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Tobolsk is a city in the Tyumen region of Russia. The
administrative center of the urban district is the city of Tobolsk
and the Tobolsk region. Located in the north of the Tyumen region,
at the confluence of the Tobol and the Irtysh. Population - 102,279
people. (2020).
Founded in 1587 as a center for the
development of Siberia. In 1590 he was the first in Siberia to
receive the status of a city. Since 1708 it was the capital of the
Siberian province, stretching from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean.
From 1796 to 1920 - the center of the Tobolsk province, then - the
Tobolsk district, the Tobolsk district of the Ural region (in
1923-1932), the Tobolsk district of the Omsk region (in 1935-1944).
In the 19th century, due to the movement of trade routes, and
then the construction of a railway (away from the city), the
economic importance of Tobolsk fell, the regional center was moved
to Tyumen. Currently, Tobolsk is the most important center of
educational tourism in Siberia and a major industrial center of the
country in the field of gas chemistry.
On November 5, 1582, after a battle with the army of
the Siberian Khan Kuchum, on the outskirts of the city, Ermak
entered the city of Siberia (Kashlyk) abandoned by the Tatars. Until
1585, the city was an outpost of the Russian Cossacks in Siberia.
From 1585 to 1587 - the city was again under the rule of Khan
Kuchum. Since 1587, the return of the city of Siberia by the written
head Danila Chulkov under the control of the Moscow kingdom.
According to the official version, Tobolsk was founded in the summer
of 1587, 17 km from the Tatar settlement of Siberia (Kashlyk,
Isker), the capital of the Siberian Khanate, down the Irtysh and
closer to the mouth of the Tobol.
According to legend,
Tobolsk was founded on the feast of the Holy Trinity not far from
the place near which Yermak's soldiers landed during the famous
battle on the Chuvash Cape, which decided the issue of joining the
Siberian Khanate to Russia. The first city building was the Trinity
Church, and the cape was named Troitsky.
According to the
official version, governor Danila Chulkov is considered the founder
of Tobolsk. However, the voivode, according to the Esipovskaya
Chronicle, “... came to the Siberian land ... the Tartars, who were
afraid of the Russian howl of a lot of coming, escaping from their
hail, but first of all, their Tatar capital city, the Ust of Tobol
and Irtysh, which is called Siberia, left him empty. Rustia howl
came and sighed in it and firmly established the city, but also the
now called God-saved city of Tobolesk. " That is, the Russian
chronicler specifically says that the Tatars fled from numerous
Russian soldiers from their capital city, which was called Siberia,
and is now called Tobolsk. This is probably why, up to the 18th
century, Tobolsk was sometimes referred to as "the city of Siberia"
on geographical maps.
The Tobolsk prison became the second
one in Siberia (the Tyumen prison, which later performed transit and
defensive functions, was founded a year earlier). A symbolic act
that signified the transfer of power over Siberia from the old
khan's capital to Tobolsk was the capture of the last Siberian king,
Oraz-Muhammad, by the governor Chulkov in Tobolsk.
Since
1590, Tobolsk has become a bit city and the center of Russian
colonization of Siberia - the so-called "capital of Siberia", which
was officially enshrined in the Peter the Great reform of 1708, when
Tobolsk was appointed the administrative center of the largest
Siberian province in Russia, which included the territory from
Vyatka to Russian America.
Interested in Siberia, Peter I
patronized the city, wishing to give the capital of Siberia a
"representative appearance." By his decree, the buildings of the
Prikaznaya Chamber and Gostiny Dvor are being built in Tobolsk. In
1711, the first Siberian governor, Prince Matvey Petrovich Gagarin,
came to the city. Under him, construction in the city went much
faster. Large enterprises at that time appeared in the city and its
environs: the state plant, paper and glass factories, tanneries,
candle and grease factories. There was also an arms factory. The
18th century brought Tobolsk the greatest fame and wealth. With the
development of the mining industry, gold and silver were supplied to
the mint through Tobolsk to Moscow, and sandy gold appeared on the
market in the city. The Siberian tract passed through the city,
which made Tobolsk a trade center. At its own expense, Tobolsk
maintained two regiments - the Moscow and St. Petersburg regiments,
later renamed the Yenisei and Tobolsk regiments, whose officers were
the notorious Vasily Tatishchev and the "Moor of Peter the Great"
Ibrahim Hannibal.
In addition to performing important
administrative functions, Tobolsk made a feasible contribution to
the development of national culture. So, the news of the first
theatrical performances in the city dates back to 1705, when Peter I
only intended to restore the theater in the capital. And the
building of the Tobolsk Drama Theater, built in 1899 (burned down in
1990), was even considered an architectural masterpiece as the only
wooden theater building in the USSR. In 1743 a theological seminary
was opened in Tobolsk. In 1789, one of the first in the provinces
and the first in Siberia, a literary magazine, Irtysh Turning into
Ippokrena, appeared in Tobolsk. And the Tobolsk men's gymnasium,
founded in 1810, became the first in Siberia (the next, Tomsk, was
opened 28 years later).
The famous "Siberian exile" also
began from Tobolsk. The first exiled was the Uglich bell, which
roused the people to revolt after the mysterious death of Tsarevich
Dmitry, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible and the only
legitimate heir of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. The Uglich bell returned
from Tobolsk exile only in the 19th century.
In 1616, the
failed tsar's wife Maria Khlopova was exiled to Tobolsk.
From the second decade of the 18th century, Tobolsk became a
place of residence for Swedish soldiers and officers of war. The
Swedes took an active part in stone construction, made a significant
contribution to the cultural life of the city of that period. In
their honor, one of the buildings of the Tobolsk Kremlin - Renterey
has a second name "The Swedish Chamber".
For the next
generations of exiles, Tobolsk was already a transshipment point,
from which Siberia began for them. The Tobolsk convict prison became
notorious, through which Fyodor Dostoevsky, Vladimir Korolenko and
other famous people followed the stage at different times.
The fate of many Siberian pioneering cities depended on the
relocation of road routes. The gradual decline of Tobolsk is
associated with a whole complex of factors, the main of which is the
transfer of the Siberian tract and the construction of a railway
south of Tobolsk, from Tyumen to Omsk (started in 1909). The reason
for the transfer was a change in the nature of the development of
Siberia, a shift in population and economic life to the south, to
the forest-steppe. The railway to Tobolsk and further to Surgut was
built only in 1967.
In the XX century, the city gained fame
as the administrative center of the native province of Grigory
Rasputin, a place of exile (from August 13, 1917 to April 13, 1918)
of the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family, as well as one
of the centers of the largest popular protest in the history of
Russia against the Bolsheviks - the peasant uprising in Siberia in
1921-1922.
Today, the city's prospects are associated with
the development of tourism and industry.
In 1994, by the
decision of the Holy Synod, Tobolsk, along with Moscow and St.
Petersburg, was proclaimed one of the main spiritual centers of
Russia. The city is an important educational center of the Russian
Orthodox Church - the seat of the largest in Siberia Tobolsk
Theological Seminary. The issue of establishing a Theological
Orthodox Academy in Tobolsk is being resolved, and the possibility
of expanding the Tobolsk Metropolitanate is being considered.
Tobolsk with its architecture and natural landscapes has become
the most important tourist center of Siberia.
In recent
years, the Tobolsk Petrochemical Plant has undergone further
development, new technological units are being built, new product
pipelines are being commissioned, which will provide Tobolsk with
the necessary supplies of raw materials for the long term. In 2013,
the new largest polypropylene production facility in Russia,
Tobolsk-Polymer, was built and put into operation. The state program
for the creation of a gas chemical complex in Tobolsk (one of the
largest in the world) is moving into a practical plane.
The
city of Tobolsk on July 10, 1987 by the Decree of the Presidium of
the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was awarded the Order of the Badge of
Honor
From 1587 the city was founded by the
written head Danila Chulkov.
From 1590 - the center of the
Tobolsk category (included almost all the cities of Siberia until
1629, until 1708 it covered mainly the cities of Western Siberia).
Since 1596 - the place of storage of the Great Sovereign Seal.
The Tobolsk voivods, formally being ranked voivods only for most of
the West Siberian cities, solved a wide range of general Siberian
issues and enjoyed special authority among the voivods of Siberian
cities.
In 1708 (1712) -1764. - the center of the Siberian
province (including until 1727 the province included the Vyatka and
Solikamsk provinces).
In 1764 the Irkutsk province was
allocated, Tobolsk in 1764-1782. - the center of the province (in
different versions of the Siberian or Tobolsk) within the Yenisei
and Tobolsk provinces.
In 1782, the Kolyvanskoe (mainly Altai
plants) and Perm (from the Siberian province the Yekaterinburg
mountain district and the Verkhotursky uezd) were separated from the
governorate, the city - the center of the Tobolsk governorship (from
1797 - the Tobolsk province), which included the territories of
Western and Eastern Siberia.
In 1804, the Tomsk province was
allocated, and the Tobolsk province acquired borders close to the
current borders of the Tyumen region.
In 1822-1838 it was the
center of the West Siberian General Government.
From April 5,
1918 to November 3, 1923 - the district town of the Tyumen province.
During the period of the Provisional Siberian Government of Kolchak
from the summer of 1918 to August 1919, it was again a provincial
town.
From November 3, 1923 to January 7, 1932 - the center
of the Tobolsk district of the Ural region (included the territory
of the entire Middle and Lower Ob region).
From December 10,
1935 to August 14, 1944 - the center of the Tobolsk district of the
Omsk region as part of the Tobolsk, Yarkovsky, Vagaysky, Dubrovinsky
and Uvatsky districts.
Since November 3, 1923 - the center of
the Tobolsk region as part of the indicated districts or simply as
part of the regions - Obsko-Irtysh and Tyumen.
Since August
14, 1944 - a city of regional significance.
On June 18, 1959,
the working settlement of Sumkino was included in the administrative
subordination of the Tobolsk City Council.
November 12, 1979
- in adm. subordination of the Tobolsk City Council included r. p.
Irtyshsky and r. the item Mendeleevo.
Since 2005 - the
municipality of the city of Tobolsk, the seat of the administration
of the Tobolsk municipal district.
Tobolsk stretches along the Irtysh for almost 15 km. The center of the city is the Kremlin standing on a hill. To the south of it is the Podgorna part (Podgora) with predominantly private and sometimes historical buildings. From the Kremlin to Podgora the hill descends rather sharply. Adjacent to the Kremlin from the north is the mountainous part (Gora) - also a historical area, now almost entirely occupied by multi-storey buildings, among which some wooden mansions and ancient churches have survived. Finally, even further north (in the direction of the station) is the new Tobolsk - blocks of panel houses from the early 1970s, built for workers of the petrochemical plant. These neighborhoods even have their own address system: houses are assigned not to streets, but to microdistricts, and if you see the address “9th microdistrict, 37,” then this is obviously in the new part of the city. All areas are closely adjacent to each other, from one to another you can walk.
Tobolsk is located away from the Trans-Siberian Railway, so you will
either go here specifically and then return to Tyumen, or visit Tobolsk
on the way to Ugra - the city and village of the Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug.
By plane
Tobolsk airport opened in the fall of 2021, flights from
Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk are announced 1-2 times a week.
The nearest major airport is in Tyumen (Roshchino), but there is no
direct transport from there; you will have to make a transfer in the
city. To Khanty-Mansiysk, Surgut and Nizhnevartovsk, where there are
also airports, it’s a night’s journey from Tobolsk. There is also a
small aviation airport in Tobolsk with flights to remote villages.
Remezov Airport (about 30 km from the city center to the southeast,
on the road to Vagai). ☎ +7 (3456) 390609. The newly opened airport is
located surprisingly far from the city: by car the Kremlin is at least
half an hour away. It is planned to launch an express bus.
By
train
Tobolsk is located on the Tyumen-Surgut-Novy Urengoy line,
along which 10-11 pairs of trains pass per day. It takes 3.5 hours to
Tyumen, and you can get to Yekaterinburg, Surgut or Omsk overnight. The
only commuter train in the entire Tobolsk direction also runs to Tyumen
(1-2 times a day), which runs only half an hour longer than
long-distance ones, since there are very few stops along the way: it
seems that between Tyumen and Tobolsk there is a dense forest. On the
Tyumen-Tobolsk section, long-distance trains are significantly more
expensive than buses (a commuter train, on the contrary, is much
cheaper), and seated cars are rare on long-distance trains.
Train
Station. ☎ +7 (3456) 39-24-86. The station is located in the Mendeleevo
microdistrict north of the new part of the city. In fact, the station is
located in the middle of the forest and consists of two platforms - a
high and a low one, and there is no transition between them, therefore,
if there are two trains at the station, the train standing at the high
platform will have to go around, or go to the low platform through its
vestibule : This happens here too. The station building from the times
of stagnation is not without some charm and style. Inside there is a
primitive buffet, a cash register, benches along the walls, a storage
room and rest rooms. Along the platform there is a series of kiosks
selling everything that is required in such places, as well as berries
and smoked fish.
The stop at the station is located directly opposite
the building, but there is no sign there. You need the direction to the
right when looking from the railway tracks. The Kremlin is reached by
buses 5 (connected to Tyumen electric trains) and 20 (running every half
hour to hour). You can also take bus 4 (every 10-15 minutes) to the new
part of the city, where at the “Neftekhimik Hotel” stop, change to one
of the bus routes 9, 6P, 6P, 19, of which bus 9 runs most frequently.
Expect 25-30 minutes to get to the new part of the city; allow at least
45 minutes to get to the Kremlin. Taxi: 200-250 rubles, if you order a
car in advance or bargain.
By bus
Buses from Tyumen to Tobolsk
depart at least once an hour. The journey takes 4-5 hours. About half of
the buses go to Khanty-Mansiysk, Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk. In addition to
them, there are also direct buses from Tobolsk to the north, but the
nearest cities are 9-10 hours away, so it is more comfortable to travel
by train.
Bus station, Mendeleev Ave., 44 (6th microdistrict,
44). ☎ +7 (3456) 25-84-53. Around the clock. Located in the new part of
the city, 5 minutes walk from the “Pearl of Siberia” and the
“Slavyanskaya” hotel. A new building, inside of which there were cash
registers, several rows of chairs and various useless kiosks. On the
other side there is a 24-hour grocery store under the sign “Cooking” -
this means that there is one table and a thermos for making tea, the
other assortment leaves much to be desired. A more decent grocery store
is across the street.
By car
Tobolsk is located on the P404
highway, connecting Tyumen (250 km) with the cities of the
Khanty-Mansiysk Okrug. In the northern direction, the nearest cities are
Surgut (530 km) and Khanty-Mansiysk (430 km), and there are no
directions other than north and south in these parts. Theoretically, you
can drive along the Irtysh east along the old Siberian Highway in the
direction of Ust-Ishim, Tara and Omsk, but hundreds of kilometers of bad
dirt roads await you there. The best, if not the only, exit in the
direction of Omsk is along the left bank of the Irtysh to Vagai and
further south towards Golyshmanovo to the Omsk highway.
On the
ship
Regular communication along the Irtysh is limited to rare
passenger ships Omsk-Salekhard (Severrechflot), which run 2-3 times a
month from June to September. The journey to the nearest points, Omsk
and Khanty-Mansiysk, takes from 1.5 to 3 days, depending on whether the
ship is going upstream or downstream. Tickets for the ship are sold at
city railway ticket offices, including at the Slavyanskaya Hotel and in
the old part of the city (Semyon Remezova St., 19b).
Pier,
beginning of the street. Kirov. There is no river station in Tobolsk.
Ferries depart from the pier to the left bank of the Irtysh, and rare
ships dock here.
There are about 20 city routes in Tobolsk, served by regular and microbuses. Open from 6 am to 10 pm. Fare: 24 rubles (2023), payment to the driver or conductor. Route maps and even schedules are available on the website of the local transport company. During the day, buses on main routes run at intervals of 10-15 minutes. The stops are not arranged in a very obvious way; often the stops in the back and forth directions are completely inconsistent. Buses passing by the Kremlin may not have a “Kremlin” stop, and it is better to get off at the Social Market - otherwise you risk going to Podgora and then walking back up the hill.
The Tobolsk Kremlin is the youngest in Russia and, probably, the most
spectacular. On a cliff on the bank of the Irtysh in the 17th century
there was a wooden fort that regularly burned (the latest version had
nine towers). In 1677, it was finally decided to build Tobolsk from
stone. Tyumen merchants collected money for the construction of the
Tobolsk Kremlin. What happened and is now called the Kremlin, in fact,
consists of two parts - the eastern Sofia Courtyard, which is closed at
night, and the western Maly (or Voznesensky), the city, which can be
reached at any time of the day. The Sofia (Pryamskoy) carriage leads
from the foothills to the Kremlin.
The walls of the Kremlin are
very similar to the fortifications of ancient Russian fortresses in the
European part of Russia, although in fact from the end of the 17th
century, when such fortresses were still being built, only isolated
fragments have been preserved here - the round Peacock Tower (to the
left of the rentery) and a short piece of wall built into a square one
east tower. Some other sections date back to the mid-18th century, but
the main part of the Kremlin walls was recreated in the 1960s. while
preserving the forms of the 17th-18th centuries, so they look quite
authentic and create a single ensemble. There are a total of 7 towers in
the Kremlin (see list). On the outside of the walls there is a
pedestrian path, interrupted only by the Sofia Vzvoz, where you will
have to briefly go inside the Kremlin territory. This entire path is a
magnificent viewing platform from which you will see Ermak’s garden, the
foothills of Tobolsk, and the Irtysh with its steep right bank. The best
views of the Kremlin are from the foothills or from Ermak’s garden.
Sophia-Assumption Cathedral. The first stone church of Siberia
(1683-86) and the oldest surviving building beyond the Urals (all three
older than it were also in the Tobolsk Kremlin: the first two editions
of the metropolitan chambers in the Sophia courtyard burned down during
the devastating fires of the late 17th century, the third was dismantled
due to disrepair in XVIII century). The cathedral, originally
consecrated as the Assumption Cathedral, was built on the model of the
Ascension Church in the Moscow Kremlin - a cubic volume and five
chapters - but at the end of the 17th century, and even in Siberia, it
simply had to bear Baroque features. This is clearly visible, for
example, in the completion of the domes of the cathedral, which were
first made as onion-shaped, and a little later became concave in the
traditions of Ukrainian Baroque. All four walls of the cathedral bear
various decorative details which, if you look closely, show a wide
variety of architectural influences.
Intercession Cathedral.
Built in 1743-46, an ordinary monument of the Baroque style. The
cathedral is practically adjacent to the 75-meter cathedral bell tower
(1794-96), which was actually intended for the St. Sophia Cathedral, but
was eventually built next to Pokrovsky after the two previous bell
towers, which stood closer to the St. Sophia Cathedral, collapsed. The
bell tower is connected to the St. Sophia Cathedral by the small Church
of St. Sergius of Radonezh, built in 2007-11. modeled after the church
that existed on this site in the first half of the 18th century.
Sofia courtyard. 8:00–20:00. Surrounded on three sides by walls, and on
the fourth by St. Sophia and Intercession Cathedrals, the courtyard
contains several buildings of the second half of the 18th century. Pay
attention to the three-story bishop's house (1775) - the first building
in Siberia in the style of classicism - and the bishop's stables, which
are not without some grace. The tiny turret in the center of the
courtyard is the belfry of the Uglich bell. The alarm bell was sent to
Tobolsk from Uglich in 1591 after it announced the murder of Tsarevich
Dmitry. The bell successfully endured “corporal” punishment (a torn out
tongue and a severed ear) and for a long time served faithfully in the
bell towers of various Tobolsk churches, including St. Sophia Cathedral.
In the 19th century, a special belfry was built for the honorary bell in
case Tsarevich Alexander II, who was traveling through Siberia, wanted
to inspect it, which, however, did not happen. The bell was “pardoned”
only in 1892, and since then it has been in Uglich again.
Renterea (treasury chamber). Built in 1714-17. based on the project of
Semyon Remezov, the author of the first map of Siberia, which was also
the first Russian geographical atlas. The building is quite unusual,
since it stands above a ravine at the very edge of the hill, and through
an arch it goes down the Sofia Vzvoz mountain. For a long time, the
chamber was used to store the provincial treasury and yasak, and later
as an archive. Now there is one of the museum exhibitions here.
Gostiny Dvor. The quadrangular building with round towers and an inner
courtyard can easily be mistaken for the Kremlin by the uninitiated,
although in fact it is just a guest courtyard, built in 1703-07.
according to the project of the same Semyon Ulyanovich Remezov. The
building was conceived for trade, but since the merchants lived in the
foothills of Tobolsk and did not really strive to go up with their
goods, Gostiny Dvor soon began to be used for other purposes - as a
court, a prison, a warehouse, a public office building. Now it has
turned into a kind of tourist center of Tobolsk: on the ground floor
there is a museum of Siberian entrepreneurship, the exhibition
“Residence of the Siberian Voivode”, shops with souvenirs are equipped,
and the second floor is occupied by a hotel and a cafe.
Sofia
transport. This is a rather complex engineering structure, consisting of
a staircase at the bottom and a paved road at the top, reinforced on
both sides with brick walls that form part of the general Kremlin wall,
up to 15 meters high and about 100 meters long. Then the road passes
through the gates built under the entrance hall and ends up inside the
Kremlin.
Prison castle. 10:00–18:00 except Mon. 150 rub. For a long time, the
prison was one of the main city institutions; fortunately, exiles began
arriving in Tobolsk almost from the moment the city was founded. Built
in the mid-19th century, the prison castle was located next to the
Kremlin and until 1989 it worked for its intended purpose. For example,
Vladimir Korolenko, Nikolai Chernyshevsky and Fyodor Mikhailovich
Dostoevsky visited the Tobolsk transit prison, and in terms of the
number of potential memorial plaques, this building can only compete
with other institutions of the same type. Now a museum exhibition has
been opened in the prison castle, showing the life of prisoners and the
frightening interiors of the building. Those who wish can also spend the
night at the Prisoner Hostel, where lightly renovated prison cells have
rooms with bunk beds: they say that guests are locked at night.
Old
water tower. A neo-Gothic water tower from the early 20th century stands
in the very center of the square. In summer there is a souvenir shop
there. Mobile communication base stations are installed on the tower, so
only employees of cellular companies servicing this equipment can
officially go up, where a good view of the Kremlin opens.
Monument to
Semyon Remezov. Semyon Ulyanovich Remezov (1642-1720) is not one of the
Siberian pioneers, but he certainly did no less for the development of
this region - from creating the first geographical atlases in Russia to
designing several buildings of the Tobolsk Kremlin. One of the central
streets and the square adjacent to Krasnaya are named in honor of
Remezov.
Walking along Red Square, you are unlikely to miss the
building of the provincial museum in the eclectic style (1887) and the
long building of the religious school of the same period, but of a very
ordinary appearance, occupying an entire block between Remezova and
Oktyabrskaya streets.
Spasskaya Church, st. Revolutionary. Hidden in the courtyards, the
squat church is a rare temple for Tobolsk, which definitely does not
belong to the Siberian Baroque style. It is also one of the oldest
churches in the city. It was built in 1709-13. and attracts attention
with the relief decoration of the window openings, as well as the
bizarre convex “growths” in the corners of the building, which, upon
closer examination, is a bit reminiscent of the Trinity Cathedral in
Tyumen, but is not at all similar to other Tobolsk churches. The bell
tower was apparently added later, at the end of the 18th century; It was
destroyed during Soviet times, but has now been rebuilt. The church is
closed and is in a state of sluggish restoration.
Peter and Paul
Church, st. Bolshaya Sibirskaya, 2. Built in 1768-74. almost
simultaneously with the temples of the Podgorny part. A good monument of
the Siberian Baroque, beautifully restored, but somewhat damaged by its
proximity to new buildings - a hotel and a shopping center. However,
even in this configuration, interesting views of the church open up from
the neighboring Remezov Street, and on the opposite, eastern side, an
area of private wooden buildings begins. In front of the church there is
a Dostoevsky square with a monument to the writer. The composition of
the monument is very interesting: Dostoevsky is sitting on a bench, and
next to him lie an open Gospel and shackles.
Zavalnoe cemetery,
st. Semyon Remezova, 53 (1.5 km from the Kremlin). The old cemetery was
located behind the city rampart (hence the name) and for a long time
remained the outskirts of the city, and even now the old part of Tobolsk
ends here, and further north the new city of the 1970s begins. The
entrance to the cemetery is from an unnamed side passage running along
the southern wall. Entering the gate and walking along the central
alley, you can easily find the main cemetery attraction - the graves of
the Decembrists (Kuchelbecker, Baryatinsky), made of cast iron and
decorated with intricate sculptures of angels. A little further is the
Church of the Seven Youths (1776), in front of which old tombstones from
two hundred years ago are collected. To the east of the church is the
modest grave of the storyteller Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov (1792-1869). On
Remezov Street in front of the cemetery you can see a small gazebo with
a female figure inside - this is a monument to the wives of the
Decembrists erected in 2008.
Ermak Garden, east of the Kremlin,
behind the street. Nikolsky transport. The park on the spur of the hill
adjacent to the Kremlin is named in honor of Ermak, who, although he did
not live to see the founding of Tobolsk, predetermined the emergence of
the city. Installed in the 1830s. for a reason that is not entirely
clear, the monument to “Ermak, the Conqueror of Siberia,” is a simple
granite stele, which is generally quite typical: impersonal monuments to
Ermak were often erected, since the appearance of the conqueror of
Siberia is not known for certain. The monument offers a good view of the
Kremlin, the foothills and the surrounding slopes. The city garden was
laid out in 1855 and is now maintained in good condition. There is also
a memorial plaque in memory of the Red Army soldiers who died in the
civil war.
Monument to Ershov, st. Semyon Remezova, 3.
Storyteller Pyotr Pavlovich Ershov (1815-1869) worked as a teacher in
the Tobolsk gymnasium, and later as the director of schools in the
Tobolsk province. The monument erected to him in 2008 depicts not so
much the author himself, but the heroes of his fairy tales: here is
Ivanushka with the Little Humpbacked Horse, and the Whale Fish, and even
the Firebird.
Along the main streets of the Nagornaya part -
Remezova and Oktyabrskaya - many pre-revolutionary houses have been
preserved (list), and if the buildings on Remezova Street are mostly
stone, then at the beginning of Oktyabrskaya Street you will find
several completely restored wooden mansions. In their example, you can
see the relief decoration specific to Tobolsk, created not by openwork
carvings, but by straight lines. Gates and even fences are made in a
similar way.
The space at the foot of the Kremlin hill, bounded on the west by the
Irtysh, and on the east by another hill already overgrown with forest,
is one of the ancient districts of Tobolsk. Podgora stretches from the
Kremlin for almost 2 km and has a rectangular, but not entirely regular
layout. In some places, the development is interrupted by small streams
known as Abramka (closer to the Irtysh) and Kurdyumka (opposite the
Sofiysky Vzvoz), swamps and other landscape elements formed by these
streams. The western part of Podgora, closest to the Irtysh, is a
historical Tatar settlement (aka Zaabramka), which is easily recognized
by the spiers of its mosques.
The foothill part of Tobolsk has
been a city suburb since ancient times. Stone churches were built here
already in the 18th century, but residential buildings remained
predominantly wooden. In the early 2000s, one could still see here the
environment of the old Russian city, almost untouched by civilization -
no matter how unusual, so, however, unsightly, since the residents of
Podgora moved en masse to new neighborhoods, houses and churches stood
abandoned. In the mid-2000s, the city government began the
reconstruction of Podgora by demolishing the blocks adjacent to the
Kremlin and building new residential buildings in their place. At the
same time, they paved the sidewalks along Lenin Street with tiles and
even equipped the embankment of the Kurdyumka River flowing nearby.
Traces of improvement stretch deep into the area for about half a
kilometer, and then the usual one-story Russian city begins with dust,
water pumps and rickety fences. However, fresh asphalt gives the
landscape some neatness, and plastic windows and siding are increasingly
found on houses. Historical buildings (and the most characteristic of
them are stone mansions of the late 18th century and various wooden
houses) are gradually becoming rare and will soon probably disappear
completely or be changed beyond recognition.
All churches in
Podgora were built in the 18th century. Three of them - Michael the
Archangel, Holy Cross, Zechariah and Elizabeth - belong to the
masterpieces of the Siberian Baroque and deserve a special walk in order
to look at them up close, and if you’re lucky, then look inside.
Siberian churches have a rather complex structure, including a division
into summer (upper) and winter (lower) parts.
Church of the
Archangel Michael, st. Lenina, 24 (opposite Sofia vzvoz). The first of
the restored Tobolsk churches (1745-54) has not yet been repaired from
the inside, but looks amazing from the outside. The temple is surrounded
by a covered porch-gallery. Traces of paintings have been preserved in
the part under the dome. If you walk along Lenin Street from Sofiysky
Vzvoz, then in front of the church you will meet two houses of the 18th
century (No. 22 and 24), with their archaic appearance very reminiscent
of ancient Russian chambers. Behind the church (house no. 26), on the
contrary, stands a completely modern building - the former Mariinsky
Women's Gymnasium, a mansion in the Art Nouveau style.
Church of
Zechariah and Elizabeth, Bazarnaya Square. 8. Built in 1758-76. Usually
the roofs of Tobolsk churches are painted green, but here they chose
black, which harmonizes perfectly with the narrow “twisted” drums. An
unusual technique was used in the architecture of the church, when the
upper corners of the main volume (quadrangle) were cut off, and in their
place were made decorative round windows, surrounded by intricate stone
decoration.
Holy Cross Church, st. Karl Marx, 43 (Tatarskaya
Sloboda area). It stands further from the Kremlin than the previous two,
but is visible from afar, thanks to the high bell tower with a spire
topped with a bent cross. They say that in the 1930s. they tried to
remove the cross; in this case, the worker died, and the cross bent, but
remained standing. The church is abandoned and surrounded by a fence,
plans for its restoration are vague.
Church of the Holy Trinity,
st. Rosa Luxemburg, 11. Perched at the very foot of the Kremlin hill,
the church was built in 1900-09. for the local Catholic community, which
consisted mainly of exiled Lithuanians and Poles. The church is
operational and is open only during services. Across the road (Rosa
Luxemburg St., 14) is the old building of the Tobolsk gymnasium (1810),
where Ershov taught and Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev studied. Towards the
Sofiysky Vzvoz there is another building of the same gymnasium, where
Ershov was no longer there, and D.I. Mendeleev taught: this is a huge
three-story house (1893) in the style of neoclassicism, which is
completely uncharacteristic for the area.
Market square. Once a
shopping area, but now quiet and more reminiscent of the cities of the
Russian North, the square is one of the centers of the Podgorny part of
Tobolsk. In addition to quite ordinary trading pavilions and shops,
there are several buildings of the 18th century, including the
magistrate’s office (house No. 3, 1754) with a deliberately simple and
angular design of window openings. Two houses on Khokhryakova Street
(No. 2 and 10) - mansions built in the late 18th century in the
classicist style - would do credit to many cities in the European part
of Russia, but in Tobolsk they stand abandoned. On the parallel Mira
Street there are interesting merchant mansions of the early 20th
century.
Alexandrovsky Garden, between st. Khokhryakov and Mira.
The square one block south of Bazarnaya Square is named Alexandrovsky
after the Alexander Nevsky Chapel located here (1887), erected in memory
of Emperor Alexander II. On the northern side of the square there are
some of the most luxurious stone houses in Podgora - the house of the
Governor General (Mira St., 10) and the Kornilov House (Mira St., 9).
The first one was built at the end of the 18th century and is
interesting because of its stylish porch, which, for some reason, is
adjacent to the side of the building. The Kornilov House (1899) is
designed in the spirit of eclecticism; the royal family lived in it
during the period of Tobolsk exile.
Former Znamensky Monastery,
st. Dekabristov, 21. One of the oldest Siberian monasteries was almost
completely destroyed during Soviet times. Since the 1770s, the monastery
housed a theological seminary. The monastery and seminary were located
in a block bounded by modern Ershov, Lermontov, Dekabristov and
Khokhryakova streets. Currently, the territory of the monastery and
seminary is divided between an inactive winery and an agricultural
college. The churches were turned into laboratory and factory premises;
it is now almost impossible to judge their former appearance. If you
have time, it is worth visiting the abandoned stone two-story monastic
building built in 1730 with preserved stucco on the corner of Ershov and
Lermontov streets.
Mosque, st. Pushkina, 27. The mosque stands in
a Tatar settlement. It was built at the turn of the 19th and 20th
centuries, during the Soviet years it was turned into a cinema, and now
it has been restored and is operating again. In the same block, but on
its other side - on Basova Street - you can see another turret: this is
another mosque, rebuilt from an ordinary residential building in the
late 1970s.
Nativity Church, st. Dekabristov, 44. An ordinary
monument of the Baroque style (1744-61), well restored. There are
interesting wooden houses nearby.
St. Andrew's Church, st.
Volodarsky, 81. The church of Podgora, the farthest from the Kremlin,
was built around the same time as all the others (1744-55). It marks the
end of the historical part of Podgora. There are no longer any
historical buildings further south.
If all this wasn’t enough for
you, arm yourself with a list of cultural heritage sites and go
searching. On the streets of Podgora (especially Volodarsky, Lenin,
Semakov) there are still dozens of interesting and historical houses -
mostly wooden.
The new areas of Tobolsk are interesting for the traveler only
because of the presence of hotels and large shopping centers. With the
exception of the Mendeleev monument, there are not only sights here, but
even urban sculpture that would enliven the row of gray panel houses.
Monument to Mendeleev, corner of Komsomolsky and Mendeleev avenues.
The great chemist was born in Tobolsk and studied at the local
gymnasium. The city was able to take full advantage of his discoveries
only in the 20th century with the opening of a petrochemical plant. As a
sign of this, symbols of chemical elements in the form of “cells” of the
periodic table are painted on a residential building next to the
monument (7th microdistrict, 36a, behind the Pearl of Siberia shopping
center). The monument itself was erected in 1984.
1 Tobolsk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. ☎ +7 (3456)
26-41-60, +7 (3456) 22-37-13. 10:00–18:00 except Mon. 100-200 rubles for
each exposure. The museum-reserve unites most of the Tobolsk museums and
contains such a number of collections exhibited in different places that
few people can explore them in one day: the governor’s palace
(interiors, the history of Tobolsk, the culture and life of the Siberian
Tatars), rentery (nature, archeology) , the bishop's house (history of
Orthodoxy in Siberia), the provincial museum (history, nature,
ethnography of Siberia) - all on the territory of the Kremlin or nearby.
In addition, in the Podgorny part of Tobolsk you can visit the Kornilov
house, where the interiors and office of Nicholas II are shown.
2 Museum of the History of Development and Study of Siberia named
after. A.A. Dunin-Gorkavich, st. Oktyabrskaya, 5. ☎ +7 (3456) 24-69-57.
Mon–Fri 9:00–17:00. A small museum at the Tobolsk Biological Station of
the Russian Academy of Sciences, dedicated to Siberian pioneers and the
nature of Siberia.
3 Tobolsk State Drama Theater named after P.P. Ershova, 4th
microdistrict, 66. ☎ +7 (3456) 27-56-30. Ticket office: 10:00–14:00,
16:00–18:00 except Mon. Approximately equal number of children's and
adult performances. In the foyer of the theater there are interesting
sculptural compositions on the theme of Ershov’s fairy tales.
4 Cinema in the RIO shopping center, University Zone, 4. ☎ +7 (3456)
34-34-34. Several halls, there is 3D.
5 Resort “Alemasova”, Uvatsky
tract (on the road to the station). ☎ +7 (3456) 27-30-38. Mainly winter
activities - snowboarding, alpine skiing, tubing. In summer you can ride
horses or play paintball.
Shopping
Souvenir shops are located inside the Gostiny Dvor. In good weather,
souvenirs are also sold on the square in front of the Kremlin. An
original, but rather rare Tobolsk souvenir will be bone carvings. The
city is home to the only bone-carving factory in Russia, the products of
which are made by hand and are known far beyond the borders of Tobolsk.
Other Tobolsk souvenirs are typical nesting dolls, birch bark, Gzhel and
the like.
1 Department store “Ilyinsky”, st. Semyon Remezova, 17
(one block from the Kremlin). 8:00–19:00. An old-style store consisting
of separate storefronts and kiosks. You can buy anything - from
groceries to pens, clothes and medicines.
Two fairly large
shopping centers are located in the new part of the city at the
intersection of Mendeleev and Komsomolsky avenues
2 Shopping
center “Pearl of Siberia”, 7th microdistrict, 30 (at the intersection of
Mendeleev and Komsomolsky avenues). ☎ +7 (3456) 277-999. Mon–Fri
10:00–22:00, Sat–Sun 10:00–19:00. A modern shopping complex, which is
frankly too big for Tobolsk. If you are not attracted to boutiques,
visit the Orange Cinema cinema, the small food court on the second
floor, the overseas confectionery Cinnabon or the Read-Gorod bookstore.
Next to it is a nice and inexpensive cafe “Provence”. Perhaps in the
future there will also be a grocery supermarket here, but for now there
is only one in the Eurasia shopping center across the road.
3 TC
“Eurasia” , 6th microdistrict, 38 (at the intersection of Mendeleev and
Komsomolsky avenues). For guests of Tobolsk, the Magnit hypermarket
located in this shopping center is of greatest practical interest.
4 Tobolsk factory of artistic bone carvings, st. Znamensky, 58A. ☎ +7
(3456) 25-33-03. It looks like the factory has a showroom where they
sell finished products. You can explore the range of products and prices
in the online store.
All cafes and restaurants are located around the Kremlin or in the
new part of Tobolsk. Under the mountain (and even then next to the
Kremlin) there is the only Tatar cafe, but otherwise there are only tiny
grocery stores there.
Cheap
1 Bistro “Fiesta”, 6th
microdistrict, 2 (next to the Mendeleev monument). 9:00–23:00. Hot: less
than 100 rub. The cafeteria-dining room is relatively modern in
appearance. Coffee is brewed at the bar, cakes and alcohol are offered.
There is Wi-Fi, but it doesn't work.
2 Cafe “Bakhetle”, st. Rosa
Luxemburg, 10 (Podgora). 9:00–24:00. The only cafe serving Tatar cuisine
in the whole city.
3 Coffee house “U Ershova”, st. Semyon Remezova,
7 (next to the Kremlin). 10:00–23:00. Hot: 100-150 rub. The first
Tobolsk coffee shop is more reminiscent of a home cafe and has very
affordable prices, but it has exactly one drawback - a small room where
everyone may not fit. In addition to a considerable assortment of hot
dishes, they offer cold cocktails and a variety of cakes and pastries.
Wi-Fi is available, but with difficulty.
There is also an inexpensive
cafe-dining room in the Pearl of Siberia shopping center.
Average
cost
4 Palace Coffee House (Dolce Vita) , building of the judicial
administration (in the Kremlin, in front of the exit to the observation
deck). 10:00–23:00. Hot: 300–500 rub. A moderately cozy establishment,
located in one of the Kremlin buildings on the way to the observation
deck. The menu features European cuisine with a slight French touch. The
food is prepared quite exquisitely, especially by the standards of the
province. A good selection of desserts, handmade sweets, herbal teas and
much more. The cakes are said to be homemade. Wi-Fi.
5 Cafe
“Povarnya” (in the Gostiny Dvor building, on the second floor).
10:00–20:00. Hot dishes: about 300 rub. Housed in such a historical
building, the cafe could perhaps have had a more interesting interior,
but on the whole it copes with its main task - to feed travelers
quickly, well and not very expensively. The choice of dishes is small;
In addition to soups, salads and hot dishes, there are delicious pies.
6 Tavern “Ilyinsky” , st. Semyon Remezova, 20. 12:00–24:00, Fri and
Sat until 4:00. Cafe with Russian cuisine in a reconstructed wooden
mansion. The menu looks attractive, but visitors complain about slow
service and the mediocre taste of the dishes themselves. There may be
karaoke in the evening.
Expensive
7 Restaurant “Ladeiny” ,
st. Revolutionary, 2 (opposite the Kremlin). ☎ +7 (3456) 22-21-11.
11:00–23:00. Expensive restaurant serving Russian cuisine. The kitsch of
this establishment is already noticeable from the outside, but the
reviews from visitors are generally good.
Tobolsk is not the most promising place in terms of nightlife and
club life. Bars operate at large hotels, and there may also be discos or
something like that.
1 DJ bar RаИ , st. Semyon Remezova, 68.
Visitors recommend the local hookahs. There is even a “business hookah”
promotion, i.e. discounted hookah during the day on weekdays.
There are many hotels in Tobolsk, both near the Kremlin and in new
quarters.
Cheap
1 Hotel “Neftekhimik”, 7th microdistrict. 17.
☎ +7 (3456) 25-62-01. Single/double room: from 1400/1900 rub. A good
combination of price/quality for those who need a room with amenities
and for little money. It’s hard to expect anything special from a hotel
located in a panel residential building, but the rooms have everything
you need, and visitors are generally satisfied. Wifi is free, but
apparently not in all rooms.
2 Starry Sky Hostel, lane. Tobolsky, 2
(15 minutes from the Kremlin). ☎ +7 (3456) 24-69-07. 500 rub/person
Regular hostel, only dormitory rooms. Wi-Fi.
Average cost
3 Hotel “Georgievskaya”, st. Lenskaya, 35 (center). ☎ +7 (3456)
22-09-09. Single/double room: from 2300/3000 rub. Average hotel in the
old part of the city. It consists of two buildings, and the “second
building”, where the cheapest rooms are located, is not highly
recommended by guests. Wi-Fi.
4 Hotel “Sibir”, pl. Remezova, 1
(opposite the Kremlin). ☎ +7 (3456) 22-09-01. Single/double room: from
2300/3600 rub. The building's unprepossessing appearance is more than
compensated for by the cozy furnishings, with old-fashioned wooden
furniture and maps of Siberia hanging on the walls, although the rooms
themselves are much simpler decorated than the corridors and lobby. The
restaurant looks especially elegant, worthy of a rich merchant house in
pre-revolutionary Tobolsk. Wi-Fi, breakfast (not a very rich buffet) is
served in the same restaurant.
5 Hotel “Tobol” (New Tobol), st.
Oktyabrskaya, 20 (center). The old hotel building has recently been clad
in plastic and added with additional entertainment options such as a
bowling alley and a nightclub. The reviews are not bad.
6 Hotel
“Yamskaya”, st. Bolshaya Sibirskaya, 40 (center, behind the Peter and
Paul Church). ☎ +7 (3456) 22-61-77. Single/double: from 1500/2600 rub.
There are three types of rooms - economy, standard and "improved layout"
- all with amenities. Nothing special, reviews from guests are
moderately positive.
Expensive
7 Hotel “Slavyanskaya”, 9
microdistrict, building 1. ✉ ☎ +7 (3456) 39-91-01, +7 (3456) 39-91-04.
Single/double: from 2600/4800 rub. Five Stars. The reviews are good, but
not enthusiastic; they complain about the lack of Wi-Fi in the room, the
poor quality of the breakfast and general unkemptness - apparently, the
hotel has not been renovated since the times of the USSR. It is located
in microdistricts, that is, quite far from the center.
Wi-Fi is found in many city cafes and on the territory of the
Kremlin. Some connections are organized through the TyumenFree network,
which requires authorization via SMS.
Tobolsk Post Office, 4th
microdistrict. 42/1. Mon–Fri 8:00–20:00, Sat 8:00–17:00, Sun 9:00–14:00.
For a long time, Tobolsk was considered a dysfunctional and criminal city, but recently the situation here is much better than in the average Russian regional center, and the general improvement not only affected the pavements or facades, but also improved the life of local residents. During daylight hours you can walk around the city completely calmly. The surroundings of the Kremlin are well lit and do not pose any obvious dangers even in the dark. When walking in the foothills, remember that these are settlements with private houses, so there are a lot of dogs here, and local residents may be offended if you, for example, take a photo of their house. However, by Russian standards there are a lot of tourists in Tobolsk, and they do not cause surprise.