Kursk region covers an area of 29,997 sq. km and has a population of 1,120,000 people. Of these, more than 67% are residents of its administrative center, as well as Zheleznogorsk, Kurchatov, Lgov, Shchigrov, Rylsk and Oboyan. All these cities of the Kursk region have an interesting history. On their territory you can see many tourist attractions. That is why every year thousands of Russians come there for an excursion and leave with the best impressions of this hospitable land and the people living there.
Kursk
It is believed that a settlement existed on the territory of the modern city at least in the 8th century. Like other cities of the Kursk region, today it has a developed industry and is a major center for the production of electricity. This is not least facilitated by the developed transport infrastructure, represented by a network of highways, a railway station serving trains following the Voronezh-Kyiv and Moscow-Kharkov lines, andalso an airport with regular flights to St. Petersburg and the capital.
Sights of Kursk
During its long history, the city was repeatedly destroyed and ruined, but always rose from the ruins. Despite this, quite a lot of architectural monuments of the 19th century have been preserved there, and there are also several interesting modern sights. Deserving special mention:
Znamensky Cathedral
This majestic building was conceived as a kind of monument, created in honor of the victory of Russian troops in the Patriotic War of 1812. In its appearance, the features of classicism, which dominated the architecture during the construction of this building in 1816-1826, can be traced. At the beginning of the new millennium, the Temple of the Sign, which was used as a cinema for most of the 20th century, was restored, during which its interior decoration was restored with maximum accuracy.
Church of the Virgin Mary
The neo-Gothic Catholic church appeared in Kursk in 1896 and immediately became one of its decorations. It is notable for the fact that the famous artist Kazimir Malevich got married and baptized his daughter there. For many years the building of the church was used as an anti-religious museum, but at the end of the 20th century it was returned to the Catholic community.
Kursk Bulge complex
The city went down in history thanks to the famous battle that took place on the territory of the region during the Second World War. In memory of him, in the post-war period, many structures were erected in Kursk andmonuments: the Arc de Triomphe, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the monument to G. Zhukov, the stele "City of Military Glory", the alley of military equipment and the Church of St. George.
Resurrection Church
The church, built in the second half of the 19th century, has an original architectural appearance that makes it look more like a small palace. It is richly decorated on the outside, but, unfortunately, there is nothing left of the ancient interior decoration at the moment, since the temple has been derelict for a long time.
City of Zheleznogorsk (Kursk region)
This relatively young settlement was founded in 1957 as a working settlement. The city-forming enterprise is OJSC Mikhailovsky GOK, which employs more than 30% of the local population. Zheleznogorsk cannot boast of ancient sights, like other cities of the Kursk region, which are more than one hundred years old. However, there is a rather interesting Museum of Local Lore, located at: st. Lenina, 56.
The city of Zheleznogorsk (Kursk region) is also known for the memorial complex "Big Oak", which is located in its vicinity. Going to the village of Zolotoy, you can visit the Museum of Partisan Glory and see a monument erected in memory of the victims of the fascist punishers who destroyed the population of an entire village on October 17, 1942, including infants.
Kurchatov
The city was founded in 1968 and has been repeatedly recognized as the most comfortable inhabitedarea point. The city-forming enterprise is the Kursk NPP, and the whole history of Kurchatov is inextricably linked with the development of nuclear energy in the Russian Federation. You can learn more about it by visiting the local museum of local lore, located at: st. Youth, 12.
Although Kurchatov is a city where there are no numerous attractions and ancient architectural monuments, tourists often come there who want to relax in the summer heat on the banks of the Kursk reservoir. This artificial reservoir has an area of 22 sq. km. and does not freeze even in the coldest winters.
Lgov
The settlement of Olgov was founded in 1152 and was repeatedly ruined by the Polovtsians. In the 17th century, a famous Orthodox monastery was founded next to it, where pilgrims from all over Russia flocked.
Today, the city of Lgov in the Kursk region is a great place for educational excursions, as there you can see sights such as:
- residential and outbuildings in the former estate of Prince A. I. Baryatinsky;
- Shamil's Tower;
- house of Chamberlain P. Stremoukhov;
- buildings of the former Zemstvo and City administrations;
- prison castle;
- complex of a winery, which is a monument of industrial architecture, etc.
Schigry
The settlement with that name, in which only 15,000 people live, has existed for almost 300 years and is ranked among the historical cities of Russia. His mainattraction is the Holy Trinity Cathedral. This classicist temple was built in 1801. The city of Shchigry, Kursk region, is also known for its local history museum, which is located at: st. Bolshevikov, 18.
Rylsk
This is one of the most ancient cities of the Kursk region, where many buildings of the 18th-19th centuries have been preserved, including the complex of buildings of the Nikolaevsky Monastery and shopping malls. The main decoration of the city is the Cathedral of the Assumption (Sverdlov St., 7), the construction of which began in 1797. Fortunately, it was practically not damaged during the war, although, from the 30s to the early 90s, its building was used for economic purposes. At the beginning of the new millennium, the temple began to be restored, and in 2011 a clock was installed on its tower.
The city of Rylsk in the Kursk region is also famous for the fact that several monuments of civil architecture, known as the Shemyaki House, have been preserved there. Two of these three buildings are interconnected by an underground passage and date back to 1740-1760. It is believed that the Rylsk governor lived in them and his office was located.
Now you know what is remarkable about the cities of the Kursk region, so you will probably want to take a tour there, during which you will have the opportunity to learn the history of this heroic corner of our vast Motherland.
