"Mystic Image of Smolensk" Ascension Hill and Lopatinsky Garden

The cost is indicated from ...; for 1 hour of excursion without renting transport, depends on the season and the number of people.

The mystical image of Smolensk - secrets, legends, riddles, inexplicable facts of the history of the ancient city

2\3 hour walking tour

True connoisseurs of history will say that you have not seen the real Smolensk, if you did not approach its secrets.

The historical part of the city has always been considered a place where many secrets are hidden, often inexplicable from the point of view of the ordinary world. There were mystical events that people could not accept as real. However, a lot of evidence documented only fuels interest in this facet of the ancient city.

There is Smolensk - the city of a warrior, defender of the Fatherland; Smolensk "parade" with its elegant parks, squares, noble and merchant mansions; Orthodox Smolensk with its oldest churches and the Assumption Cathedral; Smolensk as the source of Russian statehood

On our tour we will create a different, unique image of Smolensk, filled with mystery, mysticism and love.

... Smolensk is traditionally believed to be located on seven hills. All of them are associated with legends and real events, many of which I will tell you during our tour.

Ascension Hill is unique even for Smolensk - it is one of the most mysterious and mystical places in the city. Make it such as the Ascension Cathedral of the active convent and the “House of the Ghost” standing next to it.

During a walk along the Ascension Hill, I will tell you about the Perunov temple, one of the first Smolensk Christian churches - Vasilievskaya, on the site of which the now functioning Ascension Women's Monastery was built with a very difficult fate, which survived both the "Time of Troubles", and the Napoleonic invasion, and the liquidation of the monastery during the years of Soviet power; reborn in the early 21st century.

From here we will admire the magnificent view of the Cathedral Hill, on which stands our famous Assumption Cathedral.

Nature made the cathedral hill impregnable: on three sides it was protected by deep ravines, and on the north side by the Dnieper River. Here stood the children of the Krivich princes, here married Vladimir Monomakh, who built in 1103 the first Smolensk stone cathedral.

How the Smolensk people fought back from the Mongols, what they had to sacrifice in the Time of Troubles, what Anna Ioannovna and Catherine the Great brought to the cathedral hill, how Napoleon noted here and what connected the Smolensk Cathedral with the cathedral of Moscow, why he survived the Great Patriotic and many more interesting secrets of the most sacred place of Smolensk you will learn from our tour!

Near the Ascension Monastery, we will see the "ghost house" - the remains of the first in the city "high-rise" of the early 30s. Built on the site of the monastery cemetery, the house overgrown with eerie legends, witches, ghosts, and demonic entities appeared in them. Now its gloomy fame attracts specialists in the “supernatural”, making it another Smolensk attraction, albeit very peculiar.

And then - look into one of the oldest Smolensk dungeons, the history of which is known since the 15th century, when the city was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and on the Ascension hill stood the tower-donjon.

.. . Here we turn to one of the oldest streets, which has almost not changed since the Middle Ages, it even preserved an ancient pavement, its former name - Great Resurrection, the architectural landmark of the street is the newly functioning Church of the Resurrection.

Every temple ever built on earth has a guardian angel. At the Resurrection Church it appeared in the pre-Mongol period.

The walls of the temple were built on the foundation of the XII century. How the ancient shrine collapsed is still a mystery. I will tell you the difficult history of the temple, you will learn why for 38 years the Smolensk people spoke in the temple not with God, but with the stars; you will see the holy spring consecrated in honor of Mercury of Smolensk.

Near the Resurrection Church there is a "Bunker Tukhachevsky" - one of the Soviet dungeons, on the other - the Smolensk planetarium and observatory.

Particularly popular among informals of different colors and ages is the “Ho Chi Minh Trail” – the neighborhood of Studenskaya and Voikov streets, where you can always hide from the eyes of any “guards”.

... The legend of the Smolensk fortress says that the Godunov curse was imposed on its walls, according to which anyone who tries to destroy its walls or towers will face terrible punishment by otherworldly higher forces. Each tower of the fortress is unique and entangled with a huge number of beautiful legends and secrets, some of which we will touch during our tour.

The beautiful legend of the Thunder Tower tells about where, when and by whom the skull of the war horse of the patron of the city - Mercury of Smolensk was walled up. When the alarming time comes, from the thickness of the wall should be heard horse rumbling, which warns the defenders of the city of danger.

Many secrets are shrouded in the identity of the architect of the fortress wall Fyodor Konya - his name, origin and the fact that there is no information about his activities after the construction of the Smolensk fortress wall and about his death.

.. . Smolensk history is shrouded in many legends about the dungeons. Described cases of underground fighting, which has documentary evidence. The secrets of the Smolensk dungeons are still not solved, some of them are known for certain, others are told by beautiful legends.

Favorite dungeons for Smolensk residents and guests of the city are the casemates in the Lopatinsky Garden, it was in them that the famous military leaders Kochubey and Iskra were contained, the walled entrances to the casemates and to this day are guarded by a stone lion and a lioness...

... During our tour, we will walk along the trail of Smolensk ghosts, which appeared in our city not only in towers and casemates. They did not bypass such different buildings as the Catholic Church and the former governor’s house.

Behind the building of the children’s art school, which is located in the former governor’s house, the glory of the haunted house has long been fixed. There is talk of a transparent woman in white, wandering through empty night rooms. The history dates back to 1812, when our city was captured by the army of Napoleon, who made the governor's house his residence.

... And for those who believe that miracles exist today and they can even happen to us, we will visit one of the most famous places of wish fulfillment – the zero kilometer in the heart of Smolensk. You will be able to ask for the hidden from the higher forces, who will surely hear and fulfill all your requests, because the main thing is to believe in it yourself. When something goes wrong in fate, many people want to change everything radically - to start life with a new page, from a clean slate. Or from kilometer zero...

Dress according to the weather, be sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes and take with you faith in the miracle!

* The cost of the excursion on holiday weekends (January, February, March, May, June, November) Clarified by booking