergiev Posad. When approaching the town one can see the panorama of the fortress monastery with white-stone towers, shining gilded domes and a five-storey belfry. The monastery was founded in the 1340s by Sergiy Radonezhsky, a prominent Church, public and political figure. The monastere presented an important ideological and cultural centre of Russia. Book recopying, jewellers icon-painters, an architecture school that provided a kind of building workshop for all Russia, gold-embroidery, an excellent singing school, and other arts were concentrated here. The current architectural ensemble of the monastery is magnificent. It has been formed during the period spanning from the 15th to the 19th century. Its monuments representing various epochs and styles of Russian art bear characteristic signs of their times.

The Troitsky Cathedral of the Trinity, the first stone building in the monastery, was erected in 1422-1423, of the request of Father-Superior Nikon. It was funded by Grand Prince of Moscow Vasily I and prince Yuri of Zvenigorod. In 1425-1427, the inside of the church was painted by Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny among othres. Only two fragments of these wall-paintings were preserved. The Uspensky Cathedral (of the Assumption) was erected in 1559-1585 at the orders of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The monumental brick building reflects the shape of the Uspensky Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin and is even a little bigger than that temple is. Its imposing look is characterised with strict simplicity and architectural laconicism. Its shape suffered multiple changes, the last of which took place in the 1880s. A magnificent bell tower that was built from 1741 to 1747 and was completed only in 1770 presents one of the best baroque belfries and serves as a composition centre of the monastery.

The Troitse-Sergieva Lavra represents one of the most significant monuments of old Russian architecture.

The Uspensky Cathedral in Gorodok (of the Assumption)
The Uspensky Cathedral in Gorodok is one kilometre away from Zvenigorod, on a high hill (Gorodok St.). According to a marble plaque on its wall, is was erected in 1399-1400, by Prince Yuri of Zvenigorod.

In 1389, the town of Zvenigorod that had been ravaged by Tatars seven years before during the invasion of Tokhtamysh (1382) was given to, Yuri, the younger son of Dmitry Donskoy. Belligerent Yuri who later would fight with Prince Vasily II of Moscows for the title of Grand prince, performed a successful campaign against the Crimea Tatars in 1399 that resulted in a huge amount of loot. We can presume that it was after Yuri grew “rich” that he created the single-domed Uspensky cathedral in his well-entrenched patrimony.

The Uspensky Cathedral is perhaps the best monument of the turn of the 14th-15th centuries, from the point of architectural mastery and daintiness. The unknown builders of the temple found the right magnitudes and managed to maintain that sense of proportion that characterises real works of art.

The edifice is built of white stone and represents a four-pillar single-domed church of the cross-dome type. The facades are symmetrically divided into three parts with trowels and semi-columns that are consolidated in bunches at the corners. The walls, the upper side of the dome drum and apses are decorated with an ornamental girdle. The entrances are framed with perspective carinate portals.

The edifice is strictly balanced due to an eastward bias of the dome drum in the developed central apse. The temple was purposely "narrowed" upwards to improve its proportions. Just like an old person it became a little lower with time. That is partially caused by the ground settlement, and by nearly a metre of overgrowth that was accumulated for six hundred years. A portion of the plinth and lower stairs are now underground.

The Borisoglebsky Monastery (of Saints Boris and Gleb)
The town of Dmitrov was founded (in the place of ancient Slavic settlements) in 1154, by prince Yuri Dolgoruky, the first organiser of the Vladimir and Suzdal lands that included the current Moscow region. Dmitrov owes its name to Vsevolod-Dmitry, the son of Dolgoruky. (In the 11th and the 12th centuries, there was a tradition to name new towns after princes. Thus, we now have Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Yuriev.)

In Dmitrov, the Borisoglebsky Monastery has been preserved (in Bolshevistskaya St.). The exact year of its foundation is unknown. Based on the fist mention of the monastery in the will of prince Yuri Vassilievich (1472) during whose reign Dmitrov started to grow we can suppose that the cloister (once an advanced military post on the eastern suburb of the town) was founded in the second half of the 15th century. This supposition is confirmed by a stone cross with the date “1462” on it, that was found in the cloister in 1841. A sculpture picturing the Trinity on the top, the crucifix in the middle, and the figures of three saints below, was built into the cathedral wall on its western portal. Another gravestone with the date “1537” is also built into the cathedral wall. This might be an inset plate signifying the erection of the cathedral, for the edifice style and type are quite special compliant with the first half of the 16th century. At the time of prince Yuri Ivanovich's rule huge building works took place in Dmitrov.

The St. Boris and Gleb Cathedral is the centre of the architectural ensemble. In the mid-17th century, a western church-porch and a three-storey side belfry with chiming clock were added. The brick church on a white-stone basement is a bright example of the Moscow school of the early 16th century. In 1610, it was hit hard during the invasion of Sapega, a Polish landowner; after being restored in 1620, it suffered from a huge fire in 1672; later it was renovated with many changes. In the late 18th century the cathedral was rebuilt again, and in the 1900s it was given its original ancient look.

Fedoskino boxes
Fedoskino miniatures became world-famous 200 years ago. Mass manufacturing of these works started in 1759, when Moscow merchant P.I. Korobov established a factory making lacquered cap peaks for the Russian army in the village of Danilkovo (now Fedoskino). He brought a few specialists from Germany’s Braunschweig, where the famous lacquered works factory of I. Schtobwasser was located. With their help, he started to make lacquered snuffboxes and other papier-mache things. They were boxes with plain ornaments and snuffboxes with paper prints glued to their covers and varnished with bright lacquer. The prints usually pictured the events of modern life: episodes from the 1812 war and manoeuvres against the Turks.

Tchaikovsky's Memorial Home in the Town of Klin
Klin is a beautiful small town 70 km away from Moscow. Here Pyotr Tchaikovsky conceived and completed many of his most outstanding compositions. The estate and its furniture are still in perfect condition.

On the composer's commemoration day, November 6, music is performed on Tchaikovsky's personal grand piano. The tradition, born in the 1920-s, has been maintained ever since. Many celebrated musicians have regarded it an honour to contribute to the musical soirees in the Memorial Home, among them S. Lemeshev, D. Oistrakh. The tradition of giving prizewinners of the International Tchaikovsky Competitions the right to play on the composer's piano started in 1958 with a performance by the American Van Cliburn, the winner of the first competition.

Location: Moscow Region, the town of Klin, Tchaikovskogo Street, 48.
Tel. 8-22-45-81
Open: daily (10.00 a.m.- 6.00 p.m.) except We and Th and the last Mo of any month.

Arkhangelskoe
The estate of Arkhangelskoe is famous thanks to its majestic beauty, gorgeous collections of West European and Russian paintings, porcelain exhibits, and fantastic landscape. This used to be the country estate of the Yusupov princes. The garden facade overlooks two terraces surmounted by statues and, beyond them, the magnificent French park which was constructed in the 18th century. The Church of Michael the Archangel (17th century) erected on the high bank of the Moskva is the oldest and architecturally most interesting monument. The edifice consists of a main cube with tiered rows of kokoshniki gables beading to a scaled solitary dome and two smaller annexes, each with a similarly scaled onion-shaped copula. Moreover, tourists would will be impressed by the grand library containing about 16,000 books by European and Russian authors.

Take a train from the Leningradsky railway station to the platform “Podsolnechnaya”, then bus 24.
Open: daily (10 a.m. — 5 p.m.) except Mo, Tu.

The State History, Literature & Art Museum Abramtsevo
Abramtsevo is a unique historical, art and literary museum, and nature preserve. It combines expositions devoted to the two “epochs” of Abramtsevo, connected with literature and painting. In 1842 the estate became the property of the writer Aksakov, who turned it into one of the cultural centres of Russia. In the dining room there is an interesting exhibit — the tablecloth with signatures of guests who were always welcome in the house. They signed in chalk, and afterwards Aksakov's daughters embroidered them on the cloth. The original is in the State Tretyakov Gallery now, and the copy decorates the dining room. The famous writers (Gogol and Turgenev among them) often visited this beauty spot. In 1870 the estate was bought by S. Mamontov, the famous patron of the arts. He formed a group of talented artists and musicians. When in Abramtsevo, one feels that cosy peaceful atmosphere that has always accompanied the house. Nowadays, visitors can enjoy ceramic and carpenter's shops, a sculptor's studio, Church of the Vernicle and different structures in the Russian style.

Location: the village of Abramtsevo, the Moscow region. Take trains from the Yaroslavsky railway station to the platform “Abramtsevo”.
Open: daily except Mon, Tue and the last Thu of any month.
Tel. (095)584-55-33

The State History, Literature, Nature-Preserve Museum of Alexander Blok
The estate Shahmatovo is the centre of the Nature-preservd Museum of the great Russian poet Alexander Blok. It is situated 78 km from Moscow. Every summer Blok went to Shahmatovo, except the last 5 years of his life. Here he wrote about 300 poems. Blok named Shahmatovo and its environs “Native Land”, where he spent his best times. The beauty of the environment became his muse. If Blok as a citizen was born in Petersburg, then Blok as a poet was undoubtedly born in Shakhmatovo.

Now the manor house is restored, the household is reconstructed, and the beautiful garden again blooms in Shahmatovo.

The permanent exposition in Tarakanovo is called: “A. Blok .The pages of life and creative work”. It is the collection of original and copied photos, manuscripts and other articles of great value. It has become a tradition to annually hold poetry holidays in Shakhmatovo.

Perhaps, one should see the place where an author worked in order to feel the world of his poems better. So, in Shakhmatovo one can touch the atmosphere of fantasy that inspired the great Russian poet.

Location: Moscow region, Solnechnogorsk, Naberehznaya St., 12
Open: 10.00 — 17.00, except Mon. and Tue.
Tel./Fax: (095) 994-04-67.

HOTELS
¹ Hotel Address Tel
1 Le Meridien Moscow country club Moscow region, Krasnogorsk district, Nakhabino (095)926-59-11, 207 29 57
2 Istra holiday country hotel Moscow region, Solnechnogorsk district, Trusovo (095)775-55-50
3 Noginsk hotel complex Moscow region, Noginsk, Lenin Square, 2 (251)7-34-79
4 Russkiy dvorik hotel (Russian yard), LLC Moscow region, Krasnoy Armii avenue, Sergiev Posad, 142/1 (254)7-53-91
5 Novootel-Sheremetievo-2 Moscow region, Khimki district, Sheremetievo-2, Estate 2 (095)926-59-00
6 Astoriya hotel Moscow region, Pushkin district, Levkovo settlement, 38 (095)107-31-35, 584-28-02
7 Pokrovskoe rest house Moscow region, Odintsovsky district, Pokrovskoye (095)592-93-12
8 Ershovo rest house health and sanitary company, JSC Moscow region, Odintsovsky district, Ershovo (095)592-90-19
9 Golubaya rechka (Blue river) pension Moscow region, Odintsovsky district, Karinskoye (095)592-60-93
10 Cultural, sanitary and sports centre, Lipki pension Moscow region, Odintsovsky district, Sinkovo (095)992-16-05, 992-16-25
11 Solnechnaya polyana medical pension, JSC Moscow region, Odintsovsky district, Volkovo (095)592-60-66, 592-60-65
12 Tishkovo medical and prophylactic organisation,
sanatorium and resort association 		Moscow region, Pushkin district, Tishkovo (095)993-36-08
13 Zarya medical pension Moscow region, Stupinsky district, Petrovo (264)785-00, 785-20
14 Zvenigorod medical pension Moscow region, Odintsovsky district, Sharapovo (095)500-36-28, 960-53-05
15 Mozhayskiy sanatorium Moscow region, Mozhaisky district, Krasnovidovo (095)592-26-17, (238) 5-16-21
16 Istra sanatorium, JSC Moscow region, Instrinsky district, Luchinskoye (095)994-51-46, 994-53-60
17 Marphino central military clinical sanatorium Moscow region, Mytishchinsky district, Marphino (095)587-71-36, 577-84-83
18 Kolontaevo lok Moscow region, Noginsky district, Obukhovo, Kolontayevo (095)702-97-46, 702-92-9
19 Prek (Akvareli pension), JSC Moscow region, Naro-Phominsky district, Vereya (095)592-67-75
20 Monino sanatorium Moscow region, Shchelkovsky district (095)245-89-80
21 Sofrino medical complex Moscow region, Pushkin district, Talitsi (095)933-29-30
22 Chaykovskiy rest house Moscow region, Klinsky district, Nudol (095)560-25-44


TRAVEL AGENCIES
¹ Agency Address Tel
1 Geo tourist club Moscow region, Zheleznodorozhni, Sovetskaya St., 2 (095)748-28-33
2 Elstour, LLC Moscow region, Elektrostal, Pervomaiskaya St., 48 (257) 4-66-32
3 Bogorodtskiy travel and excursion bureau, LLC Moscow region, Noginsk, Zholstovskaya St., 4 (251)4-57-86
4 Astragal, LLC Moscow region, Orekhovo-Zuevo, Oktyabrskaya square, 4 (24)12-41-33
5 Visit-Centre travel company Moscow region, Dubna, Shkolny Passage, Building 1, 4 (221)6-53-45, 6-71-75
6 Russkiy dvorik (Russian yard) travel bureau, LLC Moscow region, Sergiev Posad, Voznesenskaya St., 2 (095)786-27-01
7 San-Tour, LLC Moscow region, Khimki, Zorge St., 18 (095)198-42-59
8 Insight-96, LLC Moscow region, Khimki, Mayakovskaya St., 23 (095)575-83-88, 575-95-21
9 Intourist stupino affiliate, JSC Moscow region, Stupino, Chaikovsky St., 1 (264)7-40-61
10 Kolomna municipal tourism centre Moscow region, Kolomna, Oksky av., 15 (26)13-55-15
11 Union travel agency Moscow region, Voskresensk, Sovetskaya St., 9 (244)2-36-65
12 Uezdniy gorod, LLC Moscow region, Serpukhov, Vodonapornaya St., 36 (095) 139-80-34
13 Lopasnya-tour travel company Moscow region, Chekhov, Vishnevy Boulevard, 1-a (2720)2-29-92, 2-10-34
14 Zolotie kupola (Golden domes) travel agency, LLC Moscow region, Serpukhov, Sovetskaya St., 69/22 (095)746-59-91, (27)35-01-52
15 Yukompany, LLC Moscow region, Odintsovo, Marshal Zukov St., 30, Office 7 (095)596-26-59, 596-33-47,
799-27-07
16 Navigator NG, LLC Moscow region, Odintsovo, Biryuzov St., 14, Office 44 (095)596-13-52
17 Zodiak, LLC Moscow region, Odintsovo, L. Novoselova boulevard, 5-a (095)593-92-71


DEPARTMENT FOR TOURISM OF
MOSCOW REGION
Tel.: (095)200-68-42, 209-64-56
Fax: (095)209-68-54