Sights of Tver

In the City Centre

Aleksandr Nevsky’s Cathedral

  • Privokzalnaya Ploschad

Work on the construction of Aleksandr Nevsky's Cathedral started in 2010 using funds raised from the public and it is hoped to be completed by 2014. Previously in this area outside the railway station a church was built on the orders of Emperor Alexander II in 1893. In 1921 this church was closed and subsequently used as a store for bread. After the war it was used as a grocery, until it was completely demolished in 1984.  Read more »

Aleksandr Pushkin Monument

  • Naberezhnaya Mikhaila Yaroslavicha

  This monument to Aleksandr Pushkin was unveiled in 1974 and is the work of the renowned sculptor Oleg Komov. The monument depicts Russia's most beloved poet leaning up against a railing wearing a top hat with his coat hanging over his arm. The monument's position on the bank of the River Volga opposite the Resurrection of Christ Church and the Afanasi Nikitin Monument means that it a favourite place for posing for photographs. Read more »

Ascension Cathedral

  • 26 Ulitsa Sovetskaya
  • http://vosnesenie.ru

Previously a wooden church dedicated to the Ascension of Christ stood here until it was destroyed in the Times of Troubles, it was later rebuilt but it once again burned down. In 1751 work started on building a stone replacement which was completed in 1760. Three years later the new cathedral was damaged by fire, but it was fully restored in 1768. A bell tower was added in 1805. In 1935 the cathedral was closed but was briefly reopened once more during the Nazi occupation of the… Read more »

City Gardens

  • between Ulitsa Sovietskaya and Naberezhnaya Mikhaila Yaroslavicha

Tver's City Gardens are located in between the Volga and Ulitsa Sovetskaya where the Tver Kremlin once stood. The gardens were first opened in 1931 when three previously existing parks were reorganised into one large city park comprising nine hectares. The park was destroyed during the war and had to be replanted afterwards. As well as its trees, lawns and flowers, there are also some monuments, cafes and rides within the park. Read more »

City of Military Glory Monument

  • Ploschad Pushkina

In 2010 Tver was awarded the title of City of Military Glory and in 2011 a monument in commemoration of this was unveiled on Ploschad Pushkina (Pushkin Square). The monument is the standard City of Military Glory Monument with a granite obelisk with the Russian double-headed eagle on the top. The obelisk is surrounded by four plinths with engravings of the Battle of Bortenevo, battles from the time of the Time of Troubles, the Napoleonic War and finally the Second World War. Read more »

Heroes of Chernobyl Park

  • outside 21 Bulvar Radischeva

  Mikhail Krug was born in Tver (Kalinin) in 1962 and went on to become a famous Russian shanson singer, a style of songs often connected with prison and the criminal underworld, although he also wrote songs about love and about Tver. Krug was especially popular in the late 1980s and 1990s. In 2002 Krug was shot by intruders in his house in Tver, where his family were also staying, and later died of his injuries. This statue of him depicts him sat on a bench with his guitar. It… Read more »

Karl Marx Monument

  • opposite 16 Ulitsa Sovetskaya

Installed in the walls of the city gardens is one of the oldest monuments in Russia to Karl Marx having been unveiled in 1919. The monument is rather simple in form and comprises of just Marx's giant head on top of a pedestal. The pedestal is inscribed with the quote "Proletarians of all countries, unite! Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist Revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win." The monument was removed in 1991 but… Read more »

Mikhail Kalinin Monument

  • Sobornaya Ploschad (outside 3 Ulitsa Sovetskaya)

Standing on Sobornaya Ploschad (Cathedral Square) which was previously known as, and still occasionally referred to as, Ploschad Revolyusti (Revolution Square) is a statue of the Soviet statesman Mikhail Kalinin. Kalinin was born in the Tver Governorate in 1875 and the city of Tver was named Kalinin in his honour from 1931 to 1990. This statue was unveiled in 1955 where the Transfiguration of the Saviour Cathedral once stood. Read more »

Mikhail Saltykov-Schedrin Monument

  • Tverskaya Ploschad

  Located in the gardens of Tverskaya Ploschad (Tver Square) is a monument to Mikhail Saltykov-Schedrin. Mikhail Saltykov-Schedrin was a famous author and satirist who was born in the Tver Governorate in 1826 and also briefly served as vice-governor of Tver. The bronze statue, depicting the satirist late in his life, was unveiled in 1976 and is the work of the renowned sculptor Oleg Komov.  Read more »

Mikhail Saltykov-Schedrin Museum

  • 11/37 Ulitsa Rybatskaya
  • http://www.tvermuzeum.ru
  • 11:00 - 17:00. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

  Mikhail Saltykov-Schedrin was a famous satirist who was born in the Tver Governorate in 1826. Between 1860 and 1862 Satykov-Schedrin served as vice-governor of Tver and the house where he lived at this time is now the Mikhail Saltykov-Schedrin Museum. The museum was opened in 1976 on the 150th anniversary of Saltykov-Schedrin's birth and details his life and work. Part of the displays are made up of decorative panels based on Saltykov-Schedrin's work. The museum is run as part… Read more »

Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich Monument

  • Sovetskaya Ploschad

Around two-thirds of the way down Ulitsa Sovetskaya is Sovetskaya Ploschad (Soviet Square) which has a monument to the most famous prince of Tver - Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich. Mikhail Yaroslavich ruled in Tver from approximately 1282 to 1318 and was also grand prince of Vladimir. He is known for his anti-Horde and anti-Moscow polices which eventually cost him his life. In 1549 he was canonised by the Russian Orthodox Church. This statue was unveiled in 2008 and depicts Mikhail on… Read more »

Tver Congressional Mosque

  • opposite 64 Ulitsa Sovetskaya

Tver's Congressional Mosque is located at the end of Ulitsa Sovetskaya. Permission was granted to build the mosque in 1905 and the construction was completed in 1905. It comprises a cube building with a minaret and the whole structure is decorated with pink and red stripes. In 1932 the mosque was closed and was even eventually used as an eastern-style restaurant. The building was returned to the Muslim community in 1992 and the mosque was reopened.  Read more »

Tver Imperial Travellers Palace (Art Gallery of the Tver Region)

  • 3 Ulitsa Sovetskaya
  • http://gallery.tver.ru
  • 11:00 - 18:00. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

The Imperial Travellers Palace was built to serve as a palace for the imperial family to stay at when travelling from St Petersburg to Moscow. It was built between 1764 and 1766 in the classical style with elements of baroque. In the early 19th century the palace was reconstructed by the famous Italian architect Carlo Rossi. Around this time it was used as the residence of Grand Duchess Yekaterina Pavlovna, the daughter of Emperor Paul I, whose husband was governor-general of Tver… Read more »

Tver Regional Museum

  • 5 Ulitsa Sovetskaya
  • http://www.tvermuzeum.ru
  • 11:00 - 18:00. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

The Tver Regional Museum was founded in 1866 and is now located in a former school building dating from the mid-19th century. It includes displays on the flora and fauna of the Tver Region, geographical history, ancient Tver and Tver during the times of the Russian empire, during the Napoleonic War and during the Second World War. The museum is run as part of the Tver State Unified Museum. Read more »

Ulitsa Tryokhsvyatskaya

  • Sovetskaya Ploschad

Tver's main pedestrian street is Ulitsa Tryokhsvyatskaya (Three-Saints Street) which runs from Naberezhnaya Stepana Razina, across Ploschad Lenina and down to Prospekt Chaikovskogo. The street was created in the mid-18th century after a great fire destroyed most of the city centre but which gave an opportunity for new town planning. From 1919 to 1991 the street was known as Ulitsa Moiseya Ugritskogo, after a local Communist Party member. Now the street is a pleasant place for… Read more »

Vladimir Lenin Monument

  • Ploschad Lenina

Around halfway down Ulitsa Sovetskaya is Ploschad Lenina (Lenin Square) and unsurprisingly there is a statue of Vladimir Lenin here. There has been a statue of Lenin here since 1926 but the original statue was destroyed during the Nazi Occupation of Tver and only restored in 1959. The present statue is made out of bronze stands on a granite pedestal which incorporates a viewing platform. Read more »

North of the River Volga

Afanasi Nikitin Monument

  • outside 38A Naberezhnaya Afanasia Nikitina

Afanasi Nikitin was a 15th century traveller from Tver who travelled around the Caucasus, Persia, and India. This statue of him was unveiled on the left-bank of the Volga in 1955 and has since become one of the symbols of Tver. It includes a four metre bronze statue of the traveller standing on a granite pedestal and a base decorated with boats. The monument is also a favourite posing place for newlyweds.  Read more »

Dormition Cathedral of the Former Otroch Monastery

  • beginning of Naberezhnaya Afanasia Nikitina

Located close to the River Station is the Dormition Cathedral which is all that remains of the once influential Otroch Monastery. The Otroch Monastery was most likely founded in the 13th century, the first mention of it came in 1265, possibly on the orders of Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich of Tver. In time it became the largest monastery in Tver lands. In 1531 St Maximus (Maksim) the Greek was exiled here and remained here for twenty years. However the monastery is more famous for its… Read more »

Museum of Everyday Life in Tver

  • 19/4 Ulitsa Gorkogo
  • http://www.tvermuzeum.ru
  • 11:00 - 17:30. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

  The Museum of Everyday Life in Tver was opened in 1970 inside a merchant's house dating from the 17th century. As its name suggests the museum is dedicated the everyday lives of the people of the Tver Governorate and focuses on the decorative-applied art created by the city's artisan and peasant class. The museum is run as part of the Tver State Unified Museum.  Read more »

Old Bridge

  • Volzhsky Proezd

The Old Bridge or the Old Volga Bridge has become one of the symbols of Tver. The bridge is approximately 215 metres long and links the Central District of Tver with the Zavolzhsky District on the other side of the River Volga. The bridge was initially installed in 1900 but was later blown up during the Second World War. It was subsequently completed restored between 1946 and 1947.  Read more »

Resurrection of Christ Church

  • 38A Naberezhnaya Afanasia Nikitina

The Resurrection of Christ Church is also dedicated to the Three Confessors, Ss Guri, Samon and Aviv, and is sometimes known by that name. It was completed in 1731 using the funds of a local merchant. It was closed in 1917 and two tiers of its bell tower were subsequently destroyed. It was later used to hold a museum until it was returned to the Orthodox Church in 1996 and reopened in 1997.  Read more »

Submariners Monument

  • 27 Naberezhnaya Afanasia Nikitina

Located close to the Old Bridge on Naberezhnaya Afanasia Nikitina (Afanasi Nikitin Embankment) is a small monument to submariners which was unveiled in 2010. The monument consists of a statue depicting a submariner supporting his injured comrade on top of a marble pedestal with an inscription. Surrounding the monument are torpedoes and mines.  Read more »

Svyato-Yekaterininsky Convent

  • 19/2 Ulitsa Kropotkina

Located on the confluence of the River Tvertsa and the River Volga is the Svyato-Yekaterininsky Convent. The convent is relatively young as it was founded in 1996 around the already existing St Catherine's Church, which was built using donations from the local population and Empress Catherine the Great between 1774 and 1781. The church was closed in the Soviet period and used as a warehouse. During this time its frescoes were lost and the upper tier of its bell tower was destroyed… Read more »

West of the River Tmaka

Holy Trinity Church (White Trinity Church)

  • 38 Ulitsa Troitskaya

The oldest surviving church in Tver is the Holy Trinity Church which is often referred to as the White Trinity Church due to the fact it is built from white stone. The church was completed in 1564 upon the blessing of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. In form the church is a stand-cube structure with seven domes and a bell tower. The church holds the relics of St Makarius (Makari) of Kalyazin.  Read more »

Intercession Church

  • 1 Naberezhnaya Reki Tmaki

  The small Intercession Church was built between 1765 and 1774 on the territory of the former Afansievsky Devichy Convent which was closed down in 1723. It was built using the funds of a local merchant in the standard 'octagon-on-cube' style. In the 1930s the church was closed and used as a store, while its walls and bell tower were demolished. Restoration work was performed in 1987 and in 1992 it was returned to the Orthodox Church. Read more »

Ivan Krylov Monument

  • opposite Ploschad Pobedy

  Ivan Krylov was a poet, playwright and one of Russia's best known writers of fables, which were often of a satirical nature. He was born in 1769 and spent some of his childhood in Tver. This monument to him was unveiled in 1959 in a small park opposite Ploschad Pobedy. The monument depicts Krylov standing on a pedestal decorated with reliefs of scenes from his fables.  Read more »

Khristorozhdestvensky Convent

  • 1 Ulitsa Barrikadnaya

It is not quite known when the Khristorozhdestvensky Convent was founded, but the first mention of it came in 1514 and so it was most likely founded sometime in the 15th century. In the Time of Troubles the convent was sacked and its nuns were forced to flee or were slaughtered. The convent's buildings were all wooden up until the early 19th century when stone replacements were built and walls were erected. The convent was closed in 1920 and was only re-established in 1999. … Read more »

Victory Square Memorial Complex

  • Ploschad Pobedy (Ulitsa Sofi Perovskaya)

Just over the bridge of Ulitsa Sofi Perovskoy across River Tmaka in the Zatmachye part of Tver is Ploschad Pobedy (Victory Square). The memorial complex here was opened in 1970 and its main feature is the 48 metre obelisk at the base of which is an eternal flame. The area is a favourite photo-stop for newlyweds. It is not to be confused with Park Pobedy (Victory Park) off Prospekt Pobedy. St Michael of Tver's Church Within the park known as Remembrance Island at the confluence… Read more »