Rybinsk has become popular with tourists quite recently, thanks to old signs on houses. We went to Rybinsk from Yaroslavl on a retro train and walked around the center. Sights of Rybinsk with a map, museums, monuments, photos.
Rybinsk
How to get to Rybinsk from Yaroslavl
Rybinsk is located 82 km from Yaroslavl near the Rybinsk reservoir. The location away from the M8 highway makes Rybinsk not the most visited city, but getting to Rybinsk from Yaroslavl is very easy. You can go there with one mode of transport and return with another or, like us, take a real journey on a retro train.
By bus
Buses Yaroslavl-Rybinsk run frequently, travel time — 1h 42m tickets and timetable
By train
Suburban trains from Yaroslavl to Rybinsk take just over 2 hours. Express «Seagull» — 58 minutes, but only in the evening. Tickets are sold at the box office and in the Russian Railways mobile app.
On the Volga
In summer, the high-speed METEOR-218 goes from Yaroslavl to Rybinsk Yaroslavl – Tutaev – Rybinsk – Breitovo. It departs once a day: from Yaroslavl at 14:10, from Rybinsk at 10:40. Tickets can only be bought at the box office at the river station.
Volga river cruise ships enter Rybinsk. All routes with prices on one site Cruise.online.
From Yaroslavl to Rybinsk you can go with an excursion, your transport or a guide. Excursions from Yaroslavl to Rybinsk
From Yaroslavl to the capital of barge haulers — Rybinsk Merchants, bread and fish, the construction of a hydroelectric power station and the flooded city of Mologa — a discovery tour!
Retro train Yaroslavl — Rybinsk
Retro train Yaroslavl – Rybinsk
We decided to go to Rybinsk also because a retro steam-powered train goes there. The steam locomotive P36-0147 was released in 1955, operated on the Moscow and Belarusian roads until 1985, then stood as a monument for 30 years, was restored and returned under its own power to the Northern Railway. This is the last passenger steam locomotive made in the USSR.
Retro train 6982/6981 leaves for Rybinsk on Saturdays from Yaroslavl' Moskovsky railway station at 8:31 with a stop at Yaroslavl Glavny station. Arrives in Rybinsk at 11:00. Tickets without seats can be bought at the station or from the conductor, the price is the same as for a regular train, the retro train takes half an hour longer.
There are only 3 cars in the Rybinsk retro train, they are also retro, but with improvements: air conditioning, soft seats, a conductor and a clean toilet, no wifi and sockets. A black-and-white documentary was shown on the screens, you need to take your own headphones. It was impossible to open the windows in the first car, where we traveled back and forth, because of the smoke from the steam locomotive, the air conditioner was working.
More summer residents than tourists traveled on this train. On the way to Rybinsk, they called at Molot station and got off an hour before arrival.
All the way we saw from the window what impression our retro train makes on people — they stopped to take pictures, waved their hands, or simply stood there in amazement. No wonder the green steam locomotive with colored «stripes» called General. We learned its story from a photo exhibition at the Rybinsk Passazhirsky railway station.
Sights of Rybinsk
The center of Rybinsk is small. The walking route to the main attractions from the station to the embankment takes 1.5 hours. We walked 4 km listening to the audio guide. Or you can travel 8 km or more with a sightseeing tour of the old Rybinsk by bike!
Excursions in Rybinsk
Walking tours in Rybinsk are designed for 2 hours. On a guided walk through the ancient city, you will plunge into the era of merchant Rybinsk and learn interesting facts from local residents.
Review of the tour «Rybinsk: from the present to the past!»
In two hours of walking we learned about the glorious history of Rybinsk. Streets with merchants' mansions, old signs, a beautiful embankment, monuments, temples leave such a pleasant aftertaste that you want to come back here again, maybe at another time of the year. And be sure to take a walk around Rybinsk with Elena, one of the best guides we have met.
Rybinsk: from the present to the past! Original architecture, magnificent landscapes and amazing stories about local residents
Due to the fact that in Soviet times Rybinsk was a semi-closed city with secure defense industry enterprises, it was not affected by large-scale restructuring. Entire merchant quarters of the 18th-20th centuries with quiet streets and original architecture have been preserved in the city center.
Rybinsk Attractions on the Map
Railway Station
Rybinsk railway station building
Rybinsk railway station building was built in 1904-1905 in Art Nouveau style. It is considered one of the best station buildings in Russia. Steam locomotive L-5270 (1953), restored in the Rybinsk locomotive depot, stands on Vokzalnaya Square.
- st. Passazhirskaya 1a
House of Artists
Across the street from the station is a large wooden mansion — House of Artists (1900). In the 90s, the old building in the Art Nouveau style was purchased and restored by the families of artists, who built a stone copy of it nearby.
- st. Pushkina 52
Polish Church
Polish church in Rybinsk
The Polish church or Temple of the Heart of Jesus (1910) belonged to the Catholic community of Rybinsk, which raised money for its construction . A stone staircase leads to the red neo-Gothic church with two towers. Closed in 1931, now it houses a student club.
- st. Pushkina 57
Karyakinsky Park
The old park, created in 1901 at the expense of the merchant Vasily Karyakin, has recently been restored. On its small territory there are flower beds, a pond with swans, a stone bridge, a fountain, a gazebo, photo zones with sculptures. On the oak tree «the scientist cat walks around the chain», and Baba Yaga is hiding in the roots of the trees.
Krestovaya Street
The main street of Rybinsk — Krestovaya, appeared on the general plan of the city in 1784. It got its name because of the numerous intersections. Most of the buildings on Krestovaya Street were built at the end of the 19th — early XX centuries and are architectural monuments.
The most famous houses on Krestovaya: the house of the cathedral clergy (Krestovaya street 7), Naumov's estate (Krestovaya street 84). Many films were filmed on this historic street, including «12 chairs».
St. Nicholas Chapel
The Chapel of Nicholas the Wonderworker (1867) was erected in memory of the miraculous rescue of Emperor Alexander II from an assassination attempt by a revolutionary. Restored in 2010 according to preserved photographs.
- Volzhskaya emb. 6
Welcome to Rybinsk! Explore the main and secret places of the original old city in a sincere company
The Old Grain Exchange
Old Grain Exchange archival photo
When the capital of Russia was moved to St. major trade deals. Under this, in 1811, an exchange was built in Rybinsk, which became the center of grain production in Russia. Now the Rybinsk Museum-Reserve operates in the Old Exchange.
- Volzhskaya emb. 4
New Grain Exchange
The new exchange was built in Rybinsk in 1912, since the old building no longer accommodated all the merchants. The Art Nouveau building was designed by Moscow architect Alexander Ivanov. The walls of the New Grain Exchange from the side of the embankment are lined with German tiles and decorated with tiles. According to its purpose, the exchange did not work for long — before the First World War. Now it houses the Rybinsk Museum-Reserve.
- Volzhskaya emb. 2
Red Square
The original name of this central square in Rybinsk — Trading. Tents were erected on it and brisk trade was conducted. In 1794, the Flour Gostiny Dvor was built, inside which the Mytny Market is still located. Nearby is the Red Gostiny Dvor, built in the 1870s at the expense of merchants.
Until 1918, a monument to Alexander II stood on Red Square in Rybinsk, then — a huge anvil with a hammer and sickle, and now — monument to Lenin in winter clothes.
Savior Transfiguration Cathedral
The first stone church of the Transfiguration of the Lord appeared on this site in 1660. In 1804, a five-tiered bell tower was added nearby. In 1838, the old building of the church fell into disrepair and the construction of a new church began.
The Transfiguration Cathedral was consecrated in 1851, it was visited by Empress Catherine the Great. The Transfiguration Cathedral amazed contemporaries with its size and rich decoration. The current temple, climbing the bell tower with a tour.
- st. Cross 2
Fire tower
The brick building of the fire tower was built in Rybinsk in 1843 at the intersection of Stoyalaya Street and Theater Square. A complex was formed around it, including a fire station, workshops and stables for firefighters and policemen.
Colorful Rybinsk Take a walk around the historical center and see its “calling cards” on a sightseeing tour
May 10, 1911 in the fire department a fire broke out due to an unextinguished cigarette butt, which became a reason for ridicule and the tower burned down. A year later, a new Art Nouveau tower was built, 44 meters high. Now here is the fire station number 8.
- st. Hercena 2
Old signs in Rybinsk
The growth of tourist popularity in Rybinsk is due to one person — artist and musician Mitya Kuznetsov. On his personal initiative, which was supported by the city administration, it was decided to change all advertising signs on houses in the center of Rybinsk to historical ones.
Houses with signs on Krestovaya Street
Since 2018, the center of Rybinsk has been decorated with signs in the same pre-revolutionary style with a Kommersant at the end. Even banks and government agencies agreed to change the names at the entrance. Rybinsk signs are made by hand from metal and gold leaf.
Details about the project «Museum of Living Antique Signs in the open air» and its creator, see in the video.
Public enthusiasts of Rybinsk did not stop there and are now restoring the cobblestone pavement on Stoyalaya Street, along which barge haulers walked. The city center has been transformed and looks like in Gaidai's film «12 chairs».
Landscaped Volga Embankment in Rybinsk — a favorite place for walks of Rybinsk residents and guests of the city. Along it for more than a kilometer, the Volga Park stretches. On this green territory there is a sports palace, a children's town, gazebos, a memorial complex with a fire of glory and monuments.
You can ride a bicycle or an electric scooter along the Volzhskaya embankment. When we were walking there, a dance competition for children's groups was held on the summer stage. Flower beds on the central alley are made in the shape of a fish that gave the city its name.
Cycling through the old Rybinsk ! Take a ride through the cozy streets and see all the important sights on a sightseeing tour
Pleasure boats leave from the pier opposite the monument to Burlak. Boat trips along the Volga and the Rybinsk reservoir with the passage of the lock are held in the season. There are evening cruises with music.
Volzhsky bridge
Rybinsk bridge or Volzhsky bridge is located near the Transfiguration Cathedral. The automobile and pedestrian bridge was built in 1957-1963, it has 7 pillars and 6 spans. Total bridge length — 720 m. The Rybinsk bridge is interesting because it is the first bridge in the country made not from prefabricated, but from monolithic reinforced concrete.
Monuments of Rybinsk
According to the results of the Internet voting in 2016, the monumental monument «Mother Volga» (1953). It stands on a bulk sand spit at the entrance to the Rybinsk locks from the side of the Rybinsk reservoir.
The words are carved on the pedestal: «Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country» (V.I. Lenin). You can see the 28-meter monument during a river walk or from the observation deck on the street. Sportivnaya, 12 km from the center.
Monument to Ostap Bender
Monuments in the center of Rybinsk
- Monument to Burlak (Volzhskaya embankment 4) Monument poet Lev Oshanin (Volzhskaya embankment, observation deck) Monument to V. I. Lenin (Red Square) Monument to Ostap Bender and a homeless boy (Lotsmansky Boulevard) Monument to Admiral Ushakov (Ushakov Boulevard) Monument to a plumber (Volzhskaya embankment 10) Monument to Nobel (st. Bolshaya Kazanskaya, near the bridge)
Museums of Rybinsk
Rybinsk Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve
The main building of the museum — New Grain exchange (Volzhskaya embankment 2). This is one of the oldest and largest museums of the Upper Volga, its collection includes about 120 thousand exhibits: a historical exposition, flora and fauna of the Rybinsk Territory, an art gallery, Russian applied art of the 18th-19th centuries, a porcelain collection, Orthodox culture, an exhibition of icons. From the balcony on the second floor you can admire the panorama of the Volga. website
Soviet Era Museum
Museum of the Soviet era
This museum is located on the opposite bank of the Volga near the Rybinsk hydroelectric power station (Urban settlement of HPP-14, Goncharova street 3). Its exhibits take visitors to a communal apartment from the times of the USSR and evoke nostalgic memories from childhood for many. Here you can smell the perfume «Red Moscow», start a gramophone, watch filmstrips. Visit only with a guided tour.
Museum of the Mologa Region
The museum is located in the building of the former chapel of the Afanasevsky Convent (Preobrazhensky per. 6A). It is dedicated to the history of the lands hidden in the waters of the Rybinsk reservoir in the middle of the 20th century.
“Paintings of the Flooded Lands” – an excursion with the author of the project Touch the restored heritage of the Mologa region and make a traditional amulet
If you want to learn more about the flooded merchant city of Mologa — go on a tour with Alexey — descendant of settlers from Mologa. You will visit a ceramic workshop where you will make tiles and amulets in the style of traditional paintings of the Mologa region, you will see the Rybinsk hydroelectric power station and the monument «Mother Volga». more
A model of the city of Mologa on a scale of 1:100 is located in the exhibition center & # 171; Russian Atlantis & # 187; in the building of Gostiny Dvor (Volzhskaya embankment 77-93). website
Other museums in Rybinsk: Museum of Admiral F.F. Ushakov, Maritime Museum, Museum of «Nobels and the Nobel Movement», Memorial House-Museum of Academician A.A. Ukhtomsky, Museum «Rybinsk Fish».
Rybinskaya HPP
The famous Rybinsk hydroelectric power station is a regime enterprise. It is not allowed to stop, take pictures or park near the HPP. You can drive or walk through the dam on foot, admiring the beauty of the Rybinsk reservoir. It is better to go here with a tour or on a pleasure boat. There is no Museum of Rybinsk HPP.
Rybinsk Hotels
Burlak Guest House
In order to slowly get around all the sights, museums and catch an evening river cruise along the Volga, you need to go to Rybinsk come overnight. In this selection of tourist hotels in Rybinsk with good reviews and conditions, book rooms for the weekend in advance.
- Hotel Yurla on Volzhskaya embankment in the city center, original chalet-style interior, restaurant, parking. Guest house Burlak in the very center of the city near the embankment and promenade, restaurant, sauna with billiard room. Guest house on the street. Lunacharsky near Karyakinsky park, 5 minutes walk from the railway station on a quiet street. Hotel Vikonda is a 4 * European class hotel 4 km from the historical center, breakfast & # 171; buffet & # 187; with a large selection of dishes in the restaurant «Rosha».