A Tour Round Tambov

Let me start our sightseeing tour of Tambov with the Railway Station.

The building of the Railway Station is rather old and dates back to 1869.

Let’s go along Internationalnaya Street. There are 2 main streets in the central part of Tambov: Sovetskaya and Internationalnaya. Most architectural ensembles which are very much worth seeing are situated here.

The building of Tambov State University named after Derzhavin, a Wedding Palace and the cinema «Rodina» are really beautiful in appearance and date back to the 19^th century.

This modern building is known by everybody in Tambov. It’s Pushkin Library. Our library is rich enough. It has a lot of different departments: the departments of foreign and Russian literature, technical literature, history. There’s a large light reading hall on the second floor of it.

We are in Lenin Square now, the central square of the city. On the left of you there’s the Drama Theatre. It used to be the Nobility Gathering (Dvoryanskoye Sobraniye) built in 1897 to the design of architect Svirchevski. Then it was rebuilt for the theatre.

Opposite it there are the Local Authorities Buildings.

If you walk along this alley, you’ll reach our Concert Hall where famous and infamous singers, dancers and groups reveal their talent in front of grateful Tambov audience.

Not far away in Sovetskaya Street there’s a red and white building. It’s our musical institute named after Rakhmaninov. It was built in 1903. Its history is closely connected with the names of well-known composers and musicians.

Going along Sovetskaya Street we’ll reach the building which used to be the old reading-room, then it was a library and now it’s the art gallery. There is a beautiful collection of sculptures and paintings of the first-class European and Russian painters of the 16-20^th centuries there. Most of the paintings were collected in the estates of noble families of Tambov province.

In front of it there’s a bust of Derzhavin, the first governor of Tambov. He was the governor for 2 years only but did a lot for the town. He made a new plan for Tambov, opened the first theatre and paid much attention to the construction of some buildings in Tambov. He corresponded with the famous Russian architect of the 18^th century Nickolai Aleksandrovich Lvov as well as with some Italian architects asking for their help and advice.

There’s the Local History Museum nearby. Visiting it you’ll know a lot about the history of our city. Besides you’ll find there a rare collection of folk costumes, unique exhibits.

Going along Sovetskaya Street you can’t miss our Town Department Store. It used to be Gostiny Dvor (Shopping Centre) built in 1836-1837 on request of Tambov merchants. The main facade of the building has survived almost unchanged.

Have a look at the City Common Park where people like to spend their spare time.

And now we are in Cathedral Square, the birthplace of Tambov. The Cathedral of Transfiguration of Our Saviour Jesus Christ was founded in 1649 by bishop Pitirim on the very place where the first wooden church of the fortress used to be situated.

The Eternal Flame burns in the centre of Cathedral Square. This architectural ensemble was created in 1970 by architect Kulikov and sculptors Lebedev and Malofeyev to commemorate the glorious victory in 1945 and the names of those who gave their lives for the sake of people.

On the corner of Sovetskaya and Moskovskaya Streets there’s another monument of the Great Patriotic War – the Tank. The monument was placed here in 1949. During the first years of the Great Patriotic War Tambov farmers gave their savings (40 mln. roubles) to create a tank column. The whole country supported their patriotic initiative. One of those tanks, the legendary «34», is now placed on the massive pedestal. The author of the project is architect Samorodov.

And this modern building is the Ice Palace of Sports «Crystal». It is used for sport events, concerts and public gatherings. Besides there are 2 big stadiums in Tambov: «Dynamo» and «Spartak» where football matches and athletic events take place.

One of the most beautiful streets in Tambov is Naberezhnaya Street. There’s a monument to Sergeyev-Tsenski, a famous writer, here.

On the bank of the river Tsna there’s a real palace built by manufacturer Aseyev. It was built in 1903-1906 by architects Minz and Kugushev in Modern Italian style. It was made of bronze, marble and best kinds of wood. The building was surrounded with a beautiful park where there were 365 kinds of different plants. In the middle of it you can see an enormous old oak-tree. There is a popular belief that you’ll live long if you lean against it. Now Aseyev’s Mansion is the Cordial Sanatorium.

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