“Smolensk is a shield of Russia”. Located on the western border of the country Smolensk (Смоленск) withstood many a siege, it was attacked by the Poles, the Lithuanians, the French under Napoleon and the Nazi Germany. Now it is called the Hero City for the valour of the citizens during the Great Patriotic War (WWII). Smolensk is one of the oldest Russian towns, it’s known since 862 A.D.
A map of attractions https://goo.gl/JjuEyc
Cathedral Hill is the place where you will find Assumption Cathedral (Успенский собор) 1677, Epiphany Cathedral (Богоявленский собор) 1787, Church of John the Baptist (Церковь Иоанна Предтечи) 1703.
Smolensk Kremlin wall was 6,5 km long once. It was built in 1602. Almost half of the wall exists today.
Art Gallery (Художественная галерея) Address: Kommunisticheskaya Ul. 4. Opening hrs: T,W,Sat,S – 10-18, Thu – 11-19, F – 10-17. Closed on Monday and on last Tuesday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Taking pictures in all Smolensk museum costs around 150-200 RUB.Contacts: +74812380695, smol-gallery@mail.ru.
Sergey Konenkov Sculpture Museum (Музей скульптуры С.Т. Коненкова) This museums contains great works, a must. Address: Mayakovskogo Ul. 7. Opening hrs: 10-18. Closed on Monday, Tuesday and on last Wednesday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Contacts: smolsculpture@yandex.ru.
Museum of Smolensk Linen (Музей «Смоленский лён») Address: Marshala Zhukova Ul., Nikolskaya tower. Opening hrs: T,W,Thu,Sat,S – 10-18, F – 10-17. Closed on Monday and on last Wednesday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Contacts: +74812381611.
Museum ‘In the World of Fairy Tale’ (Музей «В мире сказки») Address: Lenina St. 15. Opening hrs: T,W,Thu,Sat,S – 10-18, F – 10-17. Closed on Monday and on last Thursday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Contacts: +74812382226.
‘Smolensk Region during the Great Patriotic War’ Museum (Смоленщина в годы Великой Отечественной Войны) Address: Dzerzhinskogo Ul. 4a. Opening hrs: T,W,Thu,Sat,S – 10-18, F – 10-17. Closed on Monday and on last Tuesday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Contacts: museum-of-war@yandex.ru.
‘Smolensk – Shield of Russia’ Museum (Музей «Смоленск – Щит России») Address: Oktyabrskoy Revolyutsii Ul. 3, Gromovaya tower. Opening hrs: T,W,Thu,Sat,S – 10-18, F – 10-17. Closed on Monday and on last Tuesday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Contacts: smolshield@yandex.ru
Historical Museum (Исторический музей) Address: Lenina Ul. 8. Opening hrs: T,W,Thu,Sat,S – 10-18, F – 10-17. Closed on Monday and on last Thursday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Contacts: smolhis67@yandex.ru.
Town Forge of the XVII c. (Городская кузница 17в.) Address: Lenina Ul. 10a. Opening hrs: W,Thu,Sat,S – 10-17, F – 10-16. Closed on Monday, Tuesday and on last Thursday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Contacts: +74812383862.
Alexander Tvardovsky Memorial Apartment (Музей-квартира А.Т. Твардовского) Address: Zapolny pereulok, h. 4 apt.26. Opening hrs: T,W,Thu,Sat,S – 10-18, F – 10-17. Closed on Monday and on last Thursday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Contacts: +74812382796.
Trinity Convent (Свято-Троицкий женский монастырь) Address: Bolshaya Sovetskaya Ul. 9.
Barrow of Immortality (Курган бессмертия) This is a place where 3,000 citizens found their eternal peace as a symbol of the 135,000 lives that were lost during the Nazis’ occupation of the town. Look for it in the Readovsky Park.
Tenishevs Exhibition Centre (Культурно-выставочный центр им. Тенишевых) Address: Przhevalskogo Ul. 3. Opening hrs: 10-19. Closed on Monday. Contacts: kvc-tenisheva-smolensk@ya.ru. Website: http://kvcsmolensk.ru/.
Museum of Russian Vodka (Музей русской водки) Address: Studencheskaya Ul. 4, Pyatnitskaya tower. Contacts: +74812381382.
The Church of Michael Archangel (Церковь Архангела Михаила) XII c. Address: Parkovaya Ul. 4A.
The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul (Церковь Петра и Павла) XII c. Address: Kashena Ul. 20.
The Church of John the Apostle (Церковь Иоанна Богослова) XII c. Address: bolshaya Krasnoflotskaya Ul. 15A.
Katyn Memorial Complex (Мемориал “Катынь”) Address: Kozyi Gory. Opening hrs: 9-17 daily. Guided tours in English and Polish – 800 RUB for a group of 25 people. Contacts: katyn-memorial@mail.ru +74812488967. Website: http://memorial-katyn.ru/. How to get there: take bus 101 or 102 from the bus station (platform 13) or from the Kolkhoznaya ploshchad (see map https://goo.gl/JjuEyc and pictures below).
Little Palace (Теремок) This place is the remnants of the once famous estate Talashkino, owned by the great patron of the Russian crafts and art Maria Tenisheva. Address: Flyonovo village. Opening hrs: T,W,Thu,Sat,S – 10-18, F – 10-17. Closed on Monday and on last Thursday every month. Ticket office closes 30 min before closing time. Contacts: flenovo@yandex.ru. How to get there: take bus 104 to Talashkino village, then walk for 20-30 min to Flyonovo. http://wikiroutes.info/smolensk
Mikhail Glinka Memorial Estate (Музей-усадьба М.И.Глинки) Address: Novospasskoe settlement. Contacts: muzejusadbamiglinki@mail.ru.
Mikhail Egorov Memorial House (Дом-музей М.А.Егорова) M.A.Egorov along with M.V.Kantaria planted a standard on the Reichstag. Address: Rudnya town, Molkombinata settlement 15.
Nikolay Przhevalsky Memorial House (Дом-музей Н.М.Пржевальского) Address: Przhevalskogo settlement. Contacts: +74814726373.
Alexander Tvardovsky Memorial Estate (Музей-усадьба А.Т.Твардовского) Address: Zagorye, Seltso village. Contacts: +74814952420.
How to get there
It’s very easy to get to Smolensk from Moscow. A Lastochka connects the two cities (4 hrs). So the easiest way is to buy a ticket on RZhD site.
How to get around
