Tikhvin, Tikhvin... the name, of course, is well known. But how much do you know about this town in the Leningrad region to immediately answer the question: is it necessary to go there for the weekend? Based on tourist ratings, it is in the second ten cities popular among tourists. This is influenced primarily by remoteness. For this reason, attractions are found here no less often than in the nearest St. Petersburg suburbs. Therefore, it is unlikely that it will be possible to thoroughly examine Tikhvin in 1 day.
Therefore, let's look at the pros and cons.
- The distance from St. Petersburg to Tikhvin, which can ruin your mood
- Sights of Tikhvin: so that what you see coincides with what you expect
- You need to go to Tikhvin if...
View of the Mother of God Assumption Monastery from Fishovaya Mountain
The distance from St. Petersburg to Tikhvin, which can ruin your mood
To make everything fair, let's start not with descriptions of the delightfully quiet, cute streets of a small town, but with numbers.
215, 217 or 219 kilometers. This is the distance from St. Petersburg to Tikhvin. Online services for measuring mileage between points A and B differ in their readings. But in this case, you can’t measure it with a ruler. But you must admit, two or three “extra” kilometers will no longer matter much when the remaining 215 are already behind you.
What are these numbers for? To explain to you: this city is located further than the usual Pavlovsk, Gatchina and even Vyborg. If you decide to see its sights, the drive will take about two and a half hours one way. It’s better to count on a three-hour journey, so that there are no disappointments like “we’ve been traveling for a long time, but Tikhvin is still not there.”
Tikhvin: sunset over the field
Leningrad region. Sights of the city of Tikhvin
The city of Tikhvin is located in the Leningrad region, approximately 200 km east of St. Petersburg. It is interesting primarily for its places of power - monasteries with shrines located in them and can be an excellent option for a weekend trip.
Tikhvin, how to get there from St. Petersburg
By your car
Getting from St. Petersburg to Tikhvin is not difficult; there are a lot of different types of transport. How to get there on your own by car probably doesn’t make sense, because... Today everyone has navigators (we use the free MAPS.ME.Pro application for Android) - we turned it on and hit the road. The most difficult thing here is to get onto the Murmansk highway and not get stuck in traffic jams.
By public transport
If you don’t have your own car or for some reason you don’t want to drive yourself, public transport is at your service - minibuses, buses, electric trains, trains. Buses and minibuses to Tikhvin go from different areas of St. Petersburg, electric trains leave from Ladozhsky station, in addition, there are also trains departing from Moskovsky station. In general, choose according to your taste and preferences. See schedule, travel time and cost below.
Schedule, travel time, cost
Tikhvin Mother of God Assumption Monastery
In the town itself there is the Tikhvin Mother of God Assumption Monastery, which is a must-visit.
The monastery is beautiful in itself and, moreover, well located - it stands right on the river bank.
The yard is quite large, with colorful buildings.
The monastery is active, so don’t forget about closed clothes. But this place is known not only for its beauty and peaceful atmosphere.
Here is the Miraculous Icon of the Mother of God, to which you can venerate and pray for yourself and your loved ones. The line is usually small and moves quickly.
There is a belfry in the courtyard.
About once an hour you can enter it and go upstairs; visiting times are indicated on the doors.
There is also such a “cat” gazebo in the monastery.
In general, there are a lot of cats of all kinds in the monastery.
If you are hungry, the Monastery Tea House is at your service.
You can eat deliciously and inexpensively. For example, Mimosa salad - 50 rubles, cheesecakes with sour cream - 100 rubles, dumplings stuffed with red fish (a local delicacy) - 350 rubles.
There are more substantial dishes and a variety of baked goods.
At a stall nearby you can buy fresh monastery bread, kvass and mulled wine on Cahors. There are several souvenir shops, including behind the walls at the entrance.
There is also a “monastic pharmacy” selling herbal products.
You can walk around the territory for a long time - there is no hurry here.
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV HOUSE-MUSEUM
Not far from the monastery, across the river, there is another attraction of Tikhvin - the house-museum of Rimsky-Korsakov.
Entrance fee is only 130 rubles. And the museum is interesting.
But the guide of this museum is even more interesting - it’s a pleasure to listen to her. This is the first time I’ve seen such passionate tour guides...
ANTONYEV-DYMSKY MONASTERY
There is another monastery - Antoniyevo-Dymsky. Located 20 km southeast of the city, in the village of Senno, near Lake Dyskoye.
It is famous for its lake with holy water.
According to legend, Anthony of Dymsky prayed for a long time on a boulder in the center of the lake, thereby calling the blessing of the Mother of God to these places.
The territory of the monastery is now in the process of reconstruction, but this does not prevent you from enjoying the silence and blissful peace of this place.
In winter - walk around the cross, venerate it and draw holy water from the ice hole.
Near the lake is the chapel of St. Anthony.
TEMPLE OF THE HOLY TRINITY
And closer to the exit from the monastery is the Church of the Holy Trinity.
The relics of Anthony of Dymsky rest here.
A visit to these places immediately changes your internal state, and you feel a surge of energy for a very long time.
If Tikhvin were a little closer, we would go there every month!
Grave of Prophetic Oleg
If you are traveling by car, then along the way, look into Staraya Ladoga and bow to the grave of the Prophetic Oleg, the founder of the Old Russian state.
Sights of Tikhvin on the map
Sights of Tikhvin: so that what you see coincides with what you expect
You also need to understand in advance why you are actually going to Tikhvin. We have already talked about distance, so I would also like to honestly add this. THERE are no lush palace complexes and chic suburban parks that surround St. Petersburg. Because of this, residents of the metropolis may experience slight dissonance from a lack of understanding of the discreet beauty of a provincial town.
Have you changed your mind about going yet? Very well. Tikhvin has something for the avid traveler to see. We even prepared a long, long article entitled “The Great Encyclopedia from A to Z: Sights of Tikhvin.” It turned out to be 20 pages in small print. You would just get tired of reading it.
Therefore, before your trip, take a look at this map and you will be convinced that Tikhvin is not only the famous miraculous icon that “transparently traveling through the air” was transported from Constantinople to the banks of Tikhvinka. This is not only the home of the great Russian composer, who retold the tales of the great Russian poet in a musical way. These are 60 more places that will help you understand the character of a small but important city in the history of the country.
Lake Tabory and the main monastery of Tikhvin
Tikhvin
If you are traveling with children, then Tikhvin is not a place that should cause you anxiety about this. Hotels, catering, short distances in the old part of the city, plenty of greenery... Everything is quite comfortable.
I think that for such a trip it is much better to choose a warm time of year, so that children have the opportunity to run, jump, and frolic.
Boring views of the winter, late autumn and early spring city will not scare off an adult tourist or pilgrim (after all, their main task is to view temples and museums), but for children the emotional mood created by the surrounding beauty of nature and the sun is very important.
I am sure that children will really enjoy visiting the museum of the composer Rimsky-Korsakov. You can even tell your child about his life and work in advance, let him listen to some musical fragments, read the fairy tales based on which he created operas.
After all, it’s unlikely that anyone will be left indifferent by A. N. Ostrovsky’s tender spring fairy tale “The Snow Maiden.”
A visit to this museum will be especially useful for children studying in music schools.
Aren't boys (and girls) interested in a trip to the Tikhvin Lock?!
You just need to find out in more detail in advance what kind of curiosity this is (hydraulic unit), the principle of its operation and the purpose, why such a structure was built on Tikhvinka.
You see, you and I are not just having a trip, but also involuntary self-education for the sake of our little whys.
Visiting monastery churches is also useful for children. They sense the surrounding atmosphere with their hearts much better than adults.
For teenagers, here you can take an interesting excursion into the history of Russia, showing the relationship between spirituality, culture and politics. Tell us about the heroism of the Tikhvin people during the Swedish intervention. How the nuns of a convent under the leadership of the abbess (formerly the Empress-Tsarina) had to hide in dugouts when enemies ravaged and burned their monastery. How then these fragile women revived her again more beautiful than before.
When visiting memorial sites in the city that preserve memories of the Great Patriotic War, also talk to your children about the past.
It would be appropriate to talk about the siege of Leningrad, which courageously fought in the Nazi ring.
When history is taught not by an auntie with a pointer in the classroom, but like this “live”, when parents talk about it, it will never fly past a child’s ear. To develop your horizons, a visit to the local history museum of the city will do you good.
You can have fun at the Tikhvin Aquapark.
If your trip coincides with some kind of festival, then the children will definitely have a lot of joyful emotions!
On occasion, visit the “Vepsian Forest”, having previously agreed on a visit at the Vepsian Culture Center. It’s all somehow fabulous, surprisingly kind. Maybe you and your child will be able to take part in a lesson on making a national doll and try Vepsian pies.
When walking around the city, focus your children’s attention on interesting houses. Let their eyes also learn to be surprised when they encounter a carved frame or an unusual facade.
Invite your child to do a photo shoot of local attractions so that he can find something that deserves to be captured with your photographic equipment. And always take a good mood with you on your trip!
Then even the frequent Tikhvin rains will not dull it, but rather refresh it!
