Tula, which can be reached in two and a half hours by branded express from Moscow, is one of the most obvious destinations for weekend getaways. Excellent restaurants and coffee shops, a charming pedestrian centre, honey gingerbread and Belev pastila that cannot be found in the capital. Finally, Yasnaya Polyana and Polenovo – all this will help you to suddenly break away from the rhythm of the metropolis and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of calm county life, drinking tea from a samovar. At the same time, excursions in Yasnaya Polyana and the Tula Kremlin continue in an endless stream, while many historical cities of the region await their tourists much less often – we will talk about them.
where time stops
Among the historical cities of the Tula region that most tourists still ignore is the village of Krapivna (it had city status but lost it during the Soviet era). From Tula to him – a little more than 50 kilometers.
“I have an indisputable favorite – this is Krapivna. Historical village of Leo Tolstoy. First of all, it does not deform in any modern building. He is completely absent. Time seems to have stopped here. Secondly, there are excellent museums there,” Aleksandra Lipkan, founder and leader of the Tula Guide team, told socialbites.ca.
Cobblestones, merchant houses and St. Nicholas Church and the historical center of Krapivna give travelers the impression that time has really stood still. The old county town has recently undergone large-scale development and has acquired four museums. Among them, Lipkan chose the Zemstvo Museum, which is housed in a recently restored building colloquially referred to as the Colonnaded House.
“It is so magnificent that I have not seen similar museums in our country devoted to this subject,” he said.
The guide added that the local culture museum and the Fine Arts Museum are also very nice in Krapivna.
The village will be interesting not only for those who like to plunge into the past, but also for fans of Leo Tolstoy – he often visited this place, was engaged in social work, and his estate was located in Yasnaya Polyana, Krapivensky district.
deep into the forest
Going on a trip around the Tula region, one can choose for himself a historical landmark that the general public perhaps does not remember today. This is the Great Zasechnaya Line – a chain of defensive structures created in the 16th century to protect the lands on the south side of Moscow from nomadic raids.
The barrier line was an earthen rampart between the fortress cities (Tula, Odoev, Venev, Likhvin), surrounded by an impenetrable thicket. Due to the tricks taken during the construction of the structures, the enemy could not overcome this: the trees in the forest were cut down so that their trunks fell to the ground, but the tree did not die, it continued to grow.
According to Lipkan, the Zasechnaya line in the Tula region today resembles an ordinary forest – only a little strange. “The borderline is a pretty abandoned forest and only this year the local government decided to create a conservation area there,” the guide explained.
According to him, there is no excursion in this forest anymore, but a tourist who wants to see the Zasechnaya Line still untouched can go for a walk there. Or admire this dense thicket in comfortable conditions – on the Osetr River, on which the chain of structures rests, the Just Wood country hotel complex has now been built, where you can sit on a chair by the river and ask for an audio guide. will tell you the history of this region.
But cities on the Zasechnaya line may be of interest to lovers of relaxed antiquity.
The name of the city of Veneva, 52 km from Tula, was mentioned for the first time in 1390. It was a fortress that was regularly raided by nomads for several centuries. And in the 19th century, the county town became Moscow’s main supplier of bread and other agricultural products. You have to come here to take a walk on Red Square, try a rich donut in the form of the letter B and take pictures with its sculptural appearance, as well as climb the 80-meter-tall Nikolaevskaya bell tower, which offers a view. of the city and very picturesque distances.
Another historical city – Odoev – is mentioned in the chronicles as early as 1380 in connection with the battle on the Kulikovo field. In the town, located on the banks of the Upa River, you can especially admire some relics – XII-XVIII. Traces of the centuries-old Odoevsky settlement, the ruins of the Sergius and Ilyinsky churches have been preserved here. And if you still want to visit the whole building, Odoev has its own museum of local culture and the Filimonov Toy Museum. In the latter, by the way, master classes are held, where you can paint cute whistles in the form of cockerels and take them home as a souvenir.
For hiking in the mountains or swimming along the river
The Tula region also has its own mountain system – low, of course, but very beautiful. The Romantsev Mountains or Konduki attract tourists for their coal mining lakes and Martian landscapes (stopped in 1996). Until now, people come here with tents, but according to Lipkan, “they will soon become noble and lose their special abilities.”
The guide also recommends going to the Pronya River, on the banks of which there is a settlement called Gremyachy. The dammed river makes this area extraordinarily picturesque and allows you to take a small displacement boat and swim a little, or just go for a walk and admire the natural paradise. By the way, there are karst Arapovskiye caves nearby – but you can only descend into them with a guide, as they are not equipped, as the guide warns.