Irkutsk CityTour with Visit to Decembrists' Museum

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Skver Im. Kirova, Irkutsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, 664025

The Square is known for its long history. This beautiful walking area has been around for over 300 years and has been called by twelve different names, changing to reflect the changing city and the changing heroes of Tsarist, Soviet, and modern Russia. During the 17th century Kirov Square, was the center of trade fairs and entertainment in Irkutsk. Products like fur, timber, and tea were sold in in the square. However, now Kirov Square has become one of the main hangouts and event venues in Irkutsk.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Church of the Savior of the Holy Face, Suhe-Batora ul., d. 2, Irkutsk 664011 Russia

Constructed in 1706, this is the oldest stone-built church in Eastern Siberia and has remnants of the original murals on its facade. Until the late 1990s it housed a museum.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Cathedral of The Epiphany, Sukhe-Batora St., 1A, Irkutsk 664011 Russia

The Epiphany Cathedral is a true adornment of Irkutsk. This church looks quite unusually. It is colorful and ornate and does not resemble classic orthodox churches. The matter concerns its decoration: the church’s façade and its tholobate are decorated with pictures of the saints in whole-length. Besides, the church is fancy decorated with ornamented tiles, and brightly painted like Russian popular prints.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Roman Catholic Church, Sukhe-Batora St., 1, Irkutsk 664011 Russia

The Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is one of the most beautiful buildings located in the historical part of Irkutsk. The Polish community constructed the cathedral, therefore, it is also known as the Polish Roman Catholic Church. Its history starts in 1819. The construction works were completed by the end of 1825, but the church burned down during the fire in 1879. In 1884, the extant stone Cathedral was constructed at the site of the fire. An organ hall, opened in 1978, operates until now.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Znamensky Monastery, Angarskaya Ulitsa 14, Irkutsk 664000 Russia

The temple was built between 1757 and 1794 according to the type of Irkutsk architecture of the middle of the XVIII century. The temple was built on the site of a wooden church, cut down in 1693. The temple has preserved objects of ancient decoration: glittering gilt baroque carved iconostasis, icons, salaries of Irkutsk silversmiths. In 1926, the Znamensky Church became a parish church, and from 1929 began to serve as a cathedral. Since 1991, the relics of St. Innocent Kulchitsky are in the Znamensky Church.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Holy Cross Cathedral, Sedova St., 1, Irkutsk 664003 Russia

Irkutsk's Exaltation of the Cross Church was built between 1747 and 1760 and is one of the most striking examples of the architectural style known as Siberian baroque, characterised by the bright decorations on the church's façade. The church is also unique for Siberian churches in the fact that its original 19th-century interior has been preserved.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Muzeynaya Studiya Irkutsk Regional Museum of Local Lore, Karla Marksa st., 13, Irkutsk 664003 Russia

It is one of the oldest museums of Russia. It boasts an ethnographical gathering of excavation items, shaman, orthodox and Buddhist religious things, Siberian peoples'clothing, various types of weapons, mineralogical collections and herbaria, rare XVII-th - century documents dated back to the Siberia's exploration times. Nowadays the museum gathering numbers over 300 thousand exhioits.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Irkutsk Academic Drama Theater, Karla Marksa St., 14, Irkutsk 664003 Russia

The first building was built in Irkutsk in 1851. Throughout its history, the theater has gone through 3 fires. In 1897, construction was completed on a stone building designed by the chief architect of the Board of Imperial theaters V.A. Shreter. In 1997 - 99 years the building was reconstructed. It was the largest building in the region in the late 20th century. Today Irkutsk Drama Theatre is one of Russia's best in technical equipment.

Duration: 10 minutes

Stop At: Nizhnyaya Naberezhnaya Angary, Irkutsk Russia

Historical center of the city is supposed to be on Angara shores, now it is called Lower Embankment. This area is the most well arranged and has the biggest amount of historical, cultural and architectural monuments. The embankment always attracts city dwellers as well as tourists. The tradition has it that this place is a must-visit for the newly-weds. There are spectacular views from the observation point to Irkut river and Znamenskoye Predmestye.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: 130 Kvartal, Irkutsk Russia

By the 300th anniversary of Irkutsk, the historic 130th quarter of the city was reconstructed - the Irkutsk settlement. This is a zone of historical buildings: the first wooden houses here appeared at the beginning of the XVIII century. The new urban space is formed on the basis of the existing architectural and historical heritage. Sloboda has become a cultural and tourist mecca of Irkutsk, a place of leisure for residents and guests of the city. Wooden houses of historical value have been restored, and the lost ones are restored. In “Irkutsk Sloboda” there are blacksmith and pottery workshops, souvenir shops, cafes, art galleries and cultural centers.

Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Irkutsk Regional Memorial Decembrists Museum, Volkonsky House, Volkonskogo ul., d. 10, Irkutsk 664007 Russia

Then pay a visit to Decembrists' museum in Irkutsk - the Trubetskies’ house museum, the Volkonskies’ house museum. This museum was opened in the former houses where the families of Sergey Trubetskoi and Sergey Volkonskiy lived. The museums’ expositions which are devoted to Decembrists’ life in East Siberia, in convict prisons, in deportations. The family life of Decembrists, their household articles, furniture, musical instruments are presented in the museum as well.

The first Decembrists arrived in Irkutsk in the summer of 1826. They were given hard labour, or forced to work in factories or prisons. As the Decembrists were the Russian nobility and intelligentsia, they made a considerable impact on the cultural, historical and political development of the eastern Siberian region. In their spare time, the Decembrists taught the younger generation and the peasants maths, languages, medicine, natural sciences and music. A particularly important role in the life of Irkutsk society was played by Grand Duke Sergey Volkonsky, a veteran of the 1812 Great Patriotic War, and one of the leaders of Decembrists’ Society. Volkonsky was sent to a village near Irkutsk, where he cultivated the fields with the peasants teaching them advanced farming methods. His house in Irkutsk became a centre of cultural and spiritual life.

Duration: 40 minutes

Stop At: Irkutsk Regional Historical and Memorial Museum of Decembrists, Dzerzhinskogo St., 64, Irkutsk 664007 Russia

Among other famous Decembrists’ houses in Irkutsk, there is the house that belonged to Grand Duke Sergey Trubetskoy and his wife Yekaterina Trubetskaya (who was the first woman to leave to follow her husband to Siberia). The Decembrists also made a great contribution to the history, geography and political ideas of Irkutsk and Siberia in general. Nowadays, people from all over the world come to Irkutsk to learn about the destiny of the “state criminals” who dared to rebel against the monarchy in December 1825 and were exiled to Siberia. Most of their houses are located in the centre of Irkutsk.

Duration: 40 minutes