The city of Kaluga: climate, ecology, areas, economy, crime and attractions

Russia

Kaluga is a city in the Russian Federation, the administrative center of the Kaluga region. Located on the banks of the Oka River and on its tributaries - the rivers Yachenka, Terepets, Kaluzhka, Kievka, 160 km southwest of the center of Moscow, 80 km from the new borders of the city of Moscow.

Geography

The Kaluga region borders on the Moscow, Tula, Bryansk, Smolensk, and Oryol regions. From north to south, the region stretches for more than 220 km from 53° 30′ to 55° 30′ northern latitude, from west to east – for 220 km, the territory area is 29.9 thousand square meters. km. The most important international highways and railways pass through the territory of the region: Moscow – Kaluga – Bryansk – Kyiv – Lvov – Warsaw.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Kaluga is presented in the form of a French shield. A wavy silver belt is depicted in an azure field. Above it is the Russian state crown from the time of Catherine the Great (without ribbons). The headdress (with a purple lining) is made of gold, decorated with semi-precious stones and pearls.

Under the shield is the motto “CRADLE OF COSMONAUtics”, inscribed on a red ribbon in silver letters. On top of its middle one can see a figure formed by a ball, from which three rods extend.

The artistic composition is included in the State Heraldic Register of the Russian Federation under No. 587. Adopted by Resolution of the City Duma of Kaluga No. 118 dated May 30, 2000 (as amended on December 14, 2005).

Story

To this day, the cause and date of the emergence of the city of Kaluga remains a subject of debate among scientists and researchers. The official founding date of the city is considered to be 1371, the year of the first mention of Kaluga in written sources that have survived to our times. Even the first historians of the city of Kaluga noted that the city was much older than its official age. This version is confirmed by data from archaeological research in places of ancient settlements on the territory of modern Kaluga.

There were three medieval fortifications on the territory of the city: one at the mouth of the Kaluzhka River, at its confluence with the Oka, another upstream of the Kaluzhka, in the vicinity of the village of Zhdamirova, and the third, known as Semyonovo fortification, on the banks of the Yachenka River. The first excavations at the settlement at the mouth of the Kaluga were carried out at the end of the 19th century. archaeologist I. D. Chetyrkin, who discovered traces of a fire and remains of pottery on it. Subsequent excavations showed that two settlements on Kaluzhka had existed since ancient times.

The oldest historian of Kaluga, academician V.F. Zuev, who lived in the 18th century, recorded a legend according to which Kaluga was moved to a new place three times, and he also considered the first place to be a settlement at the mouth of Kaluga.

In the 13th – 14th centuries, the Kaluga lands were part of one of the Verkhovsky principalities, Novosilsky or Tarussky. From the middle of the 14th century, Kaluga became the object of struggle between Moscow and Lithuanian princes.

Kaluga local historians and independent researchers of the history of the Kaluga region put forward a version about the emergence of Kaluga as a Tatar-Mongol administrative and tax center during the formation of the Baskas in Rus',

however, this hypothesis has not yet been reflected in authoritative sources recognized by the scientific community.

In 1371, the borders of the Moscow Principality came close to the territory of modern Kaluga. Historian V.N. Temushev Fr.

The Lithuanian princes believed that Kaluga was unfairly “taken from them by Moscow.” The first written mention of Kaluga is connected with this, which is contained in a letter from the Lithuanian prince Olgerd to Patriarch Philotheus of Constantinople, dated 1371.

The next mention of Kaluga is contained in the so-called spiritual charter of Dmitry Donskoy (1389), in which he bequeathed the cities of “Koluga and Grove” to his son Andrei in the Mozhaisk principality. Since that time, Kaluga has been invariably mentioned in sources as the possession of Moscow princes and their heirs.

For a number of centuries, the Kaluga region was a leading outpost that repelled the attacks of numerous foreign conquerors. In 1480, the “Great Stand on the Ugra” put an end to the two-century Tatar-Mongol yoke.

By decree of Empress Catherine II of August 24, 1776, the Kaluga governorship was established, which was inaugurated on January 15, 1777. The governorship center took on a new look; the layout and development of Kaluga to this day represents a brilliant achievement of Russian urban planning art of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. In 1777, the provincial theater was opened - now one of the oldest in Russia. During the Patriotic War of 1812, Kaluga was the main rear base of the Russian army for several weeks.

It was the Kaluga province that became the “limit of enemy invasion”; the Battle of Tarutino and the Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place here, after which the retreat of Napoleon’s great army began. The territory of the region became the scene of heavy fighting during the Great Patriotic War. Podolsk cadets, Komsomol members of the Lyudinovsky underground, pilots of the Normandy squadron, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and commanders of the Red Army fought heroically on Kaluga land.

On July 5, 1944, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Kaluga region was formed, which included 27 districts from the Smolensk, Oryol and Tula regions. After the liquidation of the USSR, the Kaluga region became a subject of the Russian Federation. The most significant sector of the Kaluga region's economy has been and remains industry. It generates more than half of the regional budget revenues, and employs every fourth working resident of the region.

The history of the city, or how Muscovites and Lithuanians did not divide Kaluga

Try to imagine the cradle of astronautics... If your imagination stands still or, on the contrary, gallops into the wilds of fantasy, then to compare your images with reality you need to go to Kaluga, where the ideas of conquering the cosmic depths were born and nurtured.

Monument to K.E. Tsiolkovsky in Peace Square

Of course, the ancient builders of Kaluga did not know the word “cosmonautics” and were not making a cradle, but were busy with purely earthly problems - protection from enemy raids. Believe it or not, in the 14th century the Kaluga land was constantly the cause of confrontations between the Moscow principality and the Lithuanian principality. Now it seems like a funny joke (where is Moscow, where is Kaluga and where is Lithuania?), but back then it couldn’t be more serious.

Otherwise, why would the Lithuanian prince Olgerd complain to Patriarch Philotheus himself in Constantinople that the Moscow princes of the city (including Kaluga) had taken it away from him? It is this complaint that dates the emergence of the city of Kaluga - 1371, although, of course, even before Olgerd’s letter, the Kaluga fortress already stood on the high bank of the Oka River, 190 kilometers southwest of Moscow.

Stele on the road ring

Before Kaluga acquired a space brand, it suffered many troubles and hardships: either from the Tatar-Mongols, whose yoke was ended in the vicinity of Kaluga after the Great Standing on the Ugra, or from the “pestilence”, which left fewer survivors thousands of Kaluga residents, then from a fire when all the wooden Kaluga burned out.

Monument in honor of the Great Standing on the Ugra

If you list numerous disasters, it will be difficult to stop, because only a tsunami is missing, and that is for the reason that the Kaluga Sea is just a reservoir, and Kaluga is located in a quiet seismic zone in the central part of Russia. Be that as it may, Kaluga survived and even in the 17th and 18th centuries was a very prosperous city. The city is still striving for a new state of prosperity.

Entrance to Kaluga from the Oka

Modernity

Kaluga is currently a city with developed infrastructure, a major transport hub, one of the scientific, cultural, economic and spiritual centers of the Central Federal District of Russia. Mechanical engineering and automobile manufacturing are actively developed. Kaluga is one of the historical centers of Russia, where many architectural monuments have been preserved. Kaluga was three times among the top three in terms of cleanliness and amenities among Russian cities that are administrative centers of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and with a population of 100 to 500 thousand people: 1st place in 2002, 3rd place in 2003, 1st place according to the results of the competition held in 2012.

In 2009, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation minted a commemorative non-precious 10-ruble coin dedicated to Kaluga from the “Ancient Cities of Russia” series.
The route of the Olympic Torch Relay of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi passed through Kaluga. The relay began on October 7, 2013 in Moscow and ended on the opening day of the Olympics on February 7, 2014.
The Olympic flame arrived in Kaluga on October 13, 2013 from the city of Yukhnov, Kaluga region. From Kaluga, the Olympic flame went to the Yasnaya Polyana estate in the Shchekinsky district of the Tula region and further along the route of the Olympic torch relay of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
On April 19, 2016, it became known that Kaluga was included in the list of cities included in the Golden Ring.

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Population

According to preliminary data provided by Kalugastatstat, the population of Kaluga as of January 1, 2022 is 343.424 thousand people. We remind you that the population of Kaluga as of January 1, 2016 is 341,986 thousand people. According to preliminary estimates, the population of Kaluga as of November 16, 2016 is 355.887 thousand people. It is worth recalling that the number of residents of Kaluga as of January 1, 2015 was 342.936 thousand people. At the same time, the population of the city of Kaluga as of January 1, 2014 was 334.191 thousand people. It is worth noting that the number of city residents as of January 1, 2013 was 331, 351 thousand people. The population of the regional center tends to increase annually to 8 thousand inhabitants. The city is home to Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, as well as residents of other nationalities. It is noteworthy that as of January 1, 2015, 1.010486 million people lived in the Kaluga region

According to a preliminary estimate of the number of residents of the region, the population of the Kaluga region as of January 1, 2022 was 1.227122 million people. At the same time, the population of the Kaluga region as of January 1, 2016 was 1.225741 million people.

Day of the city

The year of the founding of the city of Kaluga is still a dispute among pundits. Since 2009, Kaluga residents have been celebrating City Day. The celebration is usually held on the last Saturday of August. This citywide holiday is marked by mass celebrations and various events in which citizens and guests participate.

Until 2008, City Day was celebrated on the second Sunday of September, but Metropolitan Clement of Kaluga and Borovsk turned to the city authorities with a proposal to coincide the city holiday with the day of remembrance of St. Lawrence, the patron saint of Kaluga. The year of foundation was accepted as 1371, as officially recognized by historians.

On this day, concerts, various exhibitions, and competitions are held. One of them is the baby carriage competition, in which children and their parents take part. In 2022, the city will celebrate 647 years since its founding. The celebration will take place on August 28. A carnival procession will traditionally take place along the central streets of the city.

Economy of the region

Indicators of socio-economic development

Growth in volumes of shipped products of own production – 110.2%
Growth in the volume of work performed by type of activity “construction” – 137.3%
Growth in retail trade and paid services turnover – 131.1% and 128.2%, respectively
Growth in investment in fixed capital – 115%
Average salary growth – 119.1%
Inflation rate decreased by 1.2 points compared to the previous year
Average salary as of 01/01/2007 – 9,792.8 rubles

The most economically developed are the central, northeastern and southwestern regions of the region, where the majority of industrial enterprises and successfully operating agricultural producers are concentrated.

Industry is the most dynamically developing and most significant sector of the economy of the Kaluga region, where more than half of the regional budget revenues are generated. The industrial potential of the region is represented by sixteen industries, in which 1,700 enterprises carry out economic activities.

Sectoral structure of industrial production:

Mechanical engineering and metalworking – 41.9%
Food industry – 23.4%
Forestry, wood processing and pulp and paper industries – 11.4%
Electric power industry – 9%
Construction materials industry – 8.1%
Chemical and petrochemical – 1.7%
Light industry – 1%
Other industries – 3.5%

Agro-industrial complex

There are 457 agricultural organizations, almost 2,000 peasant farms and about 200 thousand personal subsidiary plots in the region. The industry accounts for 12.4% of the value of the gross regional product. 52.4 thousand workers are employed in agriculture (10.9% of all employed in the regional economy).

Structure of agricultural production in all categories of farms:

Potatoes – 26.7%
Livestock and poultry meat – 21.9%
Milk – 17.4%
Vegetables and melons – 14.2%
Fruit and berry crops – 5.4%
Eggs – 5.1%
Cereals – 3.5%
Feed crops – 3.2%
Fiber flax – 0.1%
Other products – 2.5%

On the territory of the region there are five research institutes and two higher educational institutions that are engaged in research and development work for the agro-industrial complex.

The construction complex of the region unites more than 850 construction organizations and about 50 design and survey organizations. A variety of forms of ownership have been established in construction. Of the total number of organizations, more than 90% are privately owned. Construction is one of the significant sectors of the region's economy. Every ninth working resident of the region is employed in it. Industry organizations form approximately a tenth of the regional budget revenues.

The energy supply of the Kaluga region is represented by the generating capacities of JSC Kalugaenergo, which is part of RAO UES of Russia. The energy system provides centralized power supply over an area of 29.9 thousand km2. The region's power supply system includes 149 substations with an authorized capacity of 3866.5 MVA, more than 1000 km of cable and 250 km of overhead power lines. The heat supply system is represented by more than 120 boiler houses operating primarily on gas fuel; the length of the heating networks is more than 450 km.

Investment activities

Over the years, the most attractive industries for investment have been the food, forestry, woodworking and pulp and paper industries, mechanical engineering and metalworking, and the construction materials industry. In the sectoral structure of investments in fixed capital, more than 55% of the volume falls on industries producing goods. The leading place among these industries is occupied by industry, where enterprises with the most profitable assets and investment resources are concentrated. The rating agency "Expert RA" included the Kaluga region in the list of territories of the Russian Federation where investment attractiveness is consistently increasing. There is a steady downward trend in investment risk. The Kaluga region is one of the twenty regions of Russia with minimal investment risk. The successful cooperation of foreign businesses with the regional authorities has shown that it is possible and necessary to work with the region. The total volume of foreign investment in the real economy of the region over the past five years amounted to about 350 million US dollars.

The main countries that invest in the regional economy are:

Germany – 57.4%
Finland – 25.8%
Türkiye – 16.8%

Enterprises and work in Kaluga, or Let's hit the auto industry off-road

Having realized that the space brand does not bring profit to Kaluga, and traditional industrial enterprises, if not bankrupt, are barely chugging, Kaluga decided to hit the auto industry on its own impassability, and it must be said that it succeeded. In a short time, thanks to foreign investments, Kaluga acquired, in addition to the space brand, another brand - “Russian Detroit”.

in Kaluga

It all started with construction in 2007. Having given foreigners a tempting bonus - the construction of a zero cycle at the expense of the region, the Kaluga governor finally lured investors from Germany. And then things started to spin: Volvo and Renault trucks appeared, followed by the joint venture Mitsubishi Motors and Peugeot Citroen.

Over the five years of the year, Kaluga has been heard in all central media, as in terms of average wages it has risen from 80 to 3rd place after Moscow and the Moscow region. If you believe the statistics, the average salary in Kaluga for January 2012 was 28,223.2 rubles, but everyone understands that all these average figures are almost the same as measuring a boa constrictor from a cartoon in parrots. In reality, for example, a mechanical assembly mechanic working three shifts on a Volkswagen does not earn more than 15 thousand.

Confirmation that not everything is as rosy as it is portrayed is the strike that thundered throughout Russia and beyond its borders at the end of March 2012 of workers from where suspension brackets for Volkswagen are assembled. The plant's staff is small, about 350 people, but many of them are not registered as plant employees, but are hired workers hired by recruitment agencies. As a result, workers receive much lower wages not only compared to similar enterprises abroad, but also to Volkswagen.

According to reviews from Volkswagen workers, the attitude towards them from the German employees of the plant is, to put it mildly, disdainful, which is why there is staff turnover at the plant. They say that almost all of Kaluga has already been processed there, now it’s the region’s turn. This cannot be said about Volvo, where workers note a very respectful attitude from the Swedes, good conditions and an excellent social package, so unusual for Kaluga residents (extended health insurance system, including dentistry, training at the expense of the company, including English, meals etc).

Of the former leading industrial giant enterprises, several are more or less afloat, a turbine plant and an instrument-making plant, but their share in total industrial production at the end of 2011 is only 1% each, compared to 21% of the same Volkswagen.

Most Kaluga residents work in trade, the service sector and manufacturing. Kaluga does not forget its merchant past: in recent years, in addition to the large supermarkets “Magnit”, “Dixie”, “Pyaterochka”, hypermarkets “Line”, “Metro”, “Auchan” (“Rainbow”) have come to Kaluga, not to mention those multiplying with the speed of rabbits and the ever-changing little shops. The average salary in these areas is about 14 thousand rubles.

There are quite a lot of available vacancies in Kaluga employment centers, but these are, as a rule, blue-collar jobs with low wages and therefore not in great demand (mechanics, electricians, turners, painters, plasterers, masons). According to various sources, up to 60 thousand Kaluga residents from Kaluga and the region go to work in Moscow.

Despite the advertised average salaries of teachers and doctors (24.4 thousand and 32.5 thousand, respectively), there are also not enough workers in these specialties, perhaps for the reason that teachers and doctors with such salaries live in some other Kaluga, but the real ones get half as much.

In terms of the high cost of living, Kaluga is ahead of many cities in the Central Federal District.

Education

The city is home to several higher educational institutions with a long history, as well as universities that emerged in the late 1990s. In addition, there are municipal schools of general education and special educational institutions. You can get a specialized secondary education in Kaluga at numerous technical schools and colleges that train mechanics, builders, and representatives of other professions.

In Kaluga, a significant place is devoted to higher educational institutions, the most popular of which are:

Kaluga State University named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky,
Kaluga branch of MSTU named after. Bauman,
Kaluga branch of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation,
Kaluga branch of Moscow University of Humanities and Economics

In 2014, the maximum level (100%) of equipping the workplaces of primary school teachers with desktop computers or laptops was reached. By

According to the city education department, in 2014, the average salary of teachers was 29,756 rubles.

The population of Kaluga, or what do Kaluga women lack?

It would be tempting to pronounce the axiom that water is life and connect its quality with the demographic decline, but there is no point in pulling a dubious relationship by the ears if these are problems common to all of Russia. According to data at the beginning of 2014, the number of residents of Kaluga is 334,191 people.

The oblique one especially does not favor men. Nobody sings anymore that “for every ten girls, according to statistics, there are nine guys”; the statistics are much worse, especially for women after 30, when the number of men of the same age begins to gradually decrease. Those who are still alive and remain free do not aspire to the role of a companion; in the light of the space brand, they can only check the weather in the house from time to time, like a weather balloon.

City holiday: Kaluga is 640 years old. Parade of strollers (space cradles)

There is one remarkable indicator in demographics - the average age, in Kaluga it is 40 years. This is an excellent thing to do - to average, add up a one-year-old baby with a 79-year-old grandfather, divide it in half, and get an average age of 40 years, but the number of children and adolescents according to the census results has decreased, and the number of residents with the interesting indicator “over working age” has increased.

The educational level of Kaluga residents is not bad, it’s not for nothing that for so many years three serious state universities (pedagogical, a branch of the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School and a financial and economic university) have been thoroughly hammering knowledge into their graduates. Those without money went to work as teachers, engineers and cashiers in stores (it is known that financiers know how to count money, but not everyone knows how to earn it). The smart ones joined the ranks of officials (most of the bureaucratic elite are pedagogical graduates), and the resourceful ones built businesses.

The building of Kaluga State University (formerly pedagogical) on the street. Lenin

The increase in the number of universities to sixteen and the possibility of paid education have increased the chances of anyone who wants to receive the coveted diploma, especially since there are enough places where non-core higher education is required, for example, a market, stalls with Chinese goods, or jobs advertised by the governor. But is it really bad if a turner or mechanic has an education from a humanities academy, a Slavic institute, a tourism academy, or a state university that “lost” the word “pedagogical” in its name in 2010?

Districts and real estate of Kaluga

Officially, the city of Kaluga is divided into three districts with traditional Soviet names: Moskovsky, Oktyabrsky and Leninsky. The territory occupied by the city is 168.5 square kilometers.

Kaluga residents remember their belonging to any district by looking at the registration stamp in their passport or because of the need to contact official services. In other cases, it is unlikely that anyone can tell in which district a particular street is located if it is not the closest to their own home. But ask any city dweller where Malinniki or Bushmanovka, or another area of local geography is located, they will not only explain to you, but also tell you the number of a trolleybus or minibus.

The center still remains in some places a “sunny city” where buildings from the 18th-19th centuries have been preserved in the yellow and white colors traditional for that time.

However, the historical center of the city is increasingly occupied by banks and shopping and entertainment complexes, displacing traditional two-story houses in sunny colors. You walk along the central street of Kirov, which is no more than two kilometers long, and you constantly come across signs with the word “bank”. If you believe the map and addresses, there are about twenty of them there (count one bank per 100 m). I wonder how many Kaluga residents are their investors?..

The “near-centre” parts of the city are for the most part developing towards an increase in the number of offices and shops, although housing construction is also being carried out in places where old one-story and two-story houses are being demolished. The cost of primary housing in the central part of the city is equal to the cost of housing near Moscow. This should not be surprising if Moscow has officially expanded its borders to the Kaluga region.

The proximity to Moscow and the development of Kaluga industry advertised everywhere with the attraction of foreign investors played a cruel joke on Kaluga residents. Headlines of articles appear in newspapers and the Internet that Moscow companies are buying up land near Kaluga for construction. The cost of housing, according to the Russian Guild of Realtors, has been in fifth place since the beginning of 2012 after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Khabarovsk. 58 thousand per square meter for a city with a population of just over 300,000 residents and a salary (we will talk about this later) of up to 20 thousand rubles - that’s cool! Many megacities are far from Kaluga in this regard.

Prices for apartments in Kaluga almost do not depend on location and are the same in any microdistrict. The difference is determined solely by the “status” of the apartment: as reported by RGR, “Stalin” buildings cost about 49,000 rubles per square meter, “Khrushchev” apartments - 54,000 rubles, apartments with an improved layout - 58,000 rubles, and elite ones - up to 70,000 rubles per square meter meter. Maybe that's why there are so many banks in Kaluga? Since the beginning of 2012, in terms of price growth, Kaluga is already almost “ahead of the rest of the planet”; it fell a little short of first place, but is firmly in second place, so if you have a desire to buy an apartment in our city, hurry up, prices are mixed with fast-acting yeast.

The currently fastest growing microdistrict is located on the right bank of the Oka and has already received the official name of Pravgorod. Kaluga city planners have truly fantastic plans for it. What kind of miracles were promised to the residents of Kaluga: almost a local “Disneyland” with a cable car across the Oka. In the meantime, the popularity for developers is most likely associated with free spaces, a new bridge, the launch of a trolleybus on the right bank and construction.

In any case, from the former “hole” the right bank is really slowly turning into Pravgorod and, apparently, will be a prestigious area, judging by the construction of luxury apartments and townhouses.

Climate and ecology of Kaluga, or Water with blessed nitrates

The climate in Kaluga is typical for central Russia: all seasons are very pronounced, although recently, due to global warming, the “autumn” period is often prolonged, but there are no winters without snow and frost.

Kaluga residents are lucky with nature. It’s not for nothing that residents of the area around the TV tower and the old city cemetery (this is almost the center) listen to nightingales in the morning, and in the central park the oak tree, the famous coeval of the city, is still tenacious and mighty.

Where else can you see a real pine grove with centuries-old pines in the city? Of course, in Kaluga. The famous Kaluga forest, a natural monument, is a special matter altogether. If it weren’t for him, Kaluga would have suffocated in the unbearable summer heat from the smoke and stench of burning peat bogs in the Moscow region, just like Moscow. The wind brought smoky air, but the boron filters almost did not let it into the city. In the environmental rating of Russian cities, Kaluga is in the very middle, maintaining a stable situation.

Century-old pines of the city Pine Grove

The air in Kaluga, in general, is acceptable for breathing, the main industrial enterprises are located on the outskirts, there is a lot of greenery and flowers in the city, the local “Zelenstroy” takes care of this, although the inclusion of this organization in the Kaluga space brand in some cases follows the saying “ finger to the sky". The old poplars with which Kaluga is filled, Zelenstroevites prefer not to cut down at the roots, but to leave bare stumps of trunks sticking out everywhere as pillar monuments to living nature, pointing to the heavens, until they are overgrown with fresh shoots.

“Staked out” on the street

While Kaluga residents can breathe easily, they are much less lucky with water, although the city has four rivers at its disposal (Oka, Terepets, Kievka, Yachenka), and even a reservoir, not counting numerous springs both within the city and beyond. Only potential suicides swim within the city limits, the rest go far outside the city to lakes, and tap water is fragrant with the ineradicable smell of chlorine and is deposited with centimeter-long scale in teapots. If the water is not filtered, then 2-3 teapots a year are steadily sent to waste.

Oka River. On the horizon is the Gagarinsky Bridge - the entrance to Kaluga

From time to time, more impressive water disasters occur: either in the form of a random fountain on the street when there is no water in the taps, or in the discovery of chemicals of unknown origin in water. So in December 2011, the entire city was thirsty, and stores sold out of everything in a few hours. existing water: from regular to sparkling. At the same time, water utility workers tried to convince that the sewer-smelling water was suitable for consumption, and the city authorities timidly warned almost a day later that for a few days it would be better to use the water only for technical needs.

Spring water from 35 springs in and around the city, which is preferred by the majority of residents, according to ongoing research, only a quarter of the springs meets drinking standards. The consecrated springs with a high content of nitrates and E. coli are especially touching. You can, of course, hope that God will save you from an intestinal infection, but it’s better to be safe and stock up on powerful filters for your water supply.

Source of St. Lawrence in Podzavalie

Transport

City public:

buses, trolleybuses, minibuses.

By car: the federal highway M3 “Ukraine” passes through Kaluga, which connects the city with Moscow, Bryansk, as well as with Obninsk, a science city located in the north of the Kaluga region.7

Intercity bus services depart from Kaluga bus station. Bus routes connect the city with a significant number of settlements both in the region (including Obninsk, Borovsk, Kondrovo, etc.) and other federal subjects (Moscow, Orel, Smolensk, Voronezh, Bryansk, Tula, etc.)

Zheleznodorozhny: Kaluga is an important transport hub on the railway route. The Vyazma-Ryazhsk railway line passes through the city (Kaluga-1 station), the Moscow-Kyiv highway passes through a remote area of the city (Kaluga-2). Kaluga-1 station is exclusively suburban - electric trains to Moscow (including express trains) and Sukhinichi, diesel trains to Fayansovaya, Vyazma and Aleksin, diesel express trains to Tula and Uzlovaya. Long-distance trains stop at Kaluga-2 station.

Suburban train schedule: trains from Kaluga, trains to Kaluga, electric trains in the Kaluga region.

How to get to Kaluga from Moscow

1. By bus. You can get from the Teply Stan bus station to the Kaluga bus station in 3.5-4 hours. Ticket price: from 550 ₽.

2. By train. From the Kievsky railway station in Moscow you can get to the Kaluga-1 and Kaluga-2* stations in 2-2.5 hours. Ticket price: from 480 ₽.

3. By personal car. The city is located 161 km from the Moscow Ring Road along the Kyiv highway E101. Travel time depends on the capabilities of your car; we got there in about 2.5 hours.

* To walk around the center of Kaluga, you need to get off at Kaluga-1 station.

Sights of Kaluga

Kaluga is one of the oldest cities in the Russian land. It is over 600 years old. The founding date of the city is considered to be 1371, when it was first mentioned in the charter of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd. Located on the southwestern outskirts of the Moscow state, Kaluga land served as its outpost for a number of centuries. In the first half of the 18th century, Kaluga became one of the largest shopping centers in the country. In 1719, the Kaluga province was organized, and in 1776, the Kaluga province. This contributed to the further economic and cultural development of the city. To this day, entire neighborhoods have been preserved in the city, in which many buildings are architectural monuments of past centuries.

State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky (Akademika Koroleva St., 2)

State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky is the world's first and largest space museum in Russia. He

created with the direct participation of S.P. Koroleva and Yu.A. Gagarin. The Museum of Cosmonautics was opened in 1967. The unique exhibitions of the Museum of Cosmonautics reveal the history of aeronautics, aviation, and rocket and space technology. Tsiolkovsky's scientific heritage is comprehensively presented. The museum's exhibitions reflect the history of Russian cosmonautics from the first artificial Earth satellite to modern long-term orbital stations. The museum conducts research work to study and promote the creative heritage of K.E. Tsiolkovsky, domestic and foreign pioneers of rocket and space technology, A.L. Chizhevsky; history of rocketry and cosmonautics, dissemination of the idea of space exploration.

House-Museum of K.E. Tsiolkovsky (Tsiolkovsky St., 79)

The house-museum of the great Russian scientist Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky is located on the outskirts of the city of Kaluga near the Oka River. 29 years of Tsiolkovsky’s life are associated with this house. Here he wrote dozens of important works on aeronautics, aviation, jet propulsion, astronautics and other problems.

The last two years of his life K.E. Tsiolkovsky lived in house No. 1 on the street named after him, which was given to the scientist by the Kaluga City Council in connection with his 75th birthday.

On September 19, 1935, Tsiolkovsky died. A year later, on September 19, 1936, a museum was opened in Tsiolkovsky’s house. The interiors of the house, outbuildings, courtyard and garden have been recreated as they were during the life of the Tsiolkovsky family in this house. All premises of the House-Museum of K.E. Tsiolkovsky were restored to their original form. Most of the memorial exhibits are original, belonging to Tsiolkovsky himself or members of his family.

Chambers of Korobovs (Plekhanov St., 88)

One of the rare examples of “chamber architecture” of the late 17th century is the Korobov Chambers, which have been well preserved to this day. The building received its name after the first owner - Kaluga merchant Kirill Ivanovich Korobov, who was the zemstvo elder at that time. By 1870, when the last owner of the house died, the famous chambers, which had already been included in the list of rare ancient monuments at the beginning of the 19th century, fell into disrepair.

Over its long life, the house has acquired many legends. One of them connected him with the history of the Time of Troubles. In literature it was called “Marina Mnishek’s House” for many years, until local historians refuted this version. There was an opinion that an ancient house must have treasures, hiding places and underground passages. Therefore, when I.I. Korobov died and the house and all its property remained ownerless, many enterprising treasure hunters severely damaged the house, lifting floors, breaking stoves and walls. Since 1897, the house housed the provincial historical museum and the provincial scientific archival commission worked. Nowadays the house houses one of the exhibitions of the regional museum of local lore.

Zolotareva Estate (Pushkin St., 14)

The city estate of the late 18th - early 19th centuries of the merchant Zolotarev, due to its artistic design, allows us to attribute this architectural monument to the school of M. F. Kazakov, however, its original author is unknown. There is no complete clarity on the issue

about the time of construction of this palace by the Zolotarevs. Some historians believe that “the house was intended as a stopover for Empress Catherine II.” According to the logic of life facts, it turns out that the house built by Pyotr Maksimovich Zolotarev was really intended to receive distinguished guests, because neither the merchant himself nor his heirs ever lived in this house. The estate has preserved many small details that have not survived anywhere else. Probably, nowhere are there any big old lanterns near the porches, nowhere are there cobblestone streets with a large checkered pattern or an office that is “painted with greenery in the form of a grove” - in a word, everything that remains only on old drawings and on the pages of books.

Sukhotin House (Pushkin St.)

The house was built at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries by I. G. Bilibin and until the middle of the century belonged to his son, a major St. Petersburg businessman V. I. Bilibin. When the House was sold at auction for debts in 1848, it was discovered that it was in a state of disrepair. The collection of paintings by foreign masters was of greatest value. During the sale it was distributed among different owners. The house was bought by Kaluga judge A. M. Sukhotin. 10 years later, this house attracted the attention of all of Kaluga. The captive imam of Dagestan and Chechnya, the leader of the national liberation movement of the Caucasian highlanders against the tsarist colonialists and local feudal lords, Shamil, settled here. Kaluga residents forever associated the house on Pushkinskaya Street with his name, although this building later housed the city three-year school named after the Malyutin brothers from the 70s of the 19th century until 1917. And traditionally, schools still operate here.

Stone Bridge (Pushkin St.)

One of the most interesting architectural objects of Kaluga is the Stone Bridge over the Berezuevsky ravine. This bridge was built under the first governor of the Kaluga governorship Krechetnikov and is, according to the famous local historian D.I. Malinin, the largest viaduct in Russia. The construction of the bridge was caused by the need to solve the pressing transport problem, to connect the city center with the area located beyond the Berezuevsky ravine. The bridge project was developed by a student of D.V. Ukhtomsky, the famous Russian architect P.R. Nikitin.

The length of the bridge is about 160 meters, the height is more than 20 meters. The construction of the bridge was completed in 1785. The bridge rests on 15 large stone arches, 3 of which (in the center) are made of two floors. Initially, at the widened ends of the bridge, on both sides of the roadway, there were four stone buildings with seven benches in each of them, strictly symmetrically. In the 40s of the last century, during the repair of the bridge, the benches were dismantled and the parapet of the fence was removed. The bridge along its entire length received the existing lattice with chased brackets.

Gostiny Dvor

The famous Kaluga Gostiny Dvor was built according to the design of the famous architect Pyotr Romanovich Nikitin. The construction of the ensemble began in 1784. Five years later, only both southern buildings were completed. Due to difficulties that arose in connection with the demolition of numerous shops of different owners, by 1796 only both northern buildings (similar to the southern ones) were built, facing the Nikitsky Church with galleries, with gates between them and, next to

the southern building, one eastern one, facing the street. Despite all the whimsical architectural appearance of the ensemble, its composition is exceptionally clear and truly classical: the division of the facade with pilasters and the galleries with arches corresponds to the division of the buildings into separate, completely identical benches with one window, a door and a round window in the center of the mezzanine.

Kaluga Regional Drama Theater named after. A.V. Lunacharsky. theatre square

Back in 1777, the curtains of the Kaluga “Temple of Thalia and Melpomene” opened for the first time - this is how the drama theater began to be called then. All the preparatory work for its opening was carried out by the famous Russian theater figure of the second half of the 18th century, the first Russian entrepreneur N.S. Titov. The play for the first performance was written by the popular Russian poet of that time, Vasily Maikov, who called it “Prologue to the opening of the Kaluga governorship.” Kaluga has always been considered a “theater city”. It is not for nothing that such outstanding stage masters as People's Artists of the USSR V. Kachalov, I. Moskvin, A. Tarasov, M. Zharov, I. Ilyinsky, V. Maretskaya, V. Mercurier, N. Podgorny and many others loved to come to us.

Kaluga theatergoers still remember the names of People's Artist of the Russian Federation V. Nikitina, Honored Artists of the Russian Federation S. Sladky, T. Valasiadi, A. Tyurin. Directors who worked here for many years were Honored Artist of Russia D. Lyubarsky and Honored Worker of the Russian Federation R. Sokolov. Significant contributions to the development of theatrical art were made by artists E. Mormillovich, M. Stepanova, V. Tolschin

Honored artists of Russia M. Pakhomenko, L. Kremneva, E. Sumin, N. Efremenko, V. Logvinovsky work successfully here. The oldest theater actress T. I. Antonova gave more than 50 years of creative life to the Kaluga stage.

Kaluga became the organizer of the All-Russian festival “The Oldest Theaters of Russia in Kaluga”. Theatergoers have the opportunity to get acquainted with the best performances of the oldest theaters.

Central City Park of Culture and Recreation

Where today is the city park of culture and recreation, in the 16th century there were log walls of a fortress with 12 battle towers.

In 1606-1607, the fortress became a stronghold of the people who rebelled against the tsar under the leadership of Ivan Isaevich Bolotnikov. By 1700, the Kaluga fortress burned down and was never restored. The territory of the fortress began to be built up. For several generations of Kaluga residents, the park is a favorite vacation spot.

In the center of the park is the Trinity Cathedral. At all times he attracted people's attention. The fate of the cathedral throughout its existence was not easy. Even his birth was protracted: it began in 1786 and ended only in 1819. If you walk from the river along the slope of the long-filled Gorodets ravine, you can see the once voivode’s hut. The Kaluga governor lived there, and so did Bolotnikov...

Route through the center of Kaluga

We arrived in Kaluga in the afternoon, so we only had a few hours to walk. And we had to have lunch in time.

I left the route for a walk around the city and notes about attractions and other important places on this map. It is interactive and can be controlled via the button in the upper left corner.

Square of victory

We were able to leave the car a 5-minute walk from Victory Square, on Stepan Razin Boulevard (I indicated this place on the map). The square itself looks like a perfect circle. Here is the Victory Monument, a monument to Zhukov, Prisoners of Nazi camps and the Unknown Soldier. And from here there is a good view of the Church of Cosmas and Damian (Cosmodamian Church).

We reached the square through the center of the boulevard, from where a wonderful view of the significant Victory Monument opened up.

That monument between the trees is the Victory Monument

We walked through Victory Square and headed to Kirova Street, namely to the boulevard: it’s nice to walk there and sit on a bench with the monument.

Victory Square: it turned out a little Soviet.

Boulevard named after Kirov

Kirov Boulevard is located on Kirov Street, at the junction with Victory Square. On its territory there are two interesting monuments: a veteran with a dog and a policeman with a dog. For what reason both sculptures on this boulevard are decorated with dogs remains a mystery to us. Do you know the answer? Write in the comments!

Monument to a WWII veteran on Kirov Boulevard

Kirov Boulevard in Kaluga

Monument to the Policeman with a dog

Restobar "Private Practice"

Walking along Kirov Street, we were looking for a restaurant for lunch. First, we went to the “It’s in the Sauce” cafe in the “European” shopping center, which we chose based on the recommendations of bloggers from the network. However, we were not pleased with the menu and prices, but the matter ended simply: we left after 10 minutes when they didn’t even think about accepting our order. We wanted to eat quickly, but we didn’t dare pay any money for such an “unobtrusive” service. Save yourself the disappointment in advance.

On the way to the bar, on the streets of Kaluga

We moved on and decided to trust tripadvisor.ru. So our choice fell on the “Private Practice” bar. Oh, the choice turned out to be wonderful: the atmosphere and design are mesmerizing, the cuisine is not bad: they even offered us drinks that were not on the menu and treated us to delicious homemade lemonade, because we didn’t drink alcohol, we had a long way home. The bar seemed so cool that I would return to the city for it.

Central Park of Kaluga

This park was the farthest attraction, and it was where we were going to end our walk and from there head back to the car. There we planned to see an incredible panorama of the Oka River and the southern part of the city, walk under the treetops and the Holy Trinity Cathedral.

On the way to Central Park, we managed to admire the red rows of the Old Market and Lenin Square. We ate ice cream in the park.

Rows on Old Torg Square

Lenin Square in Kaluga

So we came to the Central Park of Kaluga. However, it was closed for scheduled tick treatment. Lucky, as always.

It turned out that this park is one of those where you can’t come with a dog or come by bicycle. A classic of Russian culture and recreation, unfortunately.

theatre square

From the park we started walking back to the car, but decided to walk through the pedestrian Teatralnaya Street to the Drama Theater and Theater Square.

The last attraction of our trip to Kaluga is the Temple of the Holy Prophet John the Baptist

This is where our walk ended: we got to our car and drove home. See you at the next location!

Interesting facts about Kaluga

There is a “network” of street libraries in Kaluga

All over the city, next to its main buildings, there are small makeshift cabinets with bookshelves right on the street. "Street libraries", "free

libraries" or "free book exchange" - they are called differently, but their function is the same: anyone can take a book from the bookcase, even forever, and voluntarily replenish the "library shelves." The tradition of street libraries, which exist in Europe and some large cities of Russia, was born in Kaluga in June 2013 - then the first one was opened near the People's House. Now there are more than 20 such libraries in the city, and their number is constantly growing: libraries are appearing near administrative buildings and educational institutions. The founders of the tradition: regional governor Anatoly Artamonov and director of the Kaluga Regional Real Estate Service Viktor Afonin.

Kaluga is depicted on a commemorative coin with a face value of 10 rubles

In 2002, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation began issuing commemorative non-precious coins in the “Ancient Cities of Russia” series, the list of which included Kaluga. On the reverse of the coin is an ancient panorama of the city with a church and the Stone Bridge and a modern coat of arms. The coin was released on June 1, 2009.

Kaluga is located on the site of an ancient volcano, which is why anomalous natural phenomena are observed in the city

According to scientists, the city is located above a tectonic fault. The most popular hypothesis is that there was an active volcano here millions of years ago. A tectonic fault contributes to the manifestation of internal Earth currents on the surface, which is the cause of little-studied anomalous phenomena that residents of Kaluga encounter. In particular, thanks to this geophysical location of the city, a mystical “crimson fog” “flares up” here, which is discussed in one of the episodes of the educational series of TV3 TV programs “Urban Legends” (“Urban Legends. Kaluga - a window into space”).

There is a haunted house in Kaluga

Residents of house No. 100 on Lenin Street - a five-story building with a Clock store on the ground floor - every year for several autumn weeks (late October - early November) they prefer to spend most of their time on the street, because in the house... they see ghosts. Extraneous sounds, dark silhouettes, inexplicable behavior of pets - all this instills a chilling feeling of fear.

The history of the house began in 1937 - it was built on the site of the dismantled Archangel Church, and from its own materials. The temple was located here already in 1626, according to the inventory. John Zaretsky, the priest of the church, could not survive the blasphemous attitude towards the temple and died shortly after its closure. During the construction of the house, they decided to convert the basement of the church into a boiler room: burials of clergymen, whose fate is unknown, were found within its walls. In addition, the grandmother of one of the residents of the house witnessed the fascist occupation of October-December 1941: according to her, there was a military tribunal in the apartment of this house. The house is visited by researchers and paranormal enthusiasts.

Infrastructure, or Road extreme

The increase in the number of housing under construction in general is a trump factor for the city, and for residents of dilapidated neighboring buildings it is a subject of irritation and envy. Many Kaluga residents cannot afford to put things in order, make repairs and replace internal communications. The maintenance of houses as a whole directly depends on the irrepressible activity of the residents themselves. If there are initiators in the house to get their own housing company with the meticulousness of a woodpecker, you can achieve both repairs and replacement of what is necessary. Compared to the previous period, the state of housing and communal services has begun to improve to a certain extent, however, officials in this area cannot do without incidents and naive confusion (including “confusion” of funds).

As with the cost of housing, Kaluga occupies one of the leading places in terms of prices for electricity, water supply and sanitation in the Central Federal District (if we strive forward, this is true in all respects!). An interesting explanation for this fact, among others, was found by the Minister of Competition Policy and Tariffs. In his opinion, changes in the normative consumption of services are largely to blame. We can only assume that Kaluga residents have stopped turning off the lights at night or are washing continuously, although in fact the abnormal consumption of water and electricity is not related to the residents, but to the state of the water and energy supply systems.

Just as the residents of Kaluga continuously pour water, they also continuously travel somewhere. If earlier the main and only public transport were trolleybuses, which were taken by storm due to the rarity of their passage, now constantly scurrying minibuses in the form of “Gazelles” and PAZ buses will take those who want to any part of the city. Another question is that sometimes it is easier to walk than to drive.

Transport diversity. Transport has already stopped towards the center

Kaluga streets are for the most part narrow, like a bottleneck, and even according to the often quoted phrase of the heroine Irina Muravyova from the film “Carnival,” which was partially filmed in Kaluga, “this is not a city, these are some kind of solid mountains and hillocks!”

With a complete and catastrophic lack of parking, all the sides on the left and right are occupied by cars, so sometimes it is almost impossible for two cars, not to mention buses, to pass each other in the middle of the street.

Maneuvering between holes and ditches...

If we add to this the disastrous state of the roads themselves: a year after repairs with a 10-year warranty, the road begins to look like a bumpy-ditch training ground with manhole covers sticking out in the middle for high-quality obstacle overcoming - one cannot be surprised at the constant traffic collapse. In addition to all this, Kaluga could not ignore one more area of development and recently took an honorable fifth place “in terms of motorization of Russian cities.”

There are persistent rumors that the German investors who built Volkswagen offered to make roads with a 100-year guarantee, but the regional authorities apparently refused to inject funds annually into basic repairs and repairs of already repaired ones, which are much more profitable.

Kaluga residents do not hope that road and transport problems will resolve in the near future, since the speed of their solution is no more than the speed of cars during rush hours, that is, zero. Recent attempts to expand the trolleybus ring in the center and make travel on some streets one-way not only did not improve the situation, but added even more traffic jams and confusion.

How can one not dream together with the governor about the development of air and water transport. In grandiose plans, the Grabtsevo airport, overgrown with weeds, should become the Kaluga international airport, and shipping on the shallowed Oka River, along which the motor ship Luch occasionally passes from Kaluga towards Aleksin, should expand.

What is in complete order in the infrastructure of Kaluga is the number of churches and temples per capita. The Kaluga diocese has put almost all of the churches that were misused (about twenty) in order, and new churches are being built in new microdistricts.

The restored Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, which housed the Pioneer cinema during Soviet rule

If kindergartens were returned and built at the same speed, which Kaluga is sorely lacking, parents of young children would pray for the health of local authorities. For now, they are only limiting themselves to thanks for additional payments of 4,500 rubles from the city budget if the child did not have enough space in kindergarten.

The city is provided with schools, as opposed to preschool institutions. True, some of the former secondary schools, due to the modernization of regional education, have become nine-year schools. Residents of these microdistricts are concerned that these schools will suffer the fate of kindergartens, lost in past years and so needed now.