One day in the Smolensk region. Talashkino-Gnezdovo-Katyn-Valutina mountain

Talashkino - Katyn - Gnezdovo - Valutina Mountain 8 hours

With a visit to the former estate of Princess M.K. Tenisheva -

historical and architectural complex "Teremok" in Flenovo,

the Katyn memorial complex,

Gnezdovsky mound complex (9th century), open-air museum "Gnezdovsky settlement of the 10th century",

German military cemetery;

External inspection of Hitler's bunker,

with a trip along the Old Smolensk Road to Valutina Mountain, where the most important battles of two wars took place: the Smolensk 17th century and the Patriotic 1812.

The price from 16000 rubles includes 8-hour guided tour programs.

In addition, transport (if you are not on your own), lunch, entrance tickets to museums and the territory of Talashkino are paid.

 

The first part of our tour will be dedicated to M.K. Tenisheva – the princess, public figure, collector, philanthropist, enameller artist – who made an invaluable contribution to the history and culture of Smolensk and Russia as a whole.

On the way to Talashkino, I will tell you about the fate of this great woman, her contribution to the history and culture of Smolensk and Russia in general.

Contemporaries called her “the hero of our time” and “the pride of all Russia”.

“Under its wing” in Talashkino were created by artists I. E. Repin, M. A. Vrubel, K. A. Korovin, N. K. Roerich, J. F. Tsionglinsky, A. N. Bakst, sculptor P. P. Trubetskoy, scientists A. V. Prakhov, I. F. Barshchevsky, V. I. Sizov, musicians V. V. Andreev, A. D. Medem and many others.

On the territory of the former estate of M.K. Tenisheva - historical and architectural complex "Teremok in Flenovo" - I will show you the famous fabulous house Teremok, designed by Sergei Malyutin - a true masterpiece of Russian small architecture.

Windows, doors, cornices, casings - all skillfully cut, openwork cut. Bright coloring, fabulous motifs on the facades create an image festive and fantastic.

In the exposition "Teremka" visitors will see the works of outstanding Russian artists: Sergei Malyutin, Mikhail Vrubel, Alexei Zinoviev, Dmitry Stelletsky, Nicholas Roerich, Maria Tenisheva

And, of course, products in the Russian style of Talashkina art workshops.

I will also show the building of a unique agricultural school, opened by Princess M.K. Tenisheva in 1894.

You will be able to visit the school for which the richest library was collected and in which teaching was conducted on the basis of the most advanced achievements of agrarian science - the school trained not just peasants, but highly effective farmers. The exposition includes items of school life, textbooks of the late XIX – early XX centuries, photographs, lists of students and much more.

We will see one of the best monumental creations of Nicholas Roerich – a magnificent mosaic “Savior Not Made with Hands”, made by the artist over the portal of the Church of St. Spirit – the image of “enlightened joy”, “the connection of God and people”. There is also folk fabulousness in the building - there are no direct analogies in Russian architecture at the temple.

Now in the temple there is a museum exposition “The Temple of the Holy Spirit and its creators”.

Temporary changes! From September 8, 2025, the Holy Spirit Temple is closed to the public.

Today, all the surviving buildings of the former Tenishev estate are included in the historical and architectural complex "Teremok" of the Smolensk State Museum-Reserve.

The territory of the estate acquired the appearance that was under Princess M.K. Tenisheva. Gardens, a picturesque lake, you can also take pictures in a haystack or in a princely stroller, if you wish.

visit the pottery workshop, buy author's ceramic products made here on the grounds of Tenishev workshops,

Or products from a real forge - in memory of a wonderful day in Talashkino!

Entrance tickets to the territory and museums of Talashkino are paid additionally!

In the second part of our excursion, we will go to the Katyn memorial located in the so-called Katyn Forest – on the site of the tragic events of the 30-40s of the twentieth century, the victims of which were citizens of two countries – the Soviet Union and Poland.

The complex is located in the area of Kozy Gory, where in the 1930s and 40s officers of the Polish army and numerous Soviet citizens were shot.

The ten-meter Orthodox cross, a symbol of eternal memory and repentance, opens the Russian part of the Memorial.

In 2018, in the “Valley of Death” – the part of the Memorial where mass graves of Soviet citizens are located – a sculptural composition was opened, including the “Shooting” monument and the Wall of Memory, on which the residents of the Smolensk region – victims of political repression – sentenced to execution by name are immortalized.

In the Polish military cemetery in 6 large mass graves rest the remains of Polish officers.

The altar group, consisting of the Altar Table, the wall with the names of the prisoners of the Kozel camp, shot in April-May 1940, and the Catholic cross, serves as an open-air temple.

The Katyn bell, placed below ground level, is designed to remind those who rest here and serve as a warning for future generations. The original burial sites are lined with cast-iron slabs repeating the contours of the “meats of death”.

Signs of various religious denominations indicate that those buried in Katyn are people of different faiths.

The Russian and Polish parts are united by the Alley of Memory.

Not far from the main entrance to the Katyn memorial, a temple complex was erected in honor of the Resurrection of Christ.

Everyone can put a candle here for the repose of the dead, and drink water from the well consecrated by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

In the third part of our excursion, we go to the centuries-old forest, which was called Black from ancient times, and after the revolution was renamed Red Bor.

Touch the historical secrets and amazing legends of the Smolensk land from the 9th to the 20th century - visit the historical and archaeological complex of Gnezdovo, the military German cemetery, see "Hitler's bunker".

In the western part of the Red Bor - in Gnezdovo - there is a unique archaeological site - the largest in Europe mound complex of pagan burial grounds IX - early XI centuries, which is of great historical value.

Gnezdovo is known as the largest mound complex in Europe of that period, a place long considered a material confirmation of the so-called “Norman hypothesis” of the emergence of Russian statehood.

In 1867, during work on the construction of the railway, workers near Gnezdov found a treasure consisting mainly of silver jewelry. It was called the Great Nest treasure and was transferred to the Hermitage.

In 1874, the scientist M.F. Kuscinsky began to study the mounds, excavating fourteen of them. The finds, including a Carolingian sword and a Scandinavian spearhead, have drawn archaeologists’ attention to the area.

Excavations continue to this day, bringing new information. To date, about 6,000 mounds have been identified, making this place absolutely unique in Europe.

Here, according to their rituals, Slavs, Scandinavians buried the dead, objects of Iranian origin, Byzantine amphorae, a large number of Arab silver dirhams, Moravian ceramics and even fragments of a dress made of Chinese silk were found. It is believed that in the second half of the X century in Gnezdov lived from 800 to 1000 people, it is very likely that this place was located the trolley from the Dnieper to the Volga, connecting the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" and "from the Varangians to the Arabs."

We will also visit the open-air museum "Gnezdovsky settlement of the 10th century". Here you can get acquainted with the customs, life, occupations and beliefs of the Slavs, and buy souvenirs from the nest.

During the tour, we will learn about the history of the discovery (1949) of world significance - the oldest and very unusual East Slavic inscription made with the help of the so-called Glagolitic alphabet, Russian writing before the appearance of the Cyrillic alphabet.

And, of course, let’s talk about the mysterious disappearance of Gnezdov in the early 12th century, and whether it has to do with the cessation of mentions in the annals of the names of dozens of Russian princes.

During the Great Patriotic War, the headquarters and communications regiment of Hitler’s Army Group Center and the German intelligence school Saturn were located in the Red Bor for some time.

Since then, near the Gnezdov mounds, in the middle of the Red Bor hidden object, not marked on any sign, but well known to lovers of historical legends.

This is one of Hitler’s underground bunkers, the Berenhalle or “bear den”, equipped during the Second World War for Adolf Hitler’s visits to the occupied territories of the USSR.

This place is associated with an unusual story of the assassination attempt on the Nazi dictator, which could be a decisive event in world history.

We will see another very peculiar attraction of these places, which even most Smolensk people do not know - the German military cemetery.

 

It was founded during the beginning of the fascist occupation in 1941. Previously, it was called the Central officer cemetery. Adolf Hitler himself gave a speech near these places.

One cannot but mention here the close proximity of the location of the Fuehrer’s headquarters in general, and of the German military burial site in particular, to the ancient pagan necropolis now known as the Gnezdov burial mounds.

In the fourth part of our tour

We are heading along the Old Smolensk Road - one of the oldest roads, the emergence of which refers to the XIV-XV centuries - to Valutina Mountain, with which important events of two wars are associated: the Smolensk 17th century and the Patriotic 1812.

It was from Valutina that the siege of the city began during the Russo-Polish War of 1609-1618, which ended with its conquest. In 1632-1634 there were battles at the same place when the Russian army tried to recapture Smolensk and return it to the Russian state.

The monument on the top of Valutina Mountain is a monument to soldiers who died during the Smolensk War of the 17th century. This is the only memorial in Smolensk dedicated to the events of that war.

And the battle at Valutina Gora (battle of Lubino) on August 19, 1812 was the final act of the Battle of Smolensk. He allowed the main forces of the 1st and 2nd armies to withdraw from Smolensk, avoiding a general battle, and to unite for subsequent joint actions.

On Valutina Mountain one of the best observation decks in the city. From it we will admire the eastern part of the city, the Assumption Cathedral, on the Dnieper.

We are returning to Smolensk – our tour ends!

The price from 16000 rubles. includes 8 hour khxcursion programs with a guide.

In addition, transport (if you are not on your own), lunch, entrance tickets to museums and the territory of Talashkino are paid.