History
Sights
Map
TransportSights of Yelabuga
Around Prospekt Neftyanikov
Memorial to the Victims of Political Repression
- intersection of Prospekt Neftyanikov and Ulitsa Govorova
On the corner of Prospekt Neftyanikov and Ulitsa Govorova is a small memorial park in remembrance of victims of political repression. During the Soviet repression over 700 people from Yelabuga were arrested. The memorial was established in 2008 and features part of a train, the type of which was used to transport prisoners, and plinths inscribed with the name of victims. Read more »
Oil Industry Worker Fountain
- 24 Prospekt Neftyanikov
In the centre of the square on the intersection of Prospekt Mira and Prospekt Neftyanikov, outside the city's Palace of Culture, is an unusual fountain featuring an worker in the oil industry. The worker is depicted breaking apart two rocks with his hands, thereby releasing the water. The choice of an oil worker is to symbolise Yelabuga's connection with the oil industry as the oil-producing company Prokamneft is based in the city. Read more »
Samovar Monument
- Khlebnaya Ploschad
Yelabuga's central square is Khlebnaya Ploschad (Bread Square) which features a four metre statue of a samovar - a special Russian water boiler for tea. The monument was unveiled outside Hotel Toyma in 2008 and symbolises both Yelabuga's past as a city of merchants and the comfort and family warmth associated with the samovar. The area around the monument is also improved with flowerbeds, archways and benches. Read more »
Vladimir Bekhterev Museum of District Medicine
- 111A Prospekt Neftyanikov
- http://www.elabuga.com
- 09:00 - 18:00. Closed on Mondays.
In 2007 a corpus of Yelabuga's local hospital dating from 1881 was turned into a museum dedicated to healthcare in a provincial city from the 18th to 20th centuries. The interiors of a healers' houses, a chemist, a consultancy room, a modern operating theatre and a herbal tearoom have been recreated inside. The museum has also recreated the study of the Russian neurologist Vladimir Bekhterev, to whom the museum is also dedicated. Bekhterev was born in the Yelabugsky District in… Read more »
Vladimir Lenin Monument
- Khlebnaya Ploschad
During the Soviet years Khlebnaya Ploschad was known as Ploschad Lenina (Lenin Square). The square has since returned to its old name, but the statue of Vladimir Lenin remains standing on the western side between the hotel and the theatre. This is the city's main Lenin monument and depicts the leader of the world revolution confidently standing and holding his coat's lapel. Read more »
Yelabuga "Chyortovo" Ancient Settlement
- close to the start of Prospekt Mira
The Yelabuga Ancient Settlement, which is situated on a hill overlooking the River Kama just outside of Yelabuga, was first established in the 10th century by Volga Bulgars. The settlement included a square citadel with four corner towers to protect trade along the River Kama. The site is also often called the Chyortovo Ancient Settlement which is derived from the Russian word for demon - 'chyort'. According to legend a demon appeared to a priest asking to marry his daughter. The… Read more »
Zhamig Congregational Mosque
- 2 Prospekt Mira
Located not too far from the Yelabuga Ancient Settlement is a modern mosque known as the Zhamig Congregational Mosque. The mosque was built between 1992 and 1994 in the traditional Tatar style. The main building of the mosque consists of a single storey structure topped with a green dome and a crescent moon. Built on to the north-west side is a 57-metre minaret. The complex also incorporates a madrasa and a guesthouse and tearoom. Read more »
Around Ulitsa Kazanskaya
City History Museum
- 24+26 Ulitsa Kazanskaya
- http://www.elabuga.com
- 09:00 - 18:00. Closed on Mondays.
Yelabuga's City History Museum was founded in 1980 and since 2007 it has been located in a mansion which once belonged to the Nikolaev merchant family. During the relocation the museum was completely revamped and interactive elements were added, for which it has won several awards. The museum has exhibits on the prehistoric era up to modern day. The museum also includes a workshop where you can watch people making traditional souvenirs and even take part in a master class yourself… Read more »
Communication Workers Monument
- Ulitsa Kazanskaya
Another unusual monument in Yelabuga is its Communication Workers Monument which is opposite to the city's main post office. It features two life-size statues; one of a postwoman with her bicycle and one of a communications worker who is half way up a pillar fixing a lamp. The monument was unveiled in 2007 to mark the 800,000th subscriber of the Tattelekom network. Read more »
Dmitri Stakheev Monument
- 89 Ulitsa Kazanskaya
Towards the end of Ulitsa Kazanskaya is a four-metre bronze monument of Dmitri Stakheev. Dmitri Stakheev was a writer and a prominent member of Yelabuga's successful Stakheev merchant dynasty. The monument was unveiled in 2003 outside the grand building of the Yelabuga State Pedagogical University, which itself was originally founded as the Women's Eparchial College by another member of the Stakheev dynasty. Read more »
Intercession Cathedral
- 42 Ulitsa Bolshaya Pokrovskaya
Just off Ulitsa Kazanskaya is the Intercession Cathedral which dates from 1820. The cathedral was built to replace an earlier church which was dedicated to St Elijah the Prophet. Even earlier another Intercession Cathedral stood here which was built in the late 16th century, but demolished in 1798. Like Yelabuga's other churches, it is classical in style. In the 1930s the cathedral was closed and only returned to the Orthodox Church in the 1980s. Since then it has been fully… Read more »
Laundry Museum
- 9 Ulitsa Malaya Pokrovskaya
- http://www.elabuga.com
- 09:00 - 18:00. Closed on Mondays.
One of Yelabuga's, and in fact Tatarstan's, more unusual museums is the Laundry Museum which is a recreation of the laundry which was set up here in the 19th century. Water for the river was diverted in pipes and heated so that the locals could wash their clothes in what was, for its time, one of the most advanced laundry establishments. The father of the artist Ivan Shishkin was involved in setting up the laundry which not only simplified the domestic chores but also provided… Read more »
Marina Tsvetaeva Memorial Complex
- 61 Ulitsa Kazanskaya + 20 Ulitsa Malaya Pokrovskaya
- http://www.elabuga.com
- 09:00 - 18:00. Closed on Mondays.
At the crossroads of Ulitsa Kazanskaya and Ulitsa Malaya Pokrovskaya are three sights connected with the famous Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva, who was evacuated to Yelabuga during the Second World War. Both museums are run as part of the Yelabuga State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve. Marina Tsvetaeva Literature Museum The first is the Marina Tsvetaeva Literature Museum which details Marina's childhood in Moscow, her emigration to Czechoslovakia and France and… Read more »
Nadezhda Durova Monument
- intersection of Ulitsa Kazanskaya and Ulitsa Durova
At first glance you might think the equestrian statue on the intersection of Ulitsa Kazanskaya and Ulitsa Durova is just another statue of one of Russia's standard war heroes. However on further expectation you will see that it is in fact a woman in military uniform on the horse. The woman is Nadezhda Durova who disguised herself as a man and joined the army as Aleksandr Sokolov. Durova fought bravely in the Prussian Campaign and eventually rumours of her reached Emperor Alexander… Read more »
Troitskoe Cemetery
- Ulitsa Kazanskaya / Ulitsa Durova
Just behind the statue of Nadezhda Durova is the abandoned Troitskoe (Trinity) Cemetery. The cemetery served as the final resting place for many of Yelabuga's merchant families including the Shishkins and the Stakheevs, but more famously the grave of Nadezhda Durova is also found here. Durova's original grave was destroyed when the cemetery was closed in the 1930s, but a replacement has since been made which states "Here lies Russia's Joan of Arc". The cemetery's Holy Trinity… Read more »
Vladimir Lenin Monument
- Ulitsa Kazanskaya
Next to the Communication Workers Monument is the city's second monument to Vladimir Lenin, although this is a Lenin monument with a difference. It was unveiled in 1925 and features a very small, silver-painted bust of Lenin on a very tall pedestal, which has led to locals calling the statue "Petya Little Head", supposedly in reference to a short man with a disproportionately small head who once lived nearby. The monument also has an imitation kremlin wall providing the backdrop. … Read more »
Around Ulitsa Naberezhnaya
Decorative Applied Art Workshop-Museum
- 11 Ulitsa Naberezhnaya
- http://www.elabuga.com
- 09:00 - 18:00. Closed on Mondays.
The Decorative Applied Art Workshop-Museum was opened in 2011 to display the numerous items of decorative applied art held in the Yelabuga museum-reserve's fund. Exhibits includes traditional forms of handicrafts from all over Russia, such as Gzhel ceramics, Dymkovo toys and Khokhloma painting. This museum does not just display the crafts though, it also gives visitors the chance to have a go at making their own. The workshop-museum is run as part of the Yelabuga State Historical,… Read more »
Ivan Shishkin House-Museum
- 12 Ulitsa Naberezhnaya
- http://www.elabuga.com
- 09:00 - 18:00. Closed on Mondays.
In 1938 the house where the famous Russian painter Ivan Shishkin spent his childhood was turned into the Ivan Shishkin House-Museum, which now receives over 50,000 visitors a year. Shishkin's father, also Ivan, was a merchant in the city and the museum has preserved the interior of a typical 19th century merchant house. The second floor of the museum exhibits some of the artist's work. The museum is run as part of the Yelabuga State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve… Read more »
Ivan Shishkin Monument
- intersection of Ulitsa Naberezhnaya and Ulitsa Shishkina
Not far from the Ivan Shishkin House-Museum is a statue of the man himself which was unveiled in 1991 and depicts the artist with a picture frame by his side. Shishkin was born in Yelabuga in 1832 and became mainly associated with realistic paintings of forest scenes. His most popular piece of work is the painting entitled "Morning in a Pine Forest" which depicts a family of bears. However this is a joint effort as Shishkin painted the forest while Konstantin Savitsy painted the… Read more »
Saviour Cathedral
- 14 Ulitsa Naberezhnaya
Yelabuga's main cathedral is the Saviour Cathedral, which was built between 1808 and 1816. The main building of the cathedral takes the form of a large cube topped with five green domes and attached to this via an unusually long vestibule is a 70-metre five-tier bell tower. The church was closed during the Soviet period, but has since been reopened. The exterior has been fully restored, but its interior still needs work. For a small donation you can walk up the bell tower to get… Read more »
St Nicholas' Church
- 20 Ulitsa Naberezhnaya
Further down Ulitsa Naberezhnaya is St Nicholas' Church which was built around the same time as the Saviour Cathedral, from 1813 to 1818, in the same classical style. Unlike the Saviour Cathedral though, this church has just a single blue central dome which stands on a rotunda and is smaller in scale. The church was closed after the revolution and only returned to the Orthodox Church in 2003. However it remains located on the territory of the Suvorovsky College and access is only… Read more »
War Memorial and Millennium of Yelabuga Park
- Ulitsa Naberezhnaya
Situated on the steps down to the Millennium of Yelabuga Park is the city's main war memorial which comprises several parts. The central focus is the eternal flame and along the wall up to this are plinths engraved with the names of the soldiers from Yelabuga who died during the Second World War. On the upper part of the memorial there are some pieces of military equipment and busts of several war heroes. Read more »
In the North of the City
Al-Kamir Mosque
- 25A Ulitsa Gabdully Tukaya
Standing on a small square in the middle of the intersection of Ulitsa Moskovskaya and Ulitsa Gabdully Tukaya is the Al-Kamir Mosque. The mosque consists of a simple rectangular structure with a minaret rising from its centre. It is located not too far from the Muslim Cemetery on the end of Prospekt Neftyanikov. In total there are three mosques in Yelabuga - this one, the larger Zhamig Congregational Mosque and finally the small Nur Mosque close to the Nadezhda Durova Estate-Museum… Read more »
Kazansko-Bogoroditsky Convent
- 119 Ulitsa M. Gorkogo
Yelabuga's only convent is the Kazansko-Boroditsky Convent which is dedicated to the Our Lady of Kazan Icon. The convent was founded in 1856 as a religious community and was granted the status of a convent in 1868. The local merchant Ivan Stakheev was the main benefactor in founding the convent. In 1918 the convent was officially closed although people kept meeting there for worship up until 1928 when the convent's buildings were converted into housing. It was eventually reopened… Read more »
Nadezhda Durova Estate-Museum
- 123 Ulitsa Moskovskaya
- http://www.elabuga.com
- 09:00 - 18:00. Closed on Mondays.
In 1993 the Nadezhda Durova Estate-Museum was opened. Durova famously disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Russian army, later participating in the Prussian Campaigns and the Napoleonic War. In her later life she settled in this estate in Yelabuga and began writing memoirs of her life. The museum details the life of this remarkable woman from her childhood in Ukraine and her successful army career to her life in Yelabuga and her literary work, which won the praise of… Read more »
Old Cemetery
- Ulitsa M. Gorkogo (on outskirts of city)
In the very north of the city on top of a small hill is a cemetery known as the Old Cemetery or Petropavlovskoe Cemetery. The main reason to visit the cemetery is to see the grave of Marina Tsvetaeva. Special permission was given to bury Tsvetaeva here as usually people who commit suicide cannot be buried in an Orthodox cemetery and even so she was buried on the very edge of the cemetery. Having been buried in the war years only a wooden cross was erected, which was later lost… Read more »