Sights of Volokolamsk

  Volokolamsk's main street is Ulitsa Panfilova which turns into Proezd, and then Ulitsa, Lenina, at Oktyarskaya Ploschad (October Square) - the city's main square. The Volokolamsk Kremlin is located near to this square.  However if you have come to Volokolamsk it is worth also visiting some of the villages outside the city which have some great sights to offer tourists.

  The village (selo) of Terayevo is located 25km from Volokolamsk and boasts the wonderful Iosifo-Volotsky Monastery which is located in picturesque countryside. Terayevo can be reached from Volokolamsk Bus Station by bus No. 23 which stops outside the monastery. It runs rather infrequently and takes approximately 1 hour.

  The village (selo) of Yaropolets is located 16km from Volokolamsk. It can be reached from Volokolamsk Bus Station or Railway Station by bus No. 28 which stops outside the Goncharov Estate. It runs around once an hour and takes approximately 40 minutes. The main street is Ulitsa Sovetskaya which turns into Ulitsa Pushkinskaya at the intersection with Ulitsa Dodogorskogo.

  The settlement (posyolok) of Dubosekovo is located 14km from Volokolamsk and is famous for the impressive Monument to the 28 Panfilovtsy Heroes, who succeeded in destroying appraching Nazi tanks. The easiest way to get there on public transport is by suburban train from Moscow or Volokolamsk. From Moscow it is the stop 10 minutes before Volokolamsk. Dubosekovo Station is located within walking distance from the monument.

Around the City

Intercession Church

  • 10 Ulitsa Dovatora

The Intercession Church was completed in 1695 on the orders of Tsaritsa Natalia Naryshkina (the wife of Tsar Alexis and mother of Peter the Great). It was originally part of the Varvarinsky Monastery which existed until its dissolution in 1764. The church was subsequently increased in size in 1806 and 1870 and a bell tower was built on in 1878. The church remained open during the Soviet period. Read more »

Nativity of the Virgin Mary Church

  • The Intercession Church was completed in 1695 on the orders of Tsaritsa Natalia Naryshkina (the wife of Tsar Alexis and mother of Peter the Great). It was originally part of the Varvarinsky Monastery which existed until its dissolution in 1764. The church was subsequently increased in size in 1806 and 1870 and a bell tower was built on in 1878. The church remained open during the Soviet period.

The Nativity of the Virgin Mary church was originally built in the late 1530s as the cathedral of the Vozmischensky Monastery which was dissolved in 1764. In form it is a simple white-stone four-pillared cube and to this a vestibule and bell tower were added in 1850. Read more »

Volokolamsk Kremlin (Volokolamsk Historical and Architectural Museum)

  • Sobornaya Gorka, Ulitsa Gorval
  • http://volok-tour.ru/
  • 09:00 - 17:00. Closed on Mondays and the last Friday of the month.

  The centre of Volokolamsk is its kremlin. Although the kremlin is no longer surrounded by a stone fortress wall it still remains the highlight of a visit to Volokolamsk due to the architectural ensemble located there on the area known as Sobornaya Gorka (Cathedral Hill). Parts of the earthen mounds remain which allows one to imagine how this was once a great fortification necessary to protect Volokolamsk from raids which it suffered frequently at the hands of various enemies… Read more »

War Memorial

  • Oktyabrskaya Ploschad

On Oktyabrskaya Ploschad (October Square), close to the kremlin, is Volokolamsk's War Memorial. In addition to the eternal flame and memorial plaques, it includes two busts. One is of Ivan Panfilov, a Soviet general who was killed near Volokolamsk after managing to slow the Nazi advance on Moscow and in whose honour the 316th rifle division was later named. The second bust is of Bauyrzhan Momyshuly who was a Soviet-Kazakh officer in the 316th rifle division during the Battle of… Read more »

Dubosekovo

Memorial to the 28 Panfilovsty Heroes

  • Dubosekovo

In a field near to the Dubosekovo railway station and among trenches, there stand six giant soldiers armed with machine guns, watching over and guarding Moscow. There is one soldier for each of the nationalities represented by the 28 Panfilovtsy guardsmen who fought a Nazi tank division here on 16 November 1941 and made and important contribution to the defence of Moscow. It is fitting tribute and an extremely impressive sight. Read more »

Terayevo

Iosifo-Volokolamsky Monastery

  • outside Terayevo, Volokolamsk District
  • http://www.iosif-vm.ru/

The Iosifo-Volotsky Monastery was founded in 1479 by the monk Iosif (later canonised as St Joseph (Iosif) of Volotsk) in 1479. St Joseph was a very influential person during his lifetime and an influential theologian who was a leader in defending monastic land-ownership and opposing heresies. As a result the Iosifo-Volotsy Monastery became just as important and a major landowner; second only to the Troitse-Sergieva Lavra. Today the monastery has the status of a stauropegic… Read more »

Yaropolets

Chernyshev Estate

  • Ulitsa Pushkinskaya

A short while down the road from the Goncharov Estate is the Chernyshev Estate. In 1717 Pyotr Petrovich Doroshenko sold his share of Yaropolets to Grigori Chernyshev and his descendants went on to develop this estate. In the 1770 the estate comprised a stately home and elaborate gardens, and was even referred to as a Russian Versailles. Like the neighbouring Goncharov Estates it was confiscated after the revolution (it was used by the local hospital and as a sanatorium) and heavily… Read more »

Goncharov Estate

  • Ulitsa Pushkinskaya

The Goncharov Estate is the best preserved of Yaropolets' two estates, which can be explained due to the connection it has with Russia's favour poet, Aleksandr Puskhin. After Petro Doroshenko's death the estate passed to his son Aleksandr Petrovich Doroshenko; then to his daughter Yekaterina. Yekaterina married Aleksandr Zagryazhsky and it was during this time in the 1780s that the estate's main house was constructed. Their granddaughter Natalia, who was born in here, married… Read more »

Our Lady of Kazan Church

  • Ulitsa Pushkinskaya

Across from the ruins of the Chernyshev Estate are the ruins of the Our Lady of Kazan Church. Despite its dilapidated state it is still impressive for its unusual form - two symmetrical parts connected with a vestibule in the middle. Construction started in 1780 on the orders of Zakhar Chernyshev but stopped after his death; It was only finally completed and consecrated in 1839. Since its closure during the Soviet era, only small repair works have been carried out to stop further… Read more »

Pyotr Doroshenko Mausoleum

  • Ulitsa Sovetskaya

  After Hetman Pyotr Doroshenko of Right-Bank Ukraine was overthrown he was given Yaropolets in 1684 by Regent Sofia where he lived as an honorary exile. Doroshenko died in Yaropolets and was buried in the village. In 1838 his descendants built a mausoleum over his grave. This original version was later destroyed and the mausoleum you see today was built in 1999, although the original tombstone has survived.   Read more »

St John the Baptist's Church

  • Ulitsa Pushkinskaya

Located just outside the Goncharov Estate is the oldest building in Yaropolets - St John the Baptist's Church (also known as St Catherine's Church). The church was built between 1751 and 1755 by Aleksandr Zagryazhsky in the classical style in the standard octagonal-on-cube form, typical for churches of this era. Read more »

Vladimir Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya Monument

  • Ulitsa Pushkinskaya

Like most places in Russia, Yaropolets has its own Lenin monument, but this monument is not like all the rest as next to a bust of Lenin is a bust of his wife Nadezhda Krupskaya. Lenin is joined with his wife to commemorate the pair's visit on 14 November 1920 to examine the village's cooperative and the construction of the first rural hydroelectric dam. Read more »

Yaropolets Hydroelectric Dam

  • behind the Chernyshev Estate

In 1918 when a question arose about how best to provide the lighting for a play being put on by local people, the bold idea to use dynamos was suggested. Having used the dynamo to successfully power four lamps for the play, the locals decided to construct a hydro-electric dam to power the whole village and a cooperative was set up for this purpose. In 1920 Lenin and his wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, visited the cooperative.  Lenin and was so impressed with the progress in building the… Read more »

Yaropolets Regional Museum

  • 4 Ulitsa Dodogorskogo
  • http://volok-museum.ru/muzei-volokolamskogo-rayona.html

  The small Yaropolets Region Museum is located in what was once the People's House - a type of cultural centre. The museum has exhibits on the history of Yaropolets including Pushkin, the Decembrists, the electrification of the village and the Second World War. It also has information on the Goncharov and Chernyshev Estates and even displays some furniture from them. The museum is run as a branch of the Volokolamsk Historical and Architectural Museum. Read more »