the navigator museum and others.
Kolomna Pastille Museum. Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
With this diversity, it is worth bearing in mind that not all Kolomna museums can be freely visited. This is not the usual option when you come in, buy a ticket and inspect the exhibition.
In almost all Kolomna museums, the inspection is possible only as part of group excursions, and there can be only one or two of them per day. You need to make an appointment in advance.
Therefore, if there is a desire to get acquainted with the exposition of museums and not miss a single excursion, it is worth carefully studying the schedule of work and time of excursions when planning a trip in order to plan a city tour based on the schedule of visiting museums.
Another option is to come to Kolomna not for one, but for two days, and leave the second one completely for visits to museums.
At the entrance to the Gramophone Museum in Kolomna. Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
We originally planned to return home on the same day, so we only got to those museums that we managed to.
And only one succeeded – it was the Artkommunalka residence museum, recreated on the site of a huge communal apartment, where 26 families, more than a hundred people, lived at one time. There were 40-50 children of different ages living in this apartment all the time, so it was never quiet here.
Artcommunalka Residence Museum. Yerofeyev and others”, Kolomna. Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
During a tour of the communal apartment (the museum is located only in part of the former huge apartment), you can see the belongings of the residents and the furnishings of similar apartments from the 60s of the last century: furniture, books, toys, clothes and interior items. The cost of an excursion lasting about 40 minutes is 400 rubles.
In the Artcommunalka Residence Museum. Yerofeyev and others”, Kolomna. Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE CITY AND THE LOCAL WATER CARRIER
For lovers of panoramic views and photography, we recommend going up to the observation deck on the bell tower St. John the Theologian Church. The entrance costs 150 rubles, you can climb three levels.
John’s Bell Tower- The Theological Church, Kolomna. Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
The bell tower is located in the center of the city and the view from here is beautiful – on the Kremlin and Cathedral Square.
View of the Cathedral Square from the Bell Tower of St. John the Theologian Church, Kolomna. Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
View from the Bell Tower of St. John the Theologian Church in Kolomna. Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
There is a monument to Lenin not far from the church with a bell tower. According to the guide, some time ago vandals broke off his right arm, which he was pointing somewhere in the distance. After that, the sculptors attached a new right arm to him, which, as the residents say, for some reason is about one and a half times longer than it should be. If Vladimir Ilyich lowers this hand, it will be below his knee.
One of the interesting sights in the city is also the monument to the water carrier. It is located next to the scale, where records of spring floods are noted.
Monument to a water carrier in Kolomna. Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
Water in Kolomna was transported in wooden barrels until the beginning of the XX century, then a water supply system was built. The monument to the water carrier was erected not so long ago, but it has already become popular.
Local residents use it to determine the level of the Moscow River spill: they monitor how the river has overflowed – “to the boots”, “to the waist” or “to the cap”. In some years, the monument was sometimes completely hidden under water. The profession of a water carrier no longer exists, but these phrases have been preserved here since those times.
WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU FROM KOLOMNA
It is worth trying a pastille in Kolomna, of course. This sweetness appeared in the city in the Middle Ages as a way to preserve the apple harvest. Thanks to the enthusiastic residents, the old recipe was revived and the production of that very pastille was resumed.
Now there are more than 30 varieties of delicacies produced here, which are made from berries and fruits, mainly from Antonovka apples. Kolomna has a pastille museum, but you can also visit it with an excursion and by appointment.
Kolomna kalach is a local brand paired with a pastille. The ancient craft in the city has also been restored, rolls are baked according to pre-revolutionary recipes. By the way, now, as then, they are made with a “handle”, a round bow. Previously, it was needed for hygiene reasons – they baked rolls on the street, there was nowhere to wash their hands. People ate them, holding this very handle, then gave it to dogs or beggars – those who did not disdain to finish eating the discarded shackles. Hence the expression “to reach the handle”, that is, to go down completely.
You can try the famous rolls with various fillings at the popular Kalachnaya Museum, but keep in mind that there is a queue in it from morning to evening, and you also need to sign up for tea excursions.
The queue for rolls can be observed in Kolomna all day. Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
As for local specialty drinks, at retail outlets, of which there are many in the city, they were treated to branded lemonade in the hot summer, fragrant mead is sure to become more popular now. For those who are driving, I recommend taking it home with you: you can choose from a variety of options in the draught drinks store.
If, after reading the article, there is a desire not only to come to this wonderful city for a day, but even to stay overnight and devote full time to various museums of interest (which do not forget to pre-register!), there will be no problems with accommodation – guests will not stay in Kolomna without an overnight stay.
Here, in relative proximity to the city center, or even in the very center, you can find small cozy mini-hotels in old buildings, standard hotels, and unusual ones – for example, on the water.
Anna Filatovskaya
Photo: Anna Filatovskaya, for ATOR
