Attractions and entertainment in Yelabuga, what to see and do

Yelabuga will surprise even the most seasoned tourist with a considerable number of attractions. Such a small town owes its long history, which has more than 1000 years, to such a number of interesting places. There is even a kind of tourist street Kazanskaya, along which most of the museums, architectural attractions, monuments and religious sites are concentrated.

The main attraction of the city and its calling card is the Devil's hillfort – an ancient monument of the settlement of the times of the Bulgarian state. And although this place is not the most spectacular, only one tower has been preserved, it is necessary to visit it at least in order to see the panorama from the hill to the city and the Kama River. In general in Yelabuga there is a whole Yelabuga State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-reserve, which includes almost all the museums of the city. You can visit them separately, or buy a single ticket with excursions to visit all places at once for 1000 rubles for an adult, 700 rubles for schoolchildren, students and pensioners. Single tickets are sold at the main office of the museum-reserve, Gassara str., 9. There you can also buy a sightseeing tour for 3000 rubles, although you will have to carry the guide on your own transport. But it is much more convenient and economical to order a walking sightseeing tour of the historical streets there for 1500 rubles. By the way, keep in mind that all museums in Yelabuga have a day off on Monday, so it's not worth going here for the sake of attractions on this day.

After the sightseeing tour, you can continue your independent acquaintance with the history and culture of the city, which is best to start at the Yelabuga History Museum. There you can also have lunch at the museum-theater "Tavern". Nearby you can visit the exhibition halls of applied and modern art, and then go down to the Embankment Street, where you can visit the Shishkin Museum of the artist and walk through the Shishkin Ponds Park. A whole memorial complex of several museums and memorable places of Yelabuga is connected by another great person - the poet Marina Tsvetaeva. She spent the last days of her life in the city, and visiting at least one of the museums of the memorial complex is simply a must.

Do not forget about such beautiful sights as temples and mosques, of which there are plenty in Yelabuga. It is worth seeing with your own eyes the Pokrovsky Cathedral, the Cathedral in the Name of the Saviour of the Miraculous Image, the Spassky Cathedral, the Jamig Mosque, the Al-Qadir Mosque, etc. Well, while walking along Kazanskaya Street, do not forget to pay attention to the modern unusual sculptures of a signalman and a postman, a monument to a janitor and a monument to a samovar.

Read more about all the sights of Yelabuga, opening hours, cost and how to get to them further:

The Devil's Hillfort

The Devil's Hillfort is the most popular attraction of Yelabuga and the main tourist symbol of the city. It is under UNESCO protection. In the 10th-14th centuries, it was a stronghold of the ancient state of Volga Bulgaria in the eastern Kama region. There was a whole settlement with streets and houses, conveniently located on a hill at the mouth of a tributary of the Kama. But, unfortunately, only the stone tower has survived to this day, and even then it has been restored.

In 2007, the tower underwent restoration again, the area around it was improved for tourists: paths were laid, benches were installed. From the very top of the hill there is a panoramic view of the city and Kama. At the entrance to the hill there is a wooden entrance tower, a Millennium park with a monument to the Bulgar Khan Ibrahim is equipped, there is a restaurant. With all this, it is difficult to call the attraction itself spectacular and very interesting, since it will take no more than 20 minutes to inspect it. Read more about the Devil's Settlement and photos here.

Kazanskaya Street

Kazanskaya Street is the main tourist street of Yelabuga. It runs through the entire historical district of the city, and almost all the sights of Yelabuga are located within walking distance from it and on it itself. This is not a completely pedestrian street, but there are wide convenient sidewalks along the highway.

It cannot be said about this street that you will be happy to walk along it for hours, as, for example, on Bauman Street in Kazan. But this is the only place where, in addition to attractions, there is at least some tourist infrastructure: several cafes and restaurants, a couple of souvenir shops. There are also several interesting sculptures here, such as a monument to a signalman and a postman, a monument to a policeman, etc. Read more about Kazanskaya Street and photos here.

Memorial complex of M.I.Tsvetaeva

A whole complex of memorable places, attractions and museums forms a memorial complex dedicated to one of the most famous poetesses of the 20th century. After all, the history of the city is inextricably linked with her name, but, unfortunately, it is difficult to say that with life, rather the opposite. In Yelabuga in 1941, Marina Tsvetaeva spent the last days of her life, ending it with suicide. She is buried here, in Yelabuga, at the Peter and Paul cemetery, but the exact place of the grave is unknown. In 1970, a tombstone was installed at the cemetery, which is now considered the official grave of M.I. Tsvetaeva.

The memorial complex in Yelabuga includes Marina Tsvetaeva Square, the literary museum, the house-museum of Memory, the Portomoinya Museum, the library, the Intercession Church, the Silver Age cafe and the burial place itself at the Peter and Paul Cemetery. Learn more about all the places of the memorial complex:

• Literary Museum of M.I. Tsvetaeva

  

  The museum's exposition introduces visitors to Marina Tsvetaeva's childhood, life and creativity. Different sections are devoted to different periods of her life. Among the exhibits are personal belongings of the poetess: teaspoons, paper for notes, a cameo - a gift from her father, a dish she bought in Germany in 1922; a lock of Marina Ivanovna's own hair and a compact of her daughter Ariadna, copies of letters by M.I. Tsvetaeva from the NKVD archive. There is a collection of publications of works by both M. Tsvetaeva herself and her contemporaries - A. Akhmatova, N. Gumilev, A. Blok, O. Mandelstam and others.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: from 09:00 to 18:00, Monday is a day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: 100 rubles adult; 50 rubles schoolchildren; preschoolers free of charge; excursion support - 100 rubles per person for groups of 5 people, or 300 rubles per group for groups up to 5 people; family ticket (up to 5 people, with an excursion) - 400 rubles.

  🚶 How to get there: the museum is located at 61 Kazanskaya Street (museum on the map)

• Portomoynya Museum

  

  The museum is located in a stone building, an architectural monument built in the middle of the 19th century. Initially, there was a laundry room, hence such an unusual name. The museum is part of the Marina Tsvetaeva memorial complex, since she visited this place while she lived in the house next door, across the street (today there is a house-museum in memory of Tsvetaeva).

  Inside, the interior of the dress room is recreated with figures of washing women, and buckets, rockers, laundry baskets, vats, washing boards, rolling pins for rolling clothes and much more act as exhibits. It will be quite interesting for modern housewives to find out how they washed more than 100 years ago, but you will not see a direct connection with the life and work of the poetess here. Read more about the museum and photos here.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: from 09:00 to 18:00, Monday is a day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: 100 rubles adult; 50 rubles schoolchildren; preschoolers free of charge; excursion support is included in the ticket price.

  🚶 How to get there: the museum is located at 9 Malaya Pokrovskaya Street (museum on the map)

• House of Memory of M.I.Tsvetaeva

  

  The House of Memory is located in a wooden building where the poetess spent the last days of her life. The writer got together with her sons to this house according to the distribution of the City Council in August 1941. And on August 31, she committed suicide in this house by hanging herself.

  The museum recreates the atmosphere and life of the family as they were at the time of her death. Some of the exhibits are authentic, belonged to her family and the Brodelschikov family, who owned the house. The main exhibit is Marina Ivanovna's notebook, which was left in her apron pocket when she committed suicide.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: from 09:00 to 18:00, Monday is a day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: 150 rubles adult; 100 rubles schoolchildren; preschoolers for free; family ticket (up to 5 people, with an excursion) - 400 rubles.

  🚶 How to get there: the museum is located at 20 Malaya Pokrovskaya Street (museum on the map)

• Silver Age Library

  

  The Silver Age Library is part of the Marina Tsvetaeva Memorial complex and will not be very interesting to a wide range of tourists. However, if you are a passionate admirer of the poetess's work, then about 5,000 documents are stored for you in the library's collection: works by the authors of the Silver Age - M. Tsvetaeva, B. Pasternak, A. Akhmatova, N. Gumilev, O. Mandelstam and a number of others. In addition, there is a collection of films and programs on video, CD and DVD media. The reading room and fireplace living room attract with a special coziness, in which creative evenings, museum classes and presentations of new books, chamber music performances and film screenings take place.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: from 09:00 to 17:00, Monday is a day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: 50 rubles, including the tour.

  🚶 How to get there: the library is located at 59 Kazanskaya Street (museum on the map)

• Peter and Paul Cemetery

  

  Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva is buried somewhere in the southern part of the Peter and Paul Cemetery. Unfortunately, the exact place of the grave is unknown, nevertheless, a tombstone has been installed in this part of the cemetery, which has been declared the official burial place of the poetess. This is a place of pilgrimage for fans of Marina Tsvetaeva's poetry. Every year on August 31, the day of Tsvetaeva's death, flowers are laid on the grave, and the gathered admirers of her talent read poems by Marina Tsvetaeva and poems dedicated to her memory.

  Practical Information

  🕐 Working hours: during daytime.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

  🚶 How to get there: The cemetery is located on the outskirts of the city (cemetery on the map). You can get here by buses 7, 13, 14, 15.

Ivan Shishkin House Museum

The name of the great Russian artist Ivan Shishkin is inextricably linked with the history of Yelabuga, because he was born and grew up in this city, having lived here from 1836 to 1852. The museum is located in the house where the artist spent his childhood. It is part of an entire memorial complex dedicated to the artist and includes a monument, an art gallery, and the Shishkin Ponds Park. The house was built in 1836 by a wealthy merchant family of Shishkin, when he was already four years old. In 1850 there was a fire in the house, but it was restored.

The museum occupies all two floors of the house. On the ground floor there is a front room, a dining room and a pantry, in which the atmosphere of a traditional merchant's house of the 19th century, the period of Shishkin's life, is recreated. On the second floor, a workshop and a living room have been recreated, and in two halls there is an art gallery with authentic paintings and graphic works by Ivan Ivanovich. In general, the exhibition is interesting, especially for lovers of painting and fans of Shishkin's work. Guided tours are offered and a visit to the museum will be interesting to any tourist, however, the price of entrance tickets together with the tour is somewhat overstated. Well, in fairness, it should be noted that there are almost no personal belongings of the writer in the museum.

After visiting the museum, be sure to take a walk through the Shishkin Ponds Park, which are located opposite the museum, and you can walk to the monument to Shishkin.

Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts

The museum's exposition tells about the history of folk crafts in Yelabuga from the 19th century to the present day. The exhibition presents the products of local craftsmen, as well as tools, such as antique spinning wheels and a loom. The stands provide information about the peculiarities of the crafts of the Elabuga land. There is a modern section where exhibits made by modern masters of Elabuga are presented. These are traditional dolls made of calico and bast, painting, pottery, weaving, toys, birch bark products and much more. But the most interesting thing is that master classes in decorative and applied arts are held here, from which children are simply delighted. Therefore, if you come to Yelabuga with your family and there is enough time, then be sure to allocate half a day to visit this museum. Also here you can buy interesting and unique local souvenirs made by artisans.

Museum-estate of N.A. Durova

Nadezhda Andreevna Durova is a little–known historical character today, but at one time, at the beginning of the 19th century, she was very famous and even captured in literary works, where she is depicted as the first female officer in the Russian army, although this does not correspond to reality. However, the fact that she was a cavalryman and an officer of the Russian army, a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, is a reliable fact. In 1816 she retired and became a writer.

Nadezhda Andreevna lived in Yelabuga from 1831 to 1866 and ended her days here. Her manor house survived by a miracle, and in 1987 a museum was opened in it. His exposition is devoted not only to the personality and life of Durova, but rather even more to the everyday life of the 19th century, in which she lived. There are Durova's military uniforms, weapons, banners, Durova's correspondence with A.S. Pushkin. Unfortunately, most of the exhibits are copies. In the courtyard of the house there are outbuildings: a barn, a carriage house, a bathhouse, benches, a shed, lanterns and a gazebo. The museum is really interesting to visit, but it is best to use a guided tour when visiting (offered when selling tickets), so it will be much more informative.

City History Museum

This is a small local history and ethnographic museum of the city of Yelabuga. The exposition is modest, mainly dedicated to the peoples of the area, but there are also exhibits telling about the history of the city since its foundation. Which is nice, there are original artifacts, not just copies. If you have come to Yelabuga to get acquainted with the history and culture of the city, then it is from this museum that you should start acquaintance.

Museum-theater "Tavern"

The Museum-theater "Tavern" is located in the same building as the Museum of History. The atmosphere of a 19th-century tavern has been recreated here, and a special atmosphere is created by showcases with dishes and samovars of the XIX century. The walls are decorated with original works by local artists.

What is it, a museum-theater? Of course, you won't see any theatrical productions here. In fact, it is a themed restaurant designed as a museum. Here you can have a cheap and delicious meal in the atmosphere of a 19th-century Russian tavern, and at the same time touch history. Only here you can find out where the expression "under the fly" came from, and even try it, if, of course, you are 18 years old.

V.M.Bekhterev Museum of County Medicine

This is the only such museum in Russia. It is located in a historic building from 1881, where there used to be a hospital. It is dedicated to the history of zemstvo (village pre-revolutionary) medicine since the 18th century. A whole section is devoted to the activities and biography of the famous Russian psychiatrist Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev, whose birthplace is the village of Sarali (now the village of Bekhterevo) near Yelabuga. Also, the atmosphere of the treatment room of that time, the operating room, the pharmacy are recreated here.

Museum of Memory

The Museum of Memory was opened on the day of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War, and is dedicated to the feat of the people in 1941-1945. The idea of the museum was based on the idea of the Director General of the EGMZ G.R. Rudenko - to show through Yelabuga, as one of the thousands of rear cities of the USSR, all the hardships that fell to the share of the inhabitants of our country. Two themes are combined here: the front and the rear. After all, about 14 thousand people went to war from the Yelabuga district, and less than half returned.

The museum is small, and consists of only one hall. The exhibits are documents, photographs, WWII weapons, soldiers' belongings. In the interactive zone in the recreated dugout, you can take a picture in the costume of a Soviet soldier.

Exhibition hall

The exhibition hall is located in a former 19th-century trading shop owned by Yelabuga merchant Alexei Fedorovich Nikolaevu. Thematic exhibitions of local artists and craftsmen, meetings with creative people, conferences, musical evenings and master classes are held here.

Contemporary Art Hall

The Hall of Contemporary Art was opened at the end of 2016 as a place where the multifaceted world of creativity is presented, combining works of various genres, styles and techniques. The artistic projects of bright painters and graphic artists from all over Russia, the countries of the near and far abroad, which the Yelabuga Museum-Reserve has been holding on Yelabuga land for many years, will now be exhibited here.

Spassky Cathedral and the source

The Spassky Cathedral is the main architectural symbol of Yelabuga. Built in the classical style, with a high five-tiered bell tower, it amazed everyone not only with its exterior, but also with the luxury of its interior decoration.

The history of the cathedral is very ancient. At the end of the 16th century, a wooden church was built in its place, instead of which a stone one was erected in 1684. In 1808, construction began on a new cathedral next to the church, as it was already too small for the sprawling city. The old church was dismantled, and in its place a chapel in the name of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky made of red brick was erected. Later in the 19th century, the temple was completed and rebuilt several more times until it acquired its current appearance.

Currently, the cathedral is both an architectural monument and an active religious object. Tourists are not forbidden to visit it, but it is necessary to observe the rules of behavior inside the temple. On the southern side of the temple territory, there is a passage in the fence that leads down the stairs and a path, where after 100 meters there is a consecrated spring with drinking water. Read more about the Spassky Cathedral and photos here.

Pokrovsky Cathedral

The Intercession Cathedral of Yelabuga (Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos) was built in the period from 1806 to 1820 to replace the wooden church, which is believed to have been the first Orthodox church of the settlement on the site of the present Yelabuga. The cathedral is functioning, restored, services are held in it. It is definitely worth a walk to this temple, because it is one of the three main temples of Elabuga, located on the same line along Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street. Read more about the Intercession Cathedral and photos here.

Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker

The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is also located on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street, and is one of the three main temples of Yelabuga. All three temples look very picturesque in the hills of the Devil's Settlement of Elabuga, forming the historical appearance of the old city.

The church received its current appearance in the 19th century, replacing the church built in the 18th century. The original wooden church was built here in the 187th century. The architecture of the modern temple is quite unusual: the lower part of the structure resembles a civil structure, since there is no apse - a special ledge outside the building for the inner altar. The altar of the church is rectangular, which is not too typical for religious buildings of the mid-19th century. The dome of the temple is one, it can be seen from afar. A bell tower rises nearby, and a small refectory is attached to the temple. Today the church is protected by the state as an architectural monument of Russian classicism.

Jamig Mosque

There are not so many mosques in Yelabuga. The Jamig Mosque is one of the new mosques (built in 1992-1999), and in fact is the main mosque of the city. Its minaret is very high, visible from many places in the city. It is most convenient to see it during a visit to the Devil's settlement, since it is not located in the historical part of the city, but on the way to the settlement.

Attractions on the map of Yelabuga