Gryazinsky District: Churches, Monuments and Culture

• The Church of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki in Korobovka dates from the second half of the 19th century.
• The Church of Our Lady of Kazan was built in Tavolzhanka in 1848; the village is now a neighbourhood of Gryazi.
• The memorial to the fallen is on Red Square in the centre of Gryazi and was unveiled in 1985.
• The Gryazi Local History Museum’s collection comprises around 6,000 exhibits.

The Church of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki stands in Korobovka, a listed building dating from the second half of the 19th century. The Church of the Icon of Our Lady of Kazan was built in the village of Tavolzhanka in 1848. Tavolzhanka is now a neighbourhood of Gryazi. Construction of St Nicholas Church was completed in 1895.

The dates mark different points in time: a specific year of construction is given for the church in Tavolzhanka, the completion of construction for St Nicholas Church, and a construction period for the church in Korobovka. Taken together, these details offer a brief glimpse into the district’s religious architectural history without suggesting that the three churches form a single architectural ensemble.

The Katyusha monument in Gryazi is dedicated to Ivan Andreyevich Flyorov, a local Hero of Russia and commander of the first rocket artillery battery. The steam locomotive E 773-50 offers another historical connection: it was installed as a monument near Gryazi bus station in 1998. During the Great Patriotic War, it transported goods for the national economy and is now a cultural heritage monument.

The memorial to the fallen is in the centre of Gryazi, on Red Square; it was unveiled in 1985. The memorial sites therefore commemorate different things: the Katyusha monument remembers a named individual, the locomotive recalls wartime freight transport, and the memorial honours the fallen. The grain silo adds an economic dimension to the historic buildings: it was ceremonially opened on 18 November 1912 and remains in operation.

The Gryazi Local History Museum has a collection of about 6,000 exhibits. The group route “The Legacy of the Vyazemsky Princes” is also of interest to museum visitors: it begins with an introductory tour of the “Prince L. D. Vyazemsky” exhibition at the local history museum and then continues, among other places, to Knyazhaya Baygora and Korobovka. If you would like to follow this itinerary, check the exhibition’s current availability in advance.

A house museum dedicated to the hero has been preserved in the village of Dvurechki. It is advisable to check visiting arrangements before you go. The district thus offers museums, monuments and historic buildings as distinct themes to consider when planning a trip.

The Galichya Gora Nature Reserve is in the wider Lipetsk Oblast destination. It consists of six separate sections, surrounded by developed and agricultural land. The reserve protects characteristic forest-steppe communities and groups of rock-dwelling plants on Devonian limestone outcrops in the valleys of the Don, Bystraya Sosna and their tributaries. Devonian limestone cliffs, shaped by water and wind, rise along the right bank of the Don. Galichya Gora was the first nature reserve in the Central Black Earth Region and is one of the smallest nature reserves in the world.

The Lipetsk Regional Museum of Natural History is located on the reserve’s central estate and is visited by thousands of excursionists each year. Its open-air area includes an alpine plant garden with rare species, a birds of prey breeding station and a medicinal herb garden. Check current access to this area before visiting.

Also in the wider Lipetsk Oblast destination, the Kudykina Gora recreational, landscape and dendrological park is located in Zadonsky District. Its “Zmey Gorynych” sculpture is a 15-metre-tall, three-headed figure with a pointed tail, claws and scales. These nature and park destinations add their own regional themes to the cultural perspective on Gryazinsky District.

Discover more destinations: Lipetsk, Dankovsky District, Stanovlyansky District, Dobrovsky District, Lipetsky District, Yelets, Zadonsky District

When was the Church of Our Lady of Kazan built?

It was built in the village of Tavolzhanka in 1848. Tavolzhanka is now a neighbourhood of Gryazi.

Who is the Katyusha monument in Gryazi dedicated to?

It is dedicated to Ivan Andreyevich Flyorov, a local Hero of Russia and commander of the first rocket artillery battery.

Which places are included in the route “The Legacy of the Vyazemsky Princes”?

It begins with an introductory tour of the “Prince L. D. Vyazemsky” exhibition at the Gryazi Local History Museum and then continues, among other places, to Knyazhaya Baygora and Korobovka.

For the wider travel overview: Lipetsk Oblast.

More places in the same destination:

Zadonsky District.