History
Sights
GallerySights of Gorokhovets
Around Ploschad Lenina
Our Lady of Kazan Church
- intersection of Ulitsa Lenina and Ulitsa Moskovskaya (M7 Volga)
About half a kilometre south of Ploschad Lenina, at very end of Ulitsa Lenina on the intersection with the M7 'Volga' motorway, is the pretty Our Lady of Kazan Church. The church dates from 1708 when it was built in what was then the village of Krasnoe to replace two wooden churches. In 1817 the church's five domes were added. The church remained open throughout the Soviet period. Read more »
Puzhalova Hill Skiing Complex
- 31 Ulitsa Komsomolskaya
- http://www.puzhalova.ru/
Puzhalova Hill gets its name from the old Russian word for 'to frighten' - 'puzhat' ('pugat' in modern Russian) - as according to legend when Gorokhovets was being besieged by Kazan Tatars in the 16th century, an image of a knight armed with a sword appeared behind the hill in the rays of the setting sun. The Tatars were so scared by the vision that they gave up their siege and retreated. Today the hill is the site of the City Park and the Puzhalova Hill Skiing Complex. Naturally… Read more »
Vladimir Lenin Monument
- Ploschad Lenina
No Ploschad Lenina (Lenin Square) would be complete without a Lenin monument, although Gorokhovets has opted for a simple one which just has a sculpture of Lenin's head on a pedestal. It stands in front of the city administration building. There is another, more standard, Lenin monument in the very north of the city outside the 'Elevatormelmash' Factory which produces lifting and transporting Equipment. Also located near to the monument on Ploschad Lenina is a bust of the singer… Read more »
War Memorial
- Ploschad Lenina
Opposite to the Lenin Monument is Gorokhovets' main memorial to its soldiers who were killed in the Second World War. The main feature of the memorial is a statue of a Soviet soldier holding a gun. Behind him there is large semi-circular plinth which marks the years of the war and has plaques containing the names of the fallen at either end. In addition, there is also a bust of local war hero Aleksandr Besedin slightly up Ulitsa Bratiev Besedinikh (Besedin Brothers Street) which… Read more »
Around Ploschad Patolicheva
Annunciation Cathedral
- 5 Shkolny Pereulok
The beautiful Annunciation Cathedral dates from the end of the 17th century and was consecrated in 1700. It was built in the traditional Russian style with a large cubic structure topped with five domes, which are now light blue in colour. Standing next to the cathedral is its tall tent-dome bell tower. The cathedral was closed after the revolution and given to the Gorokhovets Historical and Architectural Museum. Today the cathedral stands empty and unused and there are talks of… Read more »
Gorokhovets Historical and Architectural Museum
- 5 Shkolny Pereulok
- http://www.giam-grh.com
- 10:00 - 17:00. Closed on Sundays.
The Gorokhovets Historical and Architectural Museum is located in what was once St John the Baptist's Church which was built in the first half of the 18th century as the winter church of the neighbouring Annunciation Cathedral. The museum has one hall which has various exhibitions on the history of the city ranging from prehistoric to pre-revolution times. It includes a mock-up of the wooden fortresses which once stood in the city and interiors of houses of 19th century local… Read more »
Museum of 17th-19th Century Merchant Life
- 4 Ulitsa Nagornaya
- http://www.giam-grh.com
- 10:00 - 17:00. Closed on Sundays.
The Museum of 17th-19th Century Merchant Life is located in a unique three-storey estate house which was built in 1680 by the local merchant Semyon Yershov. The house is alternatively called Yershov House after its founder or Sapozhnikov House after its last owner. Today the house is open to the public as a museum of merchants' life in the 17th to 19th centuries. The first floor's interiors have been recreated to how they would have looked when Semyon Yershov lived here, complete… Read more »
Resurrection of Christ Church
- 20 Ulitsa Sovetskaya
Slightly down Ulitsa Sovetskaya heading away from the River Klyazma is the Resurrection Church. The current version of the church is thought to date from the late 17th century to replace an earlier wooden version which was first mentioned in 1646. The church consists of a five-domed cubic structure with a large gallery and staircase built around it. The church was closed during the Soviet era and used as a sports club. It has not been reopened. Read more »
Semyon Patolichev Monument
- Park on Ploschad Patolicheva
In the small park on Ploschad Patolicheva is a monument dedicated to Semyon Patolichev, after whom the square is named. Patolichev was born in 1879 in what was then the Gorokhovets District and went on to become a commander in the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, eventually dying in battle in Ukraine. This monument was unveiled in 1979 on the 100th anniversary of his birth and includes a bust of the commander and reliefs of soldiers. Read more »
Sretensky Convent
- 5 Ulitsa Sovetskaya
Occupying the south-eastern part of Ploschad Patolicheva is the Sretensky Convent which was established in 1658 on the orders of Patriarch Nikon. Originally its buildings were made out of wood, but these were replaced with stone versions in the end of the 17th century. The first stone building was the Presentation of the Lord Cathedral which was built around 1689. The cathedral consists of a cube structure with five domes decorated with colourful tiles. Built onto the back are… Read more »
Worker with Torch Monument
- Shkolny Perulok
Standing where Shkolny Pereulok forks into two streets is an excellent example of a Soviet style statue which is dedicated to Soviet youth. It depicts an idolised version of a strong male Soviet worker who is holding a torch up into the air. This type of statue would have previously graced many Soviet cities but now most of them have fallen into disrepair or have been taken down completely. Read more »
Around Ulitsa Gorkogo
All-Saints Church
- Ulitsa Gorkogo
Just behind the Svyato-Troitse Nikolsky Monastery is the All-Saints Church which is located in a cemetery. The red-brick church was built in 1912 in the Russian revival style using the funds of a local merchant. It consists of a central dome topped with a smaller dome attached to a small tent-dome bell tower. The church was closed in the 1930s and only reopened by the Orthodox Church in the 1990s after undergoing restoration work. Read more »
Bald Mountain
- Ulitsa Gorkogo
If you walk further down Ulitsa Gorkogo you will eventually reach a hill known in Russian as 'Lysaya Gora' which means Bald Mountain. It is believed to have originally been the site of an Iron-Age Dyakovo culture settlement formed by the Finno-Ugric Merya tribe before the arrival of the Slavs. A later legends says how a Tatar khan was buried here after he was killed besieging Gorokhovets in the 16th century. However it is its natural surroundings rather than its history which… Read more »
Svyato-Troitse Nikolsky Monastery
- 12 Ulitsa Proletarskaya
- http://www.stnmm.ru/
Visible from much of the city due to its location at the top of Nikolskaya Hill is the Svyato-Troitse Nikolsky Monastery which is also simply known as the Nikolsky Monastery. Previously a wooden fortress stood here from the time the city was first founded. The monastery was established in the first half of the 17th century and its main cathedral - the Trinity Cathedral - was built between 1681 and 1689. This was joined by the smaller St John Climacus' Church in 1716. Stone walls… Read more »
North of the River Klyazma
Znamensky Convent
- on the left-bank of the River Klyazma
The Znamensky Convent was originally founded on the left-bank of the River Klyazma in 1598 as a monastery. At first the monastery's buildings were made out of wood, but in 1670 the monastery's Our Lady of the Sign Church was built out of stone. By 1723 the number of monks at the monastery had decreased to such an level that it was made a podvorye (embassy-church) of the nearby Florischeva Hermitage. Despite this, later in the 18th century, a new bell tower was added to the Our Lady… Read more »