Sviyazhsk Island City Open Air Museum — a popular one-day destination from Kazan. How to get to Sviyazhsk by train, bus, car, boat? The history of the island from Ivan the Terrible to the present day. Sights of Sviyazhsk and things to do on the island-museum.
How to get to Sviyazhsk from Kazan
The island-city of Sviyazhsk is located 60 km from Kazan, on all sides it is washed by the rivers Volga, Sviyaga and Pike. You can get to Sviyazhsk both by water and by land (the road passes through the dam). Depending on the type of transport, it will take from 30 minutes to 2 hours. We sailed to Sviyazhsk on a boat.
train + bus
- 1.5 hours all year round
Sviyazhsk railway station is located 8.5 km from the museum island. Trains from Kazan depart from the Kazan-1 Central Railway Station (Privokzalnaya Square 1a). Travel time by train from Kazan to Sviyazhsk station is 1 hour 15 minutes. The ticket price is 76 rubles.
From the railway station Sviyazhsk to the museum-reserve there is a bus, the schedule of which is coordinated with the train schedule (4 round trips). Travel time by bus is 20 minutes, ticket price is 60 rubles. At the railway station, they sell a combined bus ticket + 6 museums for 450 rubles. Bus stop at the museum parking lot. You can also take a taxi from Sviyazhsk railway station to the island town of Sviyazhsk.
By bus
- 1.5 hours all year round
Buses run from Kazan to Sviyazhsk on weekends (Saturday and Sunday). Departure from the bus stations Yuzhny (Orenburgsky pr. 207) and Stolichny (St. Devyataeva 15). Tickets cost 165-175 rubles one way, there are no benefits. timetables and tickets
by car
- all year round 1 hour
Distance Kazan-Sviyazhsk by car 64 km. From Kazan, go along the M7 highway to the turn at the interchange near the village of Isakovo, then turn to Sviyazhskoye and to the island-city of Sviyazhsk. Free parking downstairs in front of the main entrance. Entry to the territory of the museum-reserve is prohibited.
River excursion to the island-city of Sviyazhsk Touch the history and architecture of Russia on a boat excursion with a captain and a professional guide p> Motor ships go to Sviyazhsk from May to November, depending on weather conditions. Information and schedule in the group of the River Port of Kazan in VKontakte, reference phone: +7 (843) 2330808. Our boat left Kazan for Sviyazhsk at 9:00, back from Sviyazhsk at 15:00.
Kazan River Station is located at st. Devyataeva 1. You can get to it by buses and trams. Motor ships depart for Sviyazhsk from suburban berths. The price of a one-way ticket is 127 rubles. Children under 5 — free, up to 10 years — 50% discount.
We sailed on a double-deck motor ship «Moscow-58». Since June 18 was a hot sunny day, we drove back and forth at the top. The only negative — hard seats without backs. Seats are more comfortable in the lower closed cabin.
The route of the ship from Kazan up the Volga to Sviyazhsk: Kazan – Upper Uslon – Pechishchi – Morkvashi embankments – P. Morkvashi – Dachnaya – Rudnik – Sviyazhsk.
On the meteor
- during the navigation period of 30 minutes
Meteors Kazan-Sviyazhsk also run from the Kazan River Port, from suburban berths. On our day, the schedule was as follows: to Sviyazhsk at 8:30 and 13:30, to Kazan at 12:00 and 17:00. Tickets for the meteor are sold only round-trip. The price is 700 rubles. If it were possible to buy a one-way ticket, then we would go back on a meteor.
Excursions to Sviyazhsk
Because Sviyazhsk — a popular tourist destination, excursions to the island city from Kazan are held daily. You can travel with a group on a tour bus or individually in a guide car. Most routes include the Raifa Bogoroditsky Monastery and the Temple of All Religions. The cost of excursions to Sviyazhsk is from 800 rubles. book online
Sviyazhsk, Raifa Monastery and Temple of All Religions Cult religious and historical monuments in the vicinity of Kazan
Vladislav about the excursion «Island-city of Sviyazhsk»
Very interesting informative tour! The island itself, restored and ennobled by the government of Tatarstan, deserves great respect. On the way, the guide gives a complete historical picture of the formation of Sviyazhsk, in Sviyazhsk itself & # 8212; a detailed overview of monuments and structures. Definitely a must visit for all tourists visiting Kazan.
Island-city of Sviyazhsk Be fascinated by Russian antiquity and the history of the Kazan region in an auto-pedestrian tour
When is the best time to go to Sviyazhsk
Sviyazhsk Island is open daily, every year it is visited by about 700 thousand tourists, most of them come in the summer. Check the weather forecast before you travel and dress appropriately — it's always windy on the island.
On Monday and Tuesday, almost all museums in Sviyazhsk are closed. On other days they are open from 9:30 to 16:30. Assumption Cathedral and Trinity Church are open from May 1 to September 30 in dry weather. The last Wednesday of every month is a sanitary day in the museum-reserve. According to UNESCO recommendations, any object on the island may be closed to the public without prior notice and explanation.
Inspection of the island-town of Sviyazhsk takes from 2 hours, depending on how many places you want to visit. The area of the island is 67 hectares, movement on foot (only local residents are allowed to drive in cars). We walked around and examined everything in 3.5 hours.
There are several restaurants, cafes and grocery stores on the territory of Sviyazhsk. The monasteries sell fresh pastries.
History of the island-city of Sviyazhsk
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There is an opinion that the island-city of Sviyazhsk was the prototype of the fabulous Buyan Island. In fact, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was in Sviyazhsk after writing «The Tale of Tsar Saltan», but this is how he imagined him.
Sviyazhsk was built in 1551 by order of Ivan the Terrible to defend Kazan. The wooden city-fortress was completely made in Uglich, then dismantled and floated down the Volga. The city of Sviyazhsk was erected in a new place in 4 weeks.
The main symbols of Kazan and the island of Sviyazhsk – in 1 day! Learn the main thing about the republic, get to know its capital and feel the atmosphere of the island city
In the middle of the 16th century, the Sviyazhsk fortress surpassed the Novgorod, Pskov and Moscow Kremlins in terms of defensive dimensions. With the growth of the number of churches and monasteries, Sviyazhsk turned from a military center into a spiritual center of the Volga region.
In 1918, the ancient county town found itself in the center of the Civil War. Leon Trotsky arrived in Sviyazhsk to lead the Bolshevik struggle for Kazan. On his orders, every tenth Red Army soldier was shot.
During the Stalinist repressions, the island was turned into a Gulag and a place of exile for prisoners of war. In 1937-1948, 5,000 convicts died in the Sviyazhsk colony. From 1953 to 1994, a psychiatric hospital functioned in the premises of the Assumption Monastery. Near the monastery wall there is a monument to the victims of political repressions.
In recent years, Sviyazhsk has become a popular tourist center. Large-scale restoration work has been carried out, churches and historical buildings have been restored, and museums have been opened. On July 9, 2017, the architectural ensemble of the Sviyazhsky Assumption Monastery was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Sights of Sviyazhsk
State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve «Island-city of Sviyazhsk» — This is a place of national importance. There are more than 40 cultural heritage sites on its territory. All of them are marked on the tourist map «Island-city of Sviyazhsk», which we took for free in the information tent of Kazan.
The tourist information center of Sviyazhsk is located at the entrance to the island from the side of the road. Information boards with a map are installed throughout the territory. When visiting the objects of the Russian Orthodox Church, scarves and skirts are given out on the spot.
Bogoroditse-Assumption Monastery (Sviyazhsky Assumption Monastery)
The Assumption Monastery was founded in 1555, revived in 1997. The monastery is surrounded by a kilometer-long fence, giving it the appearance of a Kremlin. In the Assumption Cathedral there are unique frescoes of the second half of the 16th century. The Assumption Cathedral and Monastery are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Architectural-ensemble-monastery-complex
- Fence and Gateway Church of the Ascension of the Lord Dormition Cathedral St. Nicholas Refectory Church Archimandrite Building Monastic School Fraternal Building (Church of St. German)
John the Baptist Monastery
The convent in Sviyazhsk was founded in 1551, after the revolution of 1917 it became a male monastery. The architectural ensemble includes buildings of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, abolished after a fire in 1795.
Church of St. Constantine and Helena
The only surviving township church of Sviyazhsk of the 16th-18th centuries. The first rector of the church was Father Herman — founder of the Assumption Monastery of the Mother of God.
River-station
A beautiful red brick building was built in 2011. Inside there is a cafe, they plan to open another information office for tourists sailing on ships. In the park in front of the station, there is an exact copy of Pavel I's boat.
Sviyazhsk Museums
Entrance tickets to the museums of Sviyazhsk cost 100-250 rubles. Discounts for schoolchildren, students, pensioners. It is profitable to buy combined tickets: single, family, special (saving 20-35%). Price list, opening hours, schedule of events on the website of the museum-reserve.
4 in 1: Innopolis, the city of Sviyazhsk, the Raifa Monastery and the Temple of All Religions Go on a trip around the outskirts of Kazan, touch the history and visit the youngest city p> Consists of 4 buildings. The interactive exposition of the museum tells about the history of the island-city from its foundation to the present day. Here you can see a life-size statue of Ivan the Terrible, a model of Sviyazhsk of the 16th century.
Museum-of-the-Civil-War (Trotsky-House)
The museum is located in the house where Leon Trotsky lived and worked in the summer of 1918. The museum is dedicated to the Civil War and the role of Trotsky in the Kazan operation. In one of the rooms there is a model of the Nizhnie Vyazovye station with an armored train. In another, Trotsky's office is recreated, where he sits at a desk (Trotsky's figure was reconstructed according to the dimensions sent by his grandson from Mexico).
Art gallery
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The gallery occupies two floors of the building of the former vocational school. On the first floor there are 4 large-scale canvases from the Sviyazhsky Cathedral on biblical themes. Climbing to the tower-observation platform 350 rubles.
Museum of the artist Gennady Arkhireev
The museum presents 30 paintings by an outstanding native of Sviyazhsk — Gennady Arkhireev (1949-2007), who is called the Kazan Van Gogh. The artist's wife also donated his personal belongings and household items to the museum.
Museum-archeology-wood
Modern interactive museum of wood archeology «Tatar settlement» built on the site of a real archaeological excavation in 2010. Animated characters move and make sounds. There are about 4700 exhibits in total. There is a guided tour every hour (included in ticket price).
Exhibition-hall «Old-water-tower»
A place for temporary exhibitions of artists and craftsmen working in various techniques (photo, painting, crafts).
Things to do in Sviyazhsk
Tatar cuisine – learn, cook, try Master class in the company of a cook and a guide
In addition to museums with sights, the Sviyazhsky Museum-Reserve organizes interesting leisure activities for adults and children.
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It is located on the site of the former horse yard of the Assumption Monastery. Here you can ride horses in the arena or in a carriage around the island. In «Craft settlement» souvenirs are sold and master classes are held.
We went to the blacksmith shop and made a personalized horseshoe — memorable wedding anniversary gift. The cost of such a master class is 250 rubles. In the horse yard there is a photo-point «I love Sviyazhsk» and an inn.
Historical-reconstruction complex «Lazy-torzhok»
The atmosphere of the Middle Ages is created by reenactors representing the life and crafts of medieval Sviyazhsk. You can shoot from a bow or crossbow, fight in a jousting tournament, take pictures in historical costumes. In «Lazy Market» sell Sviyazhsky souvenirs, hold master classes of ancient crafts. You can also eat in a historical setting, sitting on massive wooden benches.
Garden of Reflections
We accidentally entered the garden, which turned out to be the «Garden of Reflections». Along its perimeter there are signs with statements of famous people — philosophers, poets, writers. For example: «Live as if you now have to say goodbye to life, as if the time left to you is an unexpected gift» (Marcus Aurelius).
In the «Garden of Reflections» apple trees grow, brought from the museum-reserve «Yasnaya Polyana». Sviyazhsk has a direct connection with the history of the Tolstoy family – the ancestors of Leo Nikolayevich in the 17th-18th centuries. served here as commanders. This is discussed at the stand «Rod Tolstoy and Sviyazhsk».
Sviyazhsk also has a children's leisure center «Skazka», where interactive educational programs for children 3- 12 years old (Uspenskaya str. 20).
Where to stay in Sviyazhsk
Sviyazhsk, although a small, but a residential island with a population of about 250 people. There are several hotels for tourists and pilgrims. After 16:30, when all museums are closed, the island town is empty.
Staying overnight in Sviyazhsk, you will enjoy the silence and calmly go around all the sights. In summer, the demand for accommodation is very high, book accommodation in Sviyazhsk online where possible, in other places you need to write and call directly.
- Mansion on Yeleninskaya — double and family rooms near the river station, a beautiful view from the windows, a shared kitchen and living room, a toilet/shower on each floor. Kamenev» — 8 double rooms of standard category, junior suite, suite, high prices. Monastery hotel «Pilgrim's House» located on the territory of the John the Baptist Monastery, 54 economy class rooms: common and separate. Hotel & # 171; Sviyaga & # 187; — budget hotel with 7 rooms, amenities on the floor.
