Dostoevsky's own place of worship at St. George's Church
If you are spending just a half day in town, focus on the main Dostoevsky sights—above all the house museum, with a stop by St. George church and a stroll along the river—and pay the Monastery of the Transfiguration a visit. If you have a bit more time, perhaps take a tour through the Cultural Center, and consider wandering over towards the Balneological Resort to acquaint yourself with the very Russian/Soviet tradition of mineral water sanitoria. If the weather is OK, Staraya Russa is also just a really nice place to walk around. If you aim to simply walk by the various churches, you could spend several hours on a nice amble about the town.
Dostoevsky Cultural Center (Научно-культурныйцентрФ.М.Достоевского), nab. Dostoevskovo, 8, ☎ +7 816 52 37-285. Tu-F, Su 10:00-18:00. This neat little neoclassical building has small temporary exhibits on the life and works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, but the main reason to come is if you are interested in having a local guide take you around the town's literary sites (in Russian).70 rubles; tours ~300 rubles. �
Dostoevsky's House Museum (Дом-музейФ.М.Достоевского), nab. Dostoevskovo, 42/2, ☎ +7 816 52 51-477. 10:00-18:00 daily. The Dostoevsky family spent their summers in the healthy country climate of Staraya Russa from 1872 through 1914—well past the writer's death in 1881. His time here saw some of his most prolific work, most importantly his masterpiece The Brothers Karamazov. The large, green, wooden dacha on the riverbank is today a carefully curated shrine to the great nineteenth century writer, having survived the revolutions and wars of the twentieth century unscathed. The first floor hosts exhibits, while the second floor is arranged and recreated in the same way as the Dostoevsky family kept it.70 rubles. �
Grushenka's House (ДомГрушеньки), nab. Glebova, 25. Grushenka's house, as depicted in The Brothers Karamazov, was based on this pretty 1850s-era house. Privately owned. �
Living Bridge (Живоймост), (across the Polist River). If you hear locals talking about "the living bridge," don't expect anything too necromantic—the name is a holdover from the bridge's earlier incarnation as a pontoon bridge with a lively "sway." �
Museum of the Northwest Front (Музейсеверо-западногофронта), ul. Volodarskovo, 25, ☎ +7 816 52 35-285, . M,W-F 10:00-18:00, Su 09:00-17:00. A modest military history museum with exhibits on the history of the Russian Northwest Front during WWII.70 rubles. �
Staraya Russa Balneological Resort (КурортСтараяРусса), ul. Mineral'naya, 62, ☎ +7 816 52 31-603, . While today foreigners come to Staraya Russa because of Dostoevsky, and Dostoevsky alone, the town was for hundreds of years known for its balneological resort, where ailing Russians would come and avail themselves of the mineral water and mud treatments. The buildings and sculptures throughout the park are for the most part pretty unremarkable, whereas the so-called Muravyovsky Fountain merits a visit. This big fountain at the center of the complex is built atop a natural mineral water spring, and for most of its history was covered by a rather marvelous metal pavilion, with covered galleries, adorned with wooden carvings, running from the fountain to the hotel and to the wooden theater. Sadly, the complex was almost completely destroyed in WWII. In the early 1980s, the government made a half-hearted attempt to erect a new metal dome over the fountain, but the salt in the air corroded the metal and quickly brought it down. Today, the fountain is a shell of its once majestic stature—even the flow has been reduced to reduce saltwater damage to nearby trees. But you can still sample its waters from the Drinking Pavilion behind it—chilled or hot like it came out of the ground. �
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Staraya Russa
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Staraya Russa - updated May 2024
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Staraya Russa Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
