Eagle and the region specialize in literary and cultural tourism. Many sights of the city are associated with the names of famous Russian writers - I. S. Turgenev, N. Leskov, I. A. Bunin. Orel has several literary museums, a couple of atmospheric theaters, themed parks and monuments.
Also, tourists will be interested in the monuments of temple architecture of the 17th - 19th centuries, built in different architectural styles: from traditional Russian architecture to strict classicism. The city center, the banks of the Orlik and Oka rivers are a picturesque historical space, built up with mansions, beautiful churches and consisting of squares and well-groomed alleys. It is very pleasant to walk here and admire the city landscape.
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What to see and where to go in Oryol?
The most interesting and beautiful places for walking. Photos and a short description.
Sculpture "Eagle-Anniversary"
The eagle sculpture was installed on the Railway Station Square in 2016, since then it has been considered the symbol of the city. A bronze bird spreading its wings greets everyone who arrives at Eagle by train. She sits on a pedestal in the form of a globe. The monument was made by a local sculptor at the expense of JSC "Corporation" GRINN ", which decided to make, thus, a gift to the city.
Lenin Street
A pedestrian street in the historic center of the city, which is the main promenade area of Oryol. Along it, in the former noble mansions, there are shops, cafes, offices and administrative offices. Lenin Street is about 600 meters long; it starts at the Aleksandrovsky Bridge and ends at Lenin Square. From the end of the 19th century to the 1970s, trams ran on it, but as part of the improvement of the city, traffic was stopped.
Oryol Museum of Local Lore
The museum was founded at the end of the 19th century, thus, it is the oldest in Oryol. The number of exhibits in the collection is over 170 thousand. The institution has two branches: the V. Rusanov House-Museum and the Military History Museum. The exhibition areas display paintings, documents, household items, antique coins, crystal, porcelain, textiles and antique furniture.
Military History Museum
The collection is a branch of the Oryol Museum of Local Lore. She appeared in 1983. The main exhibit is a diorama depicting the events of the Oryol offensive operation in 1943. The canvas, 33 meters long and 9 meters wide, was created by the artist A. I. Kurnakov. In 11 halls of the museum there are items dedicated to military topics: archival documents, letters, awards, photographs, personal belongings of soldiers.
Art Museum
The art gallery was opened in 1919. For almost a hundred years, more than 7 thousand exhibits have accumulated in its funds: paintings, sculptures, drawings and objects of decorative and applied art. Of particular value is the collection of icons from the 18th-19th centuries, as well as a selection of portraits of aristocrats and members of the royal family of the same period. The gallery has a foreign department, where several hundred works by authors from England, Italy, Germany, Poland and Austria are exhibited.
Museum of collectible dolls
A young exposition that opened in Oryol in 2016. It is made up of dolls depicting famous characters: actors, stage stars, writers, artists. In total, the collection consists of about 1000 exhibits. The museum is popular with visitors of all ages and professions - both children and experienced theater directors and respectable doctors will find something interesting for themselves.
Museum of I.S. Turgenev
An exposition dedicated to the writer opened at the beginning of the 20th century on the territory of a noble estate of the 19th century, which once belonged to a distant relative of I. Turgenev. The collection of exhibits and the formation of the collection was carried out by a specially created Turgenev Society. In 1976, some of the items moved to the author's family house in Spassky-Lutovinovo.
I. Bunin Museum
The house-museum is located in the historical center of the city. In the 1960s, a unique collection was collected, including manuscripts, letters, books, documents, personal belongings of I. Bunin, which numbered several thousand copies. The institution officially opened only in 1991, it was housed in a 19th century mansion. The exposition tells about the fate of the writer, his life in Russia until the 1920s and in emigration.
House-Museum of N. Leskov
Another house-museum, the exposition of which is dedicated to another famous writer - N. Leskov. It is also located on the territory of an old 19th century mansion, built on the site where the Leskov family estate was located earlier. The exhibition is located in six rooms, it consists of several hundred copies, which include books, portraits, documents, autographs and furniture.
House-Museum of V. Rusanov
VA Rusanov is a scientist and explorer of the Arctic. He was born in Orel and died at the age of 38 in Taimyr. The museum named after him is located in a wooden mansion located in the historical center of the city, where wealthy merchants usually settled. The collection occupies only part of the building, the second is given over to an exposition dedicated to the life of Orlov residents in the 19th - early 20th centuries.
Theater "Russian Style"
Chamber theater, designed for only 50 spectators. He is the youngest in Oryol (founded in 1994). Over the years, he has formed a repertoire, and formed his own grateful audience. The theater's poster includes plays based on the works of A. N. Ostrovsky, N. Leskov, A. P. Chekhov, V. M. Shukshin, L. Andreev, as well as performances by contemporary playwrights.
Theater "Free Space"
The stage was founded in 1976 as the Oryol Theater for Young People. The first performances aroused great interest and received a positive assessment from the audience. Since the 1990s, the troupe has been touring other countries, the administration invites foreign directors to stage productions, thanks to which the professionalism of the actors is constantly growing, and the theater's repertoire is expanding.
Epiphany Cathedral
The temple was built in the 17th century, it is the oldest stone building in Eagle and the only surviving building in that part of the city where the Oryol fortress once stood. The surviving church is a building of the early 18th century (the second stone building) in the Naryshkin Baroque style. In 1837 it was expanded and rebuilt in the classical manner, in 1900 the bell tower was rebuilt in the neo-Russian style.
Temple of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God
The currently existing building of the temple was erected at the end of the 19th century, partly at the expense of representatives of the well-to-do Serebrennikov family. For quite a long time, a school for the poor was functioning at the church, during the Soviet period the building fell into disrepair, but after restoration it again acquired an elegant and even luxurious look. A particularly revered shrine of the temple is the icon of the Smolensk Mother of God "The Tsaritsa".
Iberian Church
The Iberian Church was built in the late 19th - early 20th centuries in honor of the enthronement of Nicholas II. The funds for the work were allocated by the Oryol railroad workers. Apparently, therefore, the construction was decided to be located near the railway station. The building was erected in a picturesque eclectic style - in its appearance you can see features of the Russian, Byzantine and even Romanesque manners.
Akhtyrsky Cathedral
The church is located on the high bank of the Oka River in the center of the city (previously the Pyatnitskaya Sloboda was located here), due to which its bell tower is visible from afar. It is believed that it was built with the money of the merchant K. Pastukhov at the end of the 18th century, who, thanks to a miraculous prayer, was healed of an old illness.In Soviet times, the cathedral was closed for a short time, but then services were resumed and in 1962 it was given the status of a cathedral.
Michael the Archangel Cathedral
Magnificent building in classical style, located on the banks of the Orlik river. The temple was erected at the beginning of the 19th century on the site of two old churches, which no longer accommodated all parishioners and, moreover, were dilapidated. The Archangel Michael Cathedral is considered the most beautiful temple in the city, after its construction it was used for celebrations and reception of royal persons.
Holy Dormition Monastery
Men's cloister of the 17th century. Its architectural ensemble was finally formed by the end of the 19th century, but already in 1917 the monastery was closed, and a children's colony was placed on its territory. The complex reopened in 1998. Today it consists of the main cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, two churches, a chapel and administrative buildings.
Vvedensky monastery
Convent founded in the 17th century. In 1844, after a big fire, the monastery was moved to another place on the outskirts and began to build anew. In the 1920s, the complex of buildings was converted into a village for railway workers, and the main church was completely demolished. Monastic life resumed in the 1990s. After the restoration, the work of the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, Elizabeth Feodorovna and the Resurrection of the Word was resumed.
Monument to tankmen - liberators of the city of Oryol
The monument is located on the territory of the Tankers' Square. It is a model of the T-34 tank mounted on a pedestal. Until 1968, its place was taken by a T-70 sample, which was later transferred to the Military History Museum. A picturesque alley paved with paving stones leads to the monument with a flower bed, along the edges of which slender rows of trees are planted.
Monument to A. Ermolov
The outstanding military leader A. Ermolov was born and was buried in Orel, he came from a family of local nobles. A monument in his honor was erected in 2012 on the territory of a small park, also named after the commander. The five-meter equestrian sculpture, somewhat reminiscent of the Bronze Horseman, was made of bronze by R.R.Yusupov. Together with the granite pedestal, the monument is over 9 meters long.
Monument to N. Leskov
The monument to the writer was erected in the 1980s opposite the former Oryol gymnasium, which he once graduated from. It is a part of a sculptural composition, consisting of literary characters in the works of N. Leskov: Lefty, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk district, Dumb artist, Enchanted wanderer, Soboryan. The writer himself is sitting on a bench, pensively looking into the distance.
Library named after I. Bunin
The regional library is the largest and oldest in the city and in the entire region. It was opened in the 1830s by the order of the governor. During the 19th century, the book collection was closed twice, and in 1917 it was nationalized. Today, the funds store more than 600 thousand printed publications and electronic materials. A particularly valuable part of the collection is several hundred books of the 15th-18th centuries and about 10 thousand pre-revolutionary editions.
Railway station building
The building of the railway station is a real decoration of Eagle, its appearance pleasantly surprises passengers who have just got off the train. The building is distinguished by original architecture with notes of monumental classics, Art Nouveau and even Portuguese Manueline (the roof edging is made in this style). Open galleries are located on the sides of the building, where wide staircases lead.
The building of the branch of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation
The incredibly expressive building of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation occupies an entire city block. It was built in 1899 in the pseudo-Russian style according to the project of S.K. Rodionov for the Commercial Bank and is the best example of this style on the territory of the Oryol region. Its bright red façade and decorative towers adorn the surrounding area, giving the streets a more festive feel.
Park of culture and rest
The park was founded in 1822 on the initiative of the governor, who thus took care of the cultural leisure of the townspeople. In the 19th century, fairs were held on its territory and gypsy ensembles performed. The zone was divided into a paid part for wealthy residents of Orlov and a free part for everyone else. After 1917, the entire park was opened for free access. In the 1950s and 1960s, a complete reconstruction was carried out after the destruction of the Second World War.
"Noble Nest"
Park and literary reserve, located on the banks of the Orlik river. In the 19th century, there was an estate of local aristocrats with a wooden mansion, where the heroine of I. Turgenev Liza lived from the work "Noble Nest". The garden of the same name was opened in 1903, at the same time they erected a bust of the writer and built a pier. Performances, concerts and musical evenings were often held here. The place is mentioned in the works of I. Bunin, N. Leskov and KD Balmont.
Memorial square "Strelka"
The park is located at the confluence of Orlik and Oka, where a fortress was founded in the 16th century by order of Ivan the Terrible. On its territory there is a memorial obelisk with a height of 27 meters, on which the image of the ancient coat of arms is placed, as well as the chronicle of the main historical events associated with the city. Nearby there is a monument to the 400th anniversary of the founding of Eagle.
Saburovskaya fortress
The Saburovskaya fortress is the name of the preserved section of the estate fence of the Kamensky estate, made in the form of a fortress wall, four towers, as well as the preserved buildings of the theater and the church of Michael the Archangel. The architectural complex is considered the main attraction of the Oryol region. In the 1970s, an attempt was made to reconstruct the fortress (a museum was even opened on its territory), but later it was abandoned due to lack of funds.
Museum-Reserve "Spasskoye-Lutovinovo"
"Spasskoye-Lutovinovo" is the family estate of I. Turgenev's mother, located 70 km from Orel. Ivan Sergeevich spent all his childhood here, and after 1850 he inherited the family nest, giving up the rest of the estates to his brother. During the time when the writer lived in the estate, he wrote several of his works. Its guests were I. Aksakov, A. Fet, L. Tolstoy.
