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Walking routes in Nizhny Novgorod

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      The kremlin, its wall and the Chkalov Stairs

      ⏱ 4 h 30 min🚶 3 km🍽 1📍 7 stops
      🚶 Moderate — 3–7 km

      Nizhny's main half-day walk: along the kremlin wall, to Minin's tomb, down and up the Chkalov Stairs and along the Volga to the Rukavishnikovs'.

      🏛 History and architecture
      🗺 Open in Yandex Maps
      1. 1
        🏛 Minin and Pozharsky Square
        пл. Минина и Пожарского
        The city's main square by the Dmitrovskaya Tower of the kremlin: Bolshaya Pokrovskaya, Verkhne-Volzhskaya Embankment and Zelensky Descent all branch off from here.
        Start at the Dmitrovskaya Tower. The kremlin museum ticket office is in the tower's arch, immediately on the right.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Minin and Pozharsky Square
        © Алексей Трефилов · CC BY-SA 4.0
        • The square used to be called Verkhnebazarnaya: it was the center of the Upper Posad, where overland trade routes met.
        • It is named after Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, who raised the 1611–1612 militia in Nizhny.
        • The copy of the Minin and Pozharsky monument from Red Square stands not here but under the kremlin walls, on People's Unity Square.
        • On the square are Minin University, the Chkalov monument and the city's first fountain.
        • The square is open to traffic: it is closed to cars only on public holidays.
      2. 🚶 on foot
      3. 2
        🖼 Walk along the kremlin wall and towers
        Кремль, Дмитриевская башня (вход из арки с пл. Минина)
        🎟 ticket
        A circular route along the wall-walk of the kremlin wall and museums in four towers: views of the Volga and the Strelka, and an underground combat tier.
        Get a ticket for the wall: the most beautiful section descends from the Dmitrovskaya Tower to the Volga. The steps are up to 40 cm high in places — wear comfortable shoes; the ticket office closes at 19:00.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Walk along the kremlin wall and towers
        © Алексей Трефилов · CC BY-SA 4.0
        Walk along the kremlin wall and towers
        © Vyacheslav Bukharov · CC BY-SA 4.0
        • It is the only kremlin in Russia with a circular walking route along the whole fortress wall.
        • Two sections of the wall follow changes in height, and the steps there can be up to 40 cm high.
        • On the bricks you can see tally marks, animal paw prints and wartime inscriptions.
        • The city's first museum opened in the kremlin itself — in the Dmitrovskaya Tower; Nicholas II visited it in 1896.
        • The Dmitrovskaya Tower got its present Russian-style look in 1895, in a restoration by Nikolai Sultanov.
        • The Ivanovskaya Tower is the largest gate tower; according to legend, a shot from it in 1505 helped lift the siege of the city.
      4. 🚶 on foot
      5. 3
        🌅 Bell tower of the Transfiguration Cathedral
        Кремль, у Дома Советов
        A bell tower 51.5 m tall, rebuilt for the city's 800th anniversary — the highest viewpoint in the kremlin.
        The bell tower by the House of Soviets is the highest viewpoint in the kremlin.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Bell tower of the Transfiguration Cathedral
        © Алексей Трефилов · CC BY-SA 4.0
        • The bell tower stands on the site of the belfry of the Transfiguration Cathedral, blown up in 1929.
        • A stone octagonal bell tower with a tent roof was first built here after the fire of 1715.
        • It was rebuilt in its 18th-century form and opened on 12 June 2021, for the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod.
        • On 31 December 2020 a chiming clock with four dials was started above the bell tier.
        • From the top you can see the whole fortress, the Dmitrovskaya Tower, both rivers and the Strelka.
      6. 🚶 on foot
      7. 4
        🏛 Cathedral of the Archangel Michael
        Кремль, 2А
        The oldest church in the city — a 17th-century tent-roofed cathedral in the kremlin, where Kuzma Minin is buried.
        Inside is the tomb of Kuzma Minin. Behind the cathedral are the Eternal Flame, military equipment and a platform with a view of the Strelka.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Cathedral of the Archangel Michael
        © A.Savin · FAL 1.3
        • The church traces its history to the founding of the city: a wooden cathedral was put up in 1221, a white-stone one in 1227.
        • The present building was built in 1628–1631 by the architects Lavrenty Vozoulin and his stepson Antip in memory of the Nizhny militia.
        • In 1962 the remains of Kuzma Minin were moved here from the destroyed Transfiguration Cathedral.
        • The cathedral is consecrated to the Archangel Michael, patron of the Russian army.
      8. 🚶 on foot
      9. 5
        🌅 Chkalov Stairs
        от памятника Чкалову до Нижне-Волжской наб.
        A monumental figure-eight staircase from the Chkalov monument down to the Volga — the city's main postcard view.
        Go down the "figure eight" to the boat Geroy and back up — 15 minutes and the best shots from the intermediate platforms.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Chkalov Stairs
        © Алексей Трефилов · CC BY-SA 4.0
        Chkalov Stairs
        © A.Savin · FAL 1.3
        Chkalov Stairs
        © Vityavo · CC0
        • The design was approved in 1943 and the stairs opened in 1949; the authors are Alexander Yakovlev, Lev Rudnev and Vladimir Munts.
        • Officially they are the Volga Stairs, but since the 1980s they have been called the Chkalov Stairs, after the monument to the pilot Valery Chkalov at the top.
        • The staircase is built as a figure eight, with viewing platforms where the flights cross.
        • Below, on a pedestal, stands the Volga Military Flotilla boat "Geroy" — it was put there in 1985.
        • From the top you can see the Volga, the Strelka and the town of Bor on the far bank.
        • For the city's 800th anniversary the stairs were restored: the crumbled steps were replaced, keeping two historic flights.
      10. 🚶 on foot
      11. 6
        🖼 Rukavishnikov Estate
        Верхне-Волжская наб., 7
        🎟 ticket
        A lavish mansion of the wealthy Rukavishnikov merchant family with a grand staircase, a ballroom and merchant interiors.
        About 7 minutes along Verkhne-Volzhskaya Embankment. A grand staircase and a ballroom; ticket office until 17:15.
        📖 More about the placeCollapse
        Rukavishnikov Estate
        © Dmitriy Markov · CC BY-SA 3.0
        • The mansion was built in 1875–1877 to a design by the Moscow architect Pavel Boytsov.
        • Today it is the main building of the Nizhny Novgorod State Museum-Reserve.
        • The estate stands on the site of the Maly Ostrog fortifications — perhaps the wooden Georgievskaya Tower was here.
        • Live music sounds in the house again: concerts and 19th-century dance classes are held here.
      12. 🚶 on foot
      13. 7
        ☕️ Lepi Testo Dumpling House
        ул. Минина, 12
        ▮▯▯▯▯
        Hand-made pelmeni and vareniki (dumplings) across the road from the estate, at Minina, 12.
        🍴 A hand-made dumpling house opposite the Rukavishnikov estate, from 8 a.m.; kids' menu available. What to order: "Taste of Russia" pelmeni, "Blueberry Nights" vareniki (sweet dumplings), tom yum pelmeni.

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