Sights of Zaraisk

The centre of Zaraisk is considered its Kremlin which is located on Ploschad Revolyutsi (Revolution Square), which is also known as Ploschad Pozharskogo (Pozharsky Square), on Ulitsa Pervomaiskaya.  Most other sights in the city are located close to Ulitsa Sovetskaya which is one of the central streets running horizontally across the city.

Around the City

Anna Golubkina House-Museum

  • 38 Ulitsa Dzerzhinskaya
  • http://museumzaraysk.ru/

Anna Golubkina was one of Russia’s most famous sculptresses. She was born in Zaraisk in 1864 and at the age of 25 she decided to become a sculptress, despite not having any previous formal education. She studied in Moscow, St Petersburg and Paris and at one point was an assistant to the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Her most famous work is the bas-relief entitled The Wave on the facade of Moscow Art Academic Theatre (MKhAT) and she has other work on display at Moscow’s… Read more »

Annunciation Church

  • 28 Ulitsa Komsomolskaya

During the Times of Troubles almost 300 troops from Arzamas and Ryazan were killed in 1608 on the outskirts of Zaraisk during a battle with Polish-Lithuanian interventionists. They were buried in Zaraisk in a mass grave and a small wooden church was build nearby dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary. In 1777 work on replacing the wooded church with a stone one started. The bell tower was completed in 1825 and a covered vestibule was constructed to link the two parts in… Read more »

Bely Kamen Holy Spring

  • west of city

On the very edge of the city on the banks of the River Osyotr is a small complex known as the Bely Kamen (White Stone) Holy Spring. Legend has it that the spring was started in 1225 at the very site where the Icon of St Nicholas was presented to the city. Over the spring is the tiny wooden St Nicholas’ Chapel. Read more »

Prince Dmitri Pozharsky Monument

  • intersection of Ulitsa Sovetskaya and Ulitsa Pervomaiskaya

Zaraisk has a monument of Prince Dmitri Pozharsky who was voevod (military governor) of the city during the Times of Troubles and successfully defended the city from supporters of the Second False Dmitri. Prince Pozharsky subsequently went on to lead the Second People's Army with Kuzma Minin, which liberated Moscow from Polish-Lithuanian Interventionists. For his services to Russia, Prince Pozharsky became a national hero. Read more »

St Elijah the Prophet's Church

  • 36A Ulitsa Krasnoarmeyskaya

The current St Elijah the Prophet's Church was completed in 1835 in the classical style and in the form of a "ship-like" church of a bell tower connected to the main building via a covered vestibule. In the 1930s it was closed and its priest was executed at the Butovo Firing-Range. The building was subsequently used by a mechanical factory. It was returned to the Church in 1996 and re-opened for worship. Read more »

Vladimir Lenin Monument

  • intersection of Ulitsa Sovetskaya and Ulitsa Dzerzhinskogo

As with most cities, Zaraisk has a statue of Lenin. Zaraisk's Lenin is made out of black stone and is depicted wearing in a long coat. He stands on a pedestal on a small square at the intersection of Ulitsa Sovetskaya and Ulitsa Dzerzhinskogo. Read more »

War Memorial

  • Ulitsa Sovetskaya

In a small square on Ulitsa Sovetskaya in front of Ulitsa Krasnoarmeyskaya is the city’s war memorial. It comprises a small obelisk and a standard statue of a Soviet soldier. It also includes an internal flame. Although Zaraisk was not the scene of fighting, many of its citizens died fighting on the frontline. Read more »

Zaraisk Historical and Architectural Museum (Trinity Cathedral)

  • Ulitsa Sovetskaya
  • http://museumzaraysk.ru/

The rather dilapidated Trinity Cathedral was built between 1776 and 1788 as a separate church and bell tower, which were later joined by further construction in 1808. It was closed by the Soviets and has housed the Zaraisk Historical and Architectural Museum since 1936. The exhibits at the museum include collections of paintings, sculptures, ornaments, furniture, clothing and examples of applied and decorative artwork. Read more »

Zaraisk Kremlin

  • Ploschad Revolyutsi (Ploschad Pozharskogo)
  • http://museumzaraysk.ru/

After Zaraisk (or Nogorodok as it was then known) became part of the Principality of Moscow, Grand Prince Vasili III ordered the construction of a stone kremlin here to protect Moscow's borders as part of the Great Abatis Border. The kremlin was built between 1528 and 1531 and probably involved Italian architects who were working in Russia at that time. Throughout the rest of the 16th century the Kremlin was put to the test during frequent Crimean Tatar raids. The kremlin is rather… Read more »