Kremlin in Nizhny Novgorod and its sights

What to Expect and Is It Worth Visiting

Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin is the most significant historical and architectural landmark of the city and its oldest part, the historical center of the city, around which the tourist district was formed. Most of the city's other attractions and museums are within walking distance; Bolshaya Pokrovska pedestrian street originates here and the historic Rozhdestvenskaya St.; Minin and Pozharsky Square are adjacent, where folk festivals and open-air concerts are held during public holidays. There are several museums in the Kremlin itself: a branch of the Art Museum; the Museum of Modern Art; the museums of Dmitrievskaya, Nikolskaya, Zachatskaya and Ivanovskaya towers; you can take a walk along the fortress wall. There is also a residence of the governor and mayor, a court and other administrative buildings inside.

A little history of the Kremlin

The city Nizhny Novgorod was founded in 1221, and at that time wooden and earthen fortifications were built at the confluence of rivers on a hill, which served as the beginning of the modern Kremlin. In 1374, the wooden fortress was supplemented with the white-stone Dmitrievskaya tower (it has not reached our times, another one was built instead of it), and the prototype of the current red brick Kremlin was erected from 1505 to 1516. It was intended to serve as a defensive fortification and a gathering place for troops to confront Moscow and the Kazan Khanate, and it successfully coped with its task, withstanding many attacks. After 1967, it lost its military significance, and became an administrative, and later a historical center.

During its existence, the Kremlin was repeatedly rebuilt, repainted from red to white and again to red (the last time it was repainted red with the Bolsheviks coming to power, it remains so to this day). Today, most of the Kremlin has been restored, and, unfortunately, the restored parts have not been restored in their original form. Another of the serious current problems is that some parts of the Kremlin Wall are under threat of destruction due to landslides.

Sights in the Kremlin, what and how to see

The Kremlin occupies an area of 22 hectares, the walls are closed in a ring and connect 13 towers. The length of the walls is 2080 meters, height from 12 to 22 meters, thickness from 3.5 to 4.5 meters. The main entrance to the territory is through the Dmitrievskaya Tower from Minin and Pozharsky Squares.

Access to the Kremlin is FREE, is carried out through passages in several towers from 06:00 to 22:00 (in winter until 21:00). You can walk around the territory, take pictures, visit one of the attractions. Souvenir shops, a tourist center (selling excursions) and museums are located in the walls and towers. In the tourist center in the Dmitrievskaya Tower, you can buy tickets for walking tours of the territory (600 rubles for a group of up to 10 people), excursions along the Kremlin Wall and to museums (400 rubles for a group of up to 10 people). Groups are sent not by time, but when a group is recruited, or if you are ready to pay the full cost of the tour. Therefore, if you do not want to pay the full cost for the tour, you can wait for fellow travelers in the group. But on weekdays and low season you have to wait a long time.

And now we tell you what to visit and see in the Kremlin in addition to the walls themselves and the walkways of the territory:

• Kremlin Wall

  

  Tickets for the passage along the wall are bought in the Dmitrievskaya Tower in the tourist center, there is also an entrance to the wall. Then you just follow 1200 meters along the tunnel passage of the wall, visiting museums in the towers along the way, depending on the selected ticket price. Exit from the route in the Zachatskaya Tower to the territory of the Kremlin, or outside. Along the route, there are good views of the city through the narrow windows of the wall.

  In general, this walk without an excursion escort is boring and monotonous, and is only slightly diluted by museum exhibitions, but it is impossible to visit Nizhny and not walk along the wall.

  Information about the schedule, ticket prices and excursions to the wall and museums in the towers can be found on the website http://www.ngiamz.ru

  🕐 Working hours: only from May to November 09:00 - 18:00.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: a wall with a visit to the museums of the Zachatskaya and Nikolskaya towers – 130 rubles; a wall with a visit to all four museums in the towers - 250. Discounts for children, students, pensioners. Excursions from 400 rubles for a group of up to 10 people.

• Dmitrievskaya Tower Museum

  

  This tower is the main one in the Kremlin, it is through it that most tourists enter the territory. Inside the tower there is a ticket and excursion sale and a small museum dedicated to the history of the Kremlin and the wildlife of the region. It also hosts temporary exhibitions on all kinds of topics, including those not related to the Kremlin in any way. This museum can be visited both separately and together with a walk along the wall, but it is better to do it with a guide and a walk.

  🕐 Working hours: Tuesday - Sunday 10.00 - 17.00; Monday - day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adult - 60 rubles / children – 25 / photography - free.

• Nikolskaya Tower Museum

  

  The visit is possible only as part of a ticket for a walk on the wall, since it is located along the walking route. The exhibition "Remember the War" is presented in this tower. In a small hall there are exhibits about the wars from the Great Patriotic War to the Chechen War.

  🕐 Working hours: Monday - Sunday 10:00 - 16:00.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adult - 150 rubles / pensioners, students - 100 / schoolchildren - 70. Excursions from 300 rubles.

• Ivanovskaya Tower Museum

  

  There is an exhibition "Feat of National Unity" dedicated to the Nizhny Novgorod militia of the late 16th – early 17th centuries (time of Troubles). A model of a medieval city, fragments of a forge, a wagon train with food, samples of weapons, armor are presented. . There is a great observation deck at the top of the tower.

  🕐 Working hours: Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 - 17:00; Monday - day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adult - 150 rubles / pensioners, students - 100 / schoolchildren - 70. Excursions from 300 rubles.

• The Museum of the Zachatskaya Tower

  

  In a small museum on the ground floor, you can see part of the original tower, discovered as a result of archaeological excavations. On the second floor, the exposition is dedicated to archaeological excavations on the territory of the fortress: photos of excavations, finds, there is an "archaeologist simulator" where you can try your hand, which children really like. We recommend a visit together with a walk on the wall.

  🕐 Working hours: from May to November 10:00 - 20:00, seven days a week.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adult - 60 rubles / children – 25 / photography - free.

• Memorial "Gorkovchane - front" and exhibition of military equipment

  

  The memorial "Gorkovchane - front" is located right at the entrance through the Dmitrievskaya Tower. Here, under the walls of the Kremlin, samples of military equipment produced in the city during the Second World War are collected. There are about a dozen units in total, including military trucks, an armored car, self-propelled vehicles, a tank, an airplane and even a submarine. You can climb on the equipment, take pictures and do anything, but you won't be able to get inside. If you are with young children, then get ready to spend most of your time in the Kremlin right here.

  🕐 Working hours: around the clock.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: free.

• Center for Contemporary Art

  

  The Nizhny Novgorod branch of the State Center for Contemporary Art is located on the territory of the Kremlin in a large renovated Arsenal building. The place is a must-visit for anyone who is interested in contemporary art, or has never been to such places. Inside there are exhibitions of contemporary authors that will be of interest to any tourist, and for those who are interested in art seriously or want to introduce their children, lectures, meetings, poetry evenings, master classes, etc. are offered.

  🌐 Website: www.ncca.ru/nnovgorod

  🕐 Working hours: 12:00-20:00, Monday and Tuesday are closed.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: the cost starts from 150 rubles, but may vary depending on the exhibitions presented. Discounts for children.

• Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum

  

  Is one of the oldest regional museums, located in two buildings, one of which is on the territory of the Kremlin, where works of Russian art of the 14th and 20th centuries are exhibited. The collection is based on paintings, but there are also sculptures and tableware. In addition to the permanent exhibition, temporary exhibitions of various subjects are held, access to which is for an additional fee. Read more about the Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum here.

  🕐 Working hours: Tuesday and Wednesday from 10:00 to 18:00, Thursday from 12:00 to 20:00, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 to 19:00. Monday is a day off.

  💵 Entrance fee / tickets price: adult – 200 rubles / schoolchildren, pensioners - 100 / preschoolers - free of charge. Excursion service - 100 / audio guide - 100.

  🚶 How to get there: located on the territory of the Kremlin (museum on the map).

• Other attractions

  In addition to the above-described attractions, there are several other interesting places on the territory of the Kremlin, access to which is free:

  • The Mikhailo-Arkhangelsk Cathedral with the grave of Kuzma Minin is the oldest preserved structure in the Kremlin
  • Eternal Flame and memorial of the fallen in WWII
  • Monument to Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich and Bishop Simon of Suzdal - the founders of the city
  • Obelisk to Minin and Pozharsky

Sights of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin on the map