Kalininsky District: Museums, memorial sites and nature

• The Kalinin Front Museum in Emmaus features an exhibition on eleven major military operations.
• The Sergei Lemeshev Museum was founded in 1986 in his home village of Staroye Knyazevo.
• The Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God in Turginovo was built between 1824 and 1835 and later expanded.
• The Mednoye Memorial Complex commemorates victims of political repression and Polish prisoners of war who were shot.
• Akulkina Roshcha is a pine forest on the right bank of the Vyazma, where it flows into the Shosha.

The Kalinin Front Museum in Emmaus provides an overview of eleven major military operations, including the Kalinin Defensive Operation and the Kalinin Offensive Operation. Visitors interested in military history can therefore explore several operations in one exhibition.

Another focus is the life of singer Sergei Yakovlevich Lemeshev (1902–1977), People’s Artist of the USSR and soloist at the Bolshoi Theatre. His museum was founded on July 12, 1986, in his home village of Staroye Knyazevo, at the initiative of V. D. Vasilyev, a singer and music historian. Since 1990, the museum has been housed in a rebuilt building on the old foundation of the church school. Lemeshev attended this school from 1911 to 1914.

The V. A. Serov Memorial Art Museum in Emmaus offers another perspective, focusing on art. Its collection comprises more than 300 exhibits, including personal belongings, rare photographs and documents, and original paintings by Serov. The number of exhibits may change. The V. A. Serov House Museum in Domotkanovo also explores the estate itself: four rooms present its history, owners and guests, as well as its cultural life. A dedicated section covers Serov’s time at the estate and the works he created there.

The Mednoye Memorial Complex commemorates Soviet citizens who fell victim to political repression in the 1930s through the 1950s, as well as Polish prisoners of war from the Ostashkov NKVD camp of the USSR who were shot. The museum and information center in the complex explores events of the mid-20th century through personal stories. It focuses on residents of Kalinin Oblast who suffered repression and were later rehabilitated. This makes it possible to combine a visit to the memorial site with an exhibition that brings individual life stories into focus.

The Church of the Intercession of the Mother of God was built from 1824 to 1835 with funding from I. N. Nepluev and expanded between 1876 and 1887. Its architecture combines a neoclassical layout with elements of the pseudo-Russian style. Its features include five domes and four pillars, along with a multi-tiered bell tower and a spire. Both its construction phases and its diverse design elements are relevant to understanding its cultural history.

Akulkina Roshcha is a pine forest on the right bank of the Vyazma, where the river flows into the Shosha. The area lies east of the village of Brednevo in Kalininsky District, Tver Oblast. Unlike the museums, whose themes are explored through collections and exhibitions, the landscape itself is the main attraction here: a pine forest in a clearly defined location beside two rivers.

These places offer different points of interest and can help you choose what to explore in Kalininsky District based on your travel interests.

Discover more destinations: Burashevo, Kuvshinovsky District, Penovsky District, Udomelsky District, Torzhok, Konakovsky District, Oleninsky District and Vesyegonsky District.

Which museums are located in Emmaus?

Emmaus is home to the Kalinin Front Museum and the V. A. Serov Memorial Art Museum. The first features an exhibition on eleven major military operations; the second includes original paintings by Serov, photographs, documents and personal belongings.

Where is the Sergei Lemeshev Museum located?

It is located in Staroye Knyazevo, Lemeshev’s home village. Since 1990, it has been housed in a rebuilt building on the old foundation of the church school, which he attended from 1911 to 1914.

What does the exhibition in Mednoye show?

The museum and information center tells the stories of residents of Kalinin Oblast who suffered repression and were later rehabilitated. The memorial complex also commemorates the aforementioned victims of political repression and Polish prisoners of war who were shot.

Where is Akulkina Roshcha?

The area lies east of Brednevo in Kalininsky District, Tver Oblast. The pine forest is on the right bank of the Vyazma, where it flows into the Shosha.

For the broader travel overview: Tver Oblast.