Kaluga

by Svetlana Tarasova

Name: Svetlana Tarasova

Age: 30

Profession: Photographer

City: Kaluga

How long have you been doing photography? About a year.

Can you give us a short description of your city? Where is it located? What is it famous for? Kaluga is a city located in the central part of European Russia, and is the capital of the Kaluga region. The city stands on the banks of the Oka River, about 190 km southwest of Moscow. It is a railway station on the Moscow-Kiev line.

The founding date of Kaluga is not known, but it is some time in the first part of the fourteenth century. The first written mention of Kaluga was in 1371. It was then a small fortress of the Moscow state.

Kaluga is known first of all because of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (the Russian space program founder). He was living and working in Kaluga in 1892-1935. That's why the city is often called the cradle of the Russian space exploration.

The city has a Space Museum – the world's first and largest museum in Russia about space exploration. It was created with the direct participation of Sergei Korolev and Yuri Gagarin.

What are some things that only locals would know about the city?

One of the most famous Russian photography schools is in Kaluga.

Kaluga is also famous for its great number of churches.

There are many preserved historical places and cosy old yards, making the town a favorite destination for filmmakers.

Which places or sites are a must for someone to see if they visit your city?

Korobov Chambers (an example of "chamber architecture" from the end of the 17th century)
Zolotaryov Estate (the end of the 18th - early 19th centuries)
Trinity Cathedral (1786-1819)
Kaluga Gostiny Dvor, built by the famous architect Pyotr Romanovich Nikitin (1784)
The Stone Bridge across Berezuysky Ravine (1775-1778), one of the largest viaducts in Russia (160 meters).

There are also many museums, from The House-Museum of Tsiolkovsky (Tsiolkovsky Street, 79/81) and The House Museum ofChizhevsky (Moskovskaya Street, 62), to these others:

Kaluga Regional Art Museum (Lenin Street, 104)
Kaluga Regional Museum of Local Lore (Pushkin Street, 14)
Tsiolkovsky State Museum of the History of Cosmonautics (Academician Korolev Street, 2)
Kaluga Planetarium (Academician Korolev Street, 2)
The Museum of Crafts, Architecture and Life (Kirov Street, 45/16)
The Municipal Cultural Institution "The House of Masters" (Grigorov Lane, 9)
The Puppet Museum "Bereginya" (Moskovsky district, Kozlovo village, 1)
The Museum of the War of 1812 (Maloyaroslavets town, Moskovskaya Street, 27, 23, 13)

Anything else? Come to see Kaluga, becouse it is the heart of Russia!

Website: http://www.tarasova-svetlana.inspider.ru/

Instagram: @starasovaventsolaire