Vasilyevsky Castle (also known as Shcherbatovsky Castle) is located in the village of the sanatorium named after Alexander Herzen in Moscow Oblast, about 65 west of the center of Moscow.

It was built by the architect Peter Boitsov by order of Prince Alexander Shcherbatov in the right-bank part of his estate in 1881. Vasilyevsky (Shcherbatovsky) Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful brick castle-estate

Tags: Moscow city · Moskovskaya oblast · Russian Empire

Volodarsk is a small town with a population of about 10 thousand people located in Nizhegorodskaya Oblast, about 60 km west of Nizhny Novgorod. In most cases, the main tourist attraction of small Russian towns is the local museum of local lore and Volodarsk is no exception.

However, the museum in Volodarsk occupies a unique wooden building known as “Nikolai Bugrov’s Summer Dacha” – one of the few surviving houses of similar architecture in the European part of Russia. Photos by: Anna Sukhareva and Yaroslav Gunin.

amazing wooden house

Tags: Nizhegorodskaya oblast · Nizhny Novgorod city · Russian Empire

Suzdal is a town-reserve with a population of about 9,600 people located in Vladimir Oblast, about 37 km north of Vladimir.

By the abundance of monuments and the preservation of its original appearance, Suzdal is unique for Russia. You can see a large number of monuments of cult and civil architecture of the 13th – 19th centuries here. Photos by: Vladimir Lipetskikh.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1222-1225) and the Suzdal Kremlin.

amazing old Russian provincial town

Tags: Suzdal city · Vladimir oblast

Balovnevo is a village of about 600 people located in the north of Lipetsk Oblast in the central part of European Russia. In this village you can see a unique monument of architecture of federal significance built in the style of classicism with elements of Gothic – the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God (1789-1823).

In November 2015, after two and a half years of restoration, the church reopened its doors to parishioners and tourists. Balovnevo on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

very picturesque church

Tags: churches · Lipetsk oblast

Vyborg is a city with a population of about 74 thousand people located in the north-west of Leningrad Oblast, about 140 km from St. Petersburg. In total, more than 300 different monuments are concentrated here: architectural, historical, sculptural, archaeological, garden and park art.

The main attraction of this city and its symbol is the Vyborg Castle – one of the few fully preserved monuments of Western European medieval military architecture in Russia. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

picturesque medieval castle

Tags: Leningrad oblast · Vyborg city

“Lesnoy Terem” in Astashovo is a former residence of the peasant Martyan Sazonov (1840/2-1914) located in the central part of Kostroma Oblast, about 200 km from Kostroma.

This is quite a unique phenomenon – a country residence built in the middle of a small village in a remote place. This picturesque wooden house was built in the Russian style with rich and varied carved decor. Lesnoy Terem in Astashovo on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

amazing wooden house

Tags: Kostroma oblast

Kizhi is an island in the northern part of Lake Onega in the south of the Republic of Karelia. It is known primarily for the exposition of the historical, architectural and ethnographic museum-reserve “Kizhi” located here, including the architectural ensemble of the Kizhi Pogost – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Most of the buildings are monuments of architecture, a lot of them were moved for exposition from other villages of this region. Kizhi Island on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

snow-covered monuments of wooden architecture

Tags: churches · Karelia Republic · Petrozavodsk city

The Ferapontov Belozersky Nativity Monastery is a monastery of the Vologda diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church located in the village of Ferapontovo, Vologda Oblast, about 119 km north-west of Vologda.

This is one of the oldest monasteries in the Russian North founded in the late 14th century. The monastery has survived to our time in the buildings of the 14th-17th centuries and in the wall paintings of the famous icon painter Dionysius. In 2000, this monastery was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Ferapontov Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful old Russian monastery

Tags: churches · Vologda oblast

Veliky Ustyug is a town with a population of about 31 thousand people located in the north-east of Vologda Oblast in the north of the European part of Russia, about 446 km from Vologda.

First mentioned in 1212, it is one of the oldest Russian towns with a rich cultural heritage. There are 28 preserved churches of the 17th-18th centuries in Veliky Ustyug. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

picturesque old Russian town

Tags: Vologda oblast

The Galsky Estate is a picturesque noble estate built in the provincial classicism style on the bank of the Sheksna River in the early 19th century. This monument of history and culture of federal significance is located in the city of Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast.

In addition to the main sky-blue house, all the household buildings have also been preserved here. The museum offers interactive excursions, classes on painting, clay modeling, and making folk dolls. The equestrian section is open to children and adults. The Galsky Estate on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

magnificent noble estate

Tags: Cherepovets city · museum · Vologda oblast