►Tours ► Day Tours ► From Moscow ► Day tour to the Borodino Battlefield

  Day tour to the Borodino Battlefield – this is the site where the bloodiest battle of the 19th century took place. On 7 September the Grande Armee of France, led by Napoleon, and the army of Russia, led by Mikhail Kutuzov, finally met in an all-out battle. The battle lasted 12 hours and it is estimated that 6,000 people died each hour. The Battle of Borodino became the breaking point of the War of 1812 between Russia and France, as the army of Kutuzov inflicted a fatal wound on the French Army and was not completely destroyed, as Napoleon had wished.

  Borodino is located outside the city of Mozhaisk, which is one of the oldest cities on the outskirts of Moscow. It once served as a border post and had its own kremlin, and as an important strategic object it has been subjected to enemy attacks several times. In 1389 Mozhaisk was given as an appendage to Dmitry Donskoy's son Andrey. In the 17th century it became a rich trading city and there were fifteen monasteries in or around the city and over 70 churches.

Moscow → Mozhaisk (adds-on) → Borodino → Moscow

 Total distance of the tour:   235km 

• 08:00 • 

 Departure from the hotel. A driver with a sign saying  will wait for you at the lobby of your hotel or place where you stayed. The journey can take up to 2½ hours depending on traffic.

 Distance: 110km

• 10:30 • 

Upon arrival a tour of the Borodino Field – the place where the bloodiest day-long battle in history took place.

The highlights of the excursion include:

• Shevardino Redoubt – the initial fortifications of the Russian army, close to the village of Shevardino. Before the battle the Russian defensive line was moved back but the Shevardino Redoubt remained manned. The battle for this redoubt took place two days before the actual Battle of Borodino. The French were successful in capturing the redoubt, but at a great cost.
• Raevsky Redoubt – this redoubt was located on a hill from where the whole Russian position could be viewed from the New Smolensk Road in the north and Bagration's fleches in the south. Therefore the capture of this redoubt and its battery was of great significance to the French. The French eventually captured the Raevsky Redoubt too,with the Russian artillery men dying next to the cannons. However the Russian troops were still able to move to the rear without being destroyed.
• Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery – this unique monastery was founded as a monument to the heroes of the Battle of Borodino. It was created on the initiative of Russian women and mainly paid for by the widows or elderly parents of those who died in the Battle of Borodino in memory to their husbands, sons or brothers.
• Borodino Field Museum-Reserve – a memorial to two ‘patriotic’ wars and the oldest battlefield museum in Russia. The museum-reserve is spread over 110 square metres and has over 200 monuments and memorials. In addition, the reserve’s museum displays, among other items, a diary of a priest whose regiment fought at the Battle of Borodino, a painting depicting the French retreat from Moscow, a selection of surgery instruments of the time, plus signatures of Alexander I, Mikhail Kutuzov and Napoleon. The collections of uniforms, weapons, portraits, battlefield sketches and models of the battle also recreate a sense of the Battle of Borodino.

 Duration: 3h | Transportation: by a private car

• 14:00 • 

 Departure from Borodino.

• 15:30 • 

 Arrival in Moscow.

 Duration: 1½h

• The tour is available daily except Mondays. 
• A historical re-enactment takes place on Borodino Field on the first Sunday in September. The timetable and price of the tour on this date may therefore be changed.
• Some religious sights such as active monasteries require a specific dress code in order to be allowed to visit - for women a scarf to cover your head and a skirt covering your knees (no trousers); for men no shorts and all headwear must be removed. 

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