Discover Chelyabinsk

The permanent regional history exhibition at the State Historical Museum of the Southern Urals is housed in three halls. In the first hall, dedicated to nature and ancient history, a fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteorite weighing more than 600 kilograms stands beneath a glass dome in the middle of the room.

The exhibition features original objects and reconstructed settings. Scenes include a peasant’s room, a model of Chelyabinsk’s first fortress and the interior of a merchant’s salon. Visitors can also see a working model of an 18th-century blast furnace and a Ural fair. These immersive displays give regional history tangible objects and settings.

Pokrovsky House, also known as the House of the Public Assembly, was built in the 1850s and was one of Chelyabinsk’s seven stone houses at the time. The house is home to the exhibition “The History of Trade in the Urals.” Check its current availability before visiting.

The Chelyabinsk State Puppet Theater was founded by actors Pavel and Nina Garyanov, who came to Chelyabinsk in the early 1930s. Since 1972, the theater has been housed in a restored building at 8 Kirova Street. Its founding and its later location are two distinct stages in the history of the building.

“Kirovka” is a pedestrian zone on central Kirov Street. At the entrance from Revolution Square stands the “City Gate” arch, bearing Chelyabinsk’s coat of arms. These details clearly identify the pedestrian zone’s name and entrance.

The “Conquest of Space” mosaic is a distinctive artistic landmark: the 252-square-meter work by monumental artist Vladimir Mishin was unveiled in the spring of 1976. It depicts Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Sergei Korolev and Yuri Gagarin.

A monument to volunteer tankers stands at the beginning of Glory Boulevard. It was erected in 1975 at the place from which soldiers of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps set off for the front on May 9, 1943. The Eternal Flame on the boulevard was lit on May 9, 1965. The granite steles beside it bear the names of recipients of all three classes of the Order of Glory and Heroes of the Soviet Union who were born in Chelyabinsk or Chelyabinsk Oblast.

Victory Garden Park displays military equipment from World War II, modern armored vehicles, rockets and warships. Its focus is quite different from the historical objects in the museum galleries.

The children’s railway runs through Gagarin Central Park of Culture and Recreation. The six-kilometer narrow-gauge railway has five stations: “Star,” Pavlik Morozov Station, “Water,” “Forest” and “Sun.” There is also a “Zoo” platform. The railway operates seasonally, so check the dates in advance if you are planning a ride.

Lake Smolino in the Leninsky District has a developed promenade along its shore. The lake adds a waterfront to the selection, while Kirovka, the monuments and the exhibitions offer other aspects of a city visit.

Discover more destinations: Lazurnyy, Cheremshanka, Samarka, Rozhdestvenka, Vishnevogorsk, Ozyorsk, Troitsk.

Where is the meteorite fragment in the Historical Museum?

It stands beneath a glass dome in the middle of the first hall of the permanent exhibition, which is dedicated to nature and ancient history.

What is Kirovka?

Kirovka is a pedestrian zone on central Kirov Street. The “City Gate” arch stands at its entrance from Revolution Square.

How long is the children’s railway in Gagarin Park?

The narrow-gauge railway is six kilometers long and has five stations as well as a “Zoo” platform. It operates seasonally, so check the dates before planning a ride.

Go to the regional travel overview: Chelyabinsk Oblast.