The area from which tourist acquaintance with Nizhny Novgorod usually begins is called Minin and Pozharsky Square. This area has a very peculiar curved shape, which is the result of combining several areas. Its total length over 500 meters from the Dmitrievskaya tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin to its Georgievskaya tower.

  • Description and history

    Today it main city square, the venue for all solemn events and festivities, during which traffic stops on it. And the rest of the time - this is a city operating highway.


    The historical development of the square began almost immediately after the construction of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin. In the 16th century this area, located on the territory of the settlement, was called Verkhneposadskaya or Upper Market. It was the main trading area cities.

    Upper Market Square in the 19th century

    Gradually, its entire territory was built up with houses, churches and outbuildings. It was also located here customs hut. In the 17th century, after the construction of the Annunciation Cathedral on the square, it became Blagoveshchenskaya.

    Annunciation Square with the cathedral of the same name in the 19th century

    With the beginning of the general planned development of Nizhny Novgorod by the end of the 18th century and for firefighting purposes, numerous chaotic wooden buildings were dismantled. Formed according to the new urban plan, the shape of the square turned out trapezoidal, thereby securing the already established branches of outgoing streets. Since then, only stone structures.

    In the Soviet period, which received a very unoriginal name - Soviet - the square changed its appearance again. Cathedral of the Annunciation was destroyed. The double-headed eagle disappeared from the Dmitrievskaya tower, and now the red banner of the victorious class was flying there.

    Over time, developed modern-old architectural ensemble, which make up - the Kremlin wall with the Dmitrievskaya, Powder and Georgievskaya towers, Palace of Labor, Monument to V. Chkalov and Monument to K. Minin, TK "Alekseevsky Rows", buildings of the Pedagogical and Medical Universities, residential buildings and other buildings.

    From this square begins a series of central streets, the most famous of which is Bolshaya Pokrovskaya- now pedestrian.

    Pedestrian Bolshaya Pokrovskaya

    Attractions of the square

    Monument to K. Minin

    The monument to K. Minin is located in a small square opposite Dmitrievskaya tower(across the road).

    The fate of this bronze monument is very interesting. The townspeople have long wanted to perpetuate their heroic countrymen in stone - Minin and Pozharsky. Only in 1913, on the eve of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, the installation of the monument began - a temporary model was erected on a granite pedestal.

    They did not manage to erect a permanent monument - the First World War . After the revolution new government disposed of the monument in her own way - the granite of the pedestal was used for constructive construction, while the monument simply disappeared.

    At the height of the Great Patriotic, in order to raise patriotism, the pages of the heroic domestic past began to be remembered. In particular, they remembered People's Militia of Nizhny Novgorod and about the civic consciousness of citizen K. Minin.

    In the city of Gorky (as Nizhny Novgorod was then called), it was decided to erect a monument to the illustrious citizen. Concrete monument to K. Minin(sculptor A. Kolobov) appeared on the square in 1943. just in time for the November holidays, and the area has since been called the Minin and Pozharsky Square.


    In 1985, that concrete monument, requiring repair, was dismantled, restored and sent to the patriot's homeland - to Balakhna. In the summer 1989 took this place sculpture by O. Komov.


    The great patriot of Russia and a native of the Nizhny Novgorod land still stands today with his hand raised high, calling on his fellow citizens to defend their Fatherland.

    Monument to V. Chkalov

    On Minin and Pozharsky Square there is another monument dedicated to a native of Nizhny Novgorod - the Monument to the legendary pilot V. Chkalov (author I.A. Mendelevich) installed in 1940 near George's tower Kremlin, on the very edge of the Volga hill.

    V. Chkalov is known to the whole world for being the first non-stop flight from the Land of the Soviets to America.


    The monument to V. Chkalov closes Minin and Pozharsky Square

    The place of installation of the monument was not chosen by chance, it was here that he often walked Chkalov With my friend Mendelevich, dreaming of erecting a monument to M. Gorky on this high slope. But ... This place went to the most famous pilot. Look at him - he seems to be preparing for the next flight, looking up at the sky.

    V. Chkalov's gaze is fixed on the Nizhny Novgorod sky

    Carved on a pedestal of labradorite routes heroic pilot map northern hemisphere . Near the monument is viewpoint, from which the Nizhny Novgorod Spit and the river distances of the Volga and Oka are viewed.

    From the monument to the Volga itself, you can go down the Chkalov stairsresembling a figure eight (the sign of infinity) and consisting of 560 steps. The Chkalov Staircase is perhaps the most grandiose building Nizhny Novgorod and is considered the longest stairs in our country. It connects two embankments: Upper Volga and Lower Volga, along which Nizhny Novgorod residents and guests of the city like to walk.


    Chkalovskaya staircase descends to the Nizhne-Volzhskaya embankment

    True, this staircase was originally called Stalingrad for its construction has begun in 1943 in honor of the victory of the Soviet troops at Stalingrad. "Helped" to build this monumental building of the century and captured Germans. Construction was completed after the war - in 1949

    Palace of Labor

    One of the main architectural attractions of the square is Palace of Labor, which looks out onto the square from Pokrovka ( Bolshaya Pokrovskaya, 1).


    The history of the creation of this beautiful building is very remarkable. In the middle of the 19th century, when the square was actively built up with stone houses, a beautiful, light and graceful three-story building was built here - the former tenement house famous Nizhny Novgorod merchant P. Bugrova. built it architect N. Uzhumedsky-Gritsevich.

    The building became an ornament not only of the square, but of the whole of Nizhny Novgorod. Trade shops were located on the ground floor, and P. Bugrov temporarily gave the upper floors to the acting troupe first city theater, which at that moment does not have its own angle.

    Subsequently, A. Bugrov - son owner - sold this A. Turchaninov's house who was the marshal of the nobility. However, after the death of the new owner, the building returned theater group. And now grandson the first Bugrov - Nikolai - buys the building, sponsoring the construction of another theatrical building on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya Street (it’s not like expelling artists out onto the street).


    Having relocated the actors to a new theater building, the owner presents the vacant building City Duma! Such generous entrepreneurs were in the 19th century. But N. Bugrov does not just donate the building, but with the proviso that there will never be theater troupes, drinking alcohol and other excesses. While the City Duma was thinking what to do with the gift, how to use it more rationally, it happened fire and a wonderful tenement house burned to the ground. It happened at the very end 19th century.

    Very quickly, already at the beginning of the 20th century it was built new building (architect W. Zeidler) with modern elements and artistically decorated interiors. The most interesting thing is that more than 70% of the funds for the construction of a new house were allocated by the same N. Bugrov! And all this with a good memory of my grandfather. Nizhny Novgorod residents have not forgotten N. Bugrov, a monument to him was erected on Lyadov Square near the former Widow's House, which he also built.


    After the completion of construction, representatives of the City Duma finally moved into the newly built building. In the main Assembly Hall, right up to 1972, the famous patriotic canvas hung "Appeal of Minin", artist K. Makovsky.

    AT Soviet years trade union organizations lived in this architectural landmark, which is why modern name mansion - the Palace of Labor. Works here now regional court.

    The fountain

    The fountain functioning on the square is also a fairly well-known city landmark. Its appearance is connected with the development of the water supply system in Nizhny Novgorod! In 1847 to the upland part of Nizhny Novgorod for the first time plumbing installed. From this period, the creation of a centralized water supply for this urban part began. Then appeared on the square and the fountain.

    First City Fountain

    And although he repeatedly changed his location, reconstructed, equipped with modern equipment and evening lighting, he did not stop sending a local landmark and decoration of the square.

    fountain today

    Museum of A.S. Pushkin

    One of the buildings of Minin and Pozharsky Square, namely Gymnasium №1, is the custodian Museum of A.S. Pushkin.

    In the 30s of the 19th century, this building belonged to hotel "Numbers Deulina". The building itself was then 2 floors lower. Pushkin stayed there for only 2 days during his trip to the places of the Pugachev uprising in September 1833.

    A. Pushkin Museum is waiting for visitors

    But, nevertheless, love and respect for the great Russian poet was so great that even such a short visit to the city gave rise to the creation of a museum.

    The architectural composition of Minin and Pozharsky Square is harmonious and plastic. But it is impossible to tell about all its buildings at once, although they undoubtedly have their own interesting historical past. In former buildings Theological Seminary(opposite the Powder Tower) and provincial gymnasium(opposite the Dmitrievskaya Tower) there are educational departments of the current Pedagogical University.

    And in the building of the former steamship company "Volga", built at the beginning of the 20th century, prepares future doctors. There are other beautiful and interesting buildings here.


    Medical Academy in an old building of the 19th century

    A walk along the Minin and Pozharsky Square will be pleasant in all respects, day and night and at any time of the year.


    Tourist routes from the square

    To get to know and feel the city better, you need to walk, especially since there are plenty of popular hiking trails in such a historic city. Therefore, armed with comfortable shoes and a good mood, we begin hiking trips in the historical center of Nizhny Novgorod from Minin and Pozharsky Square.

    Bolshaya Pokrovskaya street

    Be sure to take a walk along the pedestrian Bolshoi Pokrovskaya street, on which, in addition to buildings of century-old architecture, there are many Cafe and souvenir shops, as well as amazing Nizhny Novgorod sculptural images, pass indifferently by which it is simply impossible.


    This street appeared on the map of the city in the Middle Ages as a road to Moscow. From the end of the 18th century, it was built up with stone buildings of nobles, princes and high dignitaries and became the main city thoroughfare.


    Of the architectural sights of Bolshaya Pokrovskaya, pay attention to the following architecturally outstanding buildings. House number 1 - Palace of Labor(architect V.P. Zeidler) - the former Profitable house of Bugrov (aka the House of the former State Duma). We have already mentioned it above.

    Almost opposite Drama theater, at the intersection with Piskunova street, there is a very beautiful building - a former tenement house Kudryashov and Chesnokov(d.10) built in the middle of the 19th century.


    Beautiful and the building of the oldest city Nizhny Novgorod Drama Theatre. M. Gorky(house 13), near which he sits on a bench E. Evstigneev. The bronze monument to this wonderful actor was not installed here by chance - after all, he began his career in this theater.


    The building looks impressive District Court(House 17). Also on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya is the former House of the Noble Assembly(house 18) and many, many other pompous and bright former tenement houses and administrative institutions of the 19th-early 20th centuries, giving the street a grand and solemn look. There are a lot of profitable houses and private estates on B. Pokrovskaya, so do not pass by information plaques.

    The decoration of the street is also the building of the former State Bank(house 26).


    You can walk on B. Pokrovskaya all day, there are also interesting museums, and entertainment centers, and cute Cafe. It is especially pleasant to be along this street in the evening, when it is filled with amateur singers and dancers, around which groups of fans form. All these crowds create a festive and cheerful atmosphere, which you really don’t want to leave.

    Evening exercise along Bolshaya Pokrovskaya

    B. Pokrovskaya street ends M. Gorky Square, where the Monument to the writer by V. Mukhina is installed in the square.

    Upper Volga embankment

    To visit Nizhny Novgorod and not to visit it Upper Volga embankment would be a very big omission. This embankment, running along the upper edge of the Nizhny Novgorod hill, is parallel to Lower Volga, also starts from the eastern outskirts of Minin and Pozharsky Square, and more specifically from the Monument to V. Chkalov.

    Nizhny Novgorod citizens owe the appearance of this beautiful promenade, from where beautiful views along the Volga Nicholas the First, who ordered to equip a walking boulevard here.


    This small street also has its attractions. They also include D. Sirotkin's mansion(beginning of the 20th century), the largest shipowner of the city. Now in this beautiful restored building there is one of the buildings Art City Museum(house 3), where paintings by Western European artists of the 15th-20th centuries are exhibited.

    And very close, in house number 7, there is another wonderful mansion, which is also a must-see - this is the Rukavishnikov Estate, the building of the end 19th century. The future symbolist poet was born in this richest mansion in the city Silver Age I.S. Rukavishnikov. The building is now owned Nizhny Novgorod Historical and Architectural Museum of the Reserve and open for visits.

    In addition to viewing the interior of the building itself, here you can see the exhibitions and expositions of local history held in the mansion.


    Interesting for visual inspection Railwaymen's House(house 10) - a vivid example of the Soviet construction of the late 30s. construction post-constructivism, containing in the design elements of Russian classicism and the Renaissance, is the architectural vertical of the street.


    Curious 11th house neoclassicism style. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was the mansion of the family of a large shipowner Kamensky. In the Soviet period, there was both an institute of chemistry and a society "Knowledge". And during the renovation in 1973, when dismantling a dilapidated oak staircase, workers found a treasure trove of the former owners. The family values ​​that make up this treasure are now stored in the storerooms of the local history museum of Nizhny Novgorod and are partially exhibited at the Rukavishnikov Estate.


    But in the building occupied today Nizhny Novgorod Technical University(building 16), from the middle of the 19th century until the revolution of 1917 was Mariinsky Institute for Noble Maidens. This is such an interesting Upper Volga embankment.

    Other ancient streets depart from the elongated Minin and Pozharsky Square - Barbarian, Ulyanova, Minina. On each of them, among modern buildings, the most unique architectural sights and the amazing aura of Nizhny Novgorod have been preserved, which is simply not possible to get enough of.

    And if you go down from the square down the Chkalov stairs, then you can walk along Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment, which is quite a long and pleasant walking area.

    • Popular per person!

    Fountain on Minin and Pozharsky Square- this is the central and most famous fountain of Nizhny Novgorod.

    History of the fountain

    The fountain on Minin Square (then Blagoveshchenskaya) began to work on October 1, 1847. Initially, the fountain was used as a source of water, since the city had problems with water supply and residents took water from ponds that were not very clean at that time: Sarki, Cherny, Mironositsky, Pokrovsky and the rivers Pochaina, Chernaya, Kovalikha. In the summer, these reservoirs completely dried up or turned into sewage pits, so they had to take water from the Volga. Also, the lack of water led to frequent fires, or rather problems in extinguishing them.

    The fountain project was developed by the hydraulic engineer A. I. Delvig. According to his plan, the water of 18 springs was collected through wooden pipes into a brick pool at the junction of the Kazan and Georgievsky congresses, where a water-lifting station with two steam engines was built. Through four cast-iron pipes, water from the water-lifting station rose to the Martynovskaya hospital, and then went to the first water-collecting reservoir at the intersection of Zhukovskaya (now Minina) and Martynovskaya (now Semashko) streets. After that, water flowed along Zhukovskaya Street to the fountain on Blagoveshchenskaya Square, which was the main place for water intake. The fountain was made at the Vyksa plant of the Shepelevs.

    In total, the hydrotechnical complex provided the supply of 40,000 buckets of water per day.

    Initially, the fountain was located in the area of ​​​​the modern bus stop between the former Olen cafe and the Kremlin wall, and in 1930 it was moved to its current location.

    In 1990, the fountain was reconstructed, a modern water conduit was built that meets modern requirements.

    In 2007, the fountain was equipped with lighting, working from 8 pm to 1 am.

    After the reconstruction in 2017, the fountain is musical and "performs" classical music. The sound accompaniment of the fountain is provided by a computer with special software that synchronizes the work of the fountain jets with musical works.

    Nizhny Novgorod, aka Gorky, aka, with a light youth hand - NiNo or NN. The city, which has earned the title of the Volga capital, is really original - a little provincial and at the same time rapidly developing, retaining its historical appearance, at the same time, it is quickly acquiring modern architecture.

    If we talk about the sights of Nizhny Novgorod, then there are quite a lot of them: for 8 centuries of existence, no one has set foot on the land of the Dyatlov Mountains, no one has left his mark on Nizhny Novgorod history.

    Nizhny Novgorod is the birthplace of outstanding people in the field of literature, art, and science. And almost every eminent citizen has a monument here. Last but not least, a plaque. Monuments to the most famous citizens of Nizhny Novgorod - Minin and Pozharsky, Gorky and Chkalov are erected in the very heart of Nizhny Novgorod.

    The most famous Nizhny Novgorod landmark, the Kremlin, also stands here. Recently, negotiations have been underway to include it in the UNESCO World Heritage List in Russia.

    Immediately outside the walls of the Kremlin, Rozhdestvenskaya Street is located on one side, and on the other, the Chkalov Stairs. Walking up this ladder is an occasion not only to marvel at the power of engineering, but also to test your endurance. In the staircase - neither more nor less - 560 steps! This is the longest staircase in Russia.

    A special place among the sights of the city is occupied by numerous churches and cathedrals. Some are monumental and austere (the Old Fair Cathedral, the Alexander Nevsky New Fair Cathedral), others are small and intricate (the Stroganov Church and the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist at the Market).

    But all are incredibly beautiful, with a rich age-old history. Nizhny Novgorod monasteries - Blagoveshchensky and Pechersky - are especially famous.

    As for the museums of Nizhny Novgorod, their number is not very large, but all of them, no doubt, deserve attention. Moreover, some of them are unique and exist in Russia in the singular - for example, the Dobrolyubov Museum.

    The most famous, of course, is the recently restored, and therefore surprisingly beautiful museum of local lore - the Rukavishnikov Estate. Here, it is not so much the expositions that are of great value, but the building itself, striking in its beauty and combination of styles.

    Almost all the most interesting museums are located close to each other: the Art Museum, the Russian Museum of Photography, the museum-apartment of A.M. Gorky.

    But still, the main attraction is the natural beauty and landscapes of Nizhny Novgorod, which opens from the Verkhnevolzhskaya embankment. The Nizhny Novgorod Volga Escarpment is a place that UNESCO experts plan to include among the World Heritage Sites.

    The beauty of Nizhny Novgorod nature can be appreciated not only on the Verkhne-Volzhskaya embankment, but also in one of the city parks: Avtozavodsky Park, Kulibin Park, Pushkin Park, Switzerland Park.

    So, in the Pushkin park you can walk along the unique birch alley, and in the Switzerland park you can enjoy the beauty of the river expanses and ride one of the many attractions.

    The fountain on Minin has always been a landmark of Nizhny Novgorod. But once he performed not only aesthetic function, but also practical - it was part of the first water pipe in the city.

    The inhabitants of the upper posad (upper part of the city) have always suffered from a lack of water. In winter and spring, they took water from city reservoirs. Of the ponds - Pokrovsky, Sarka, Cherny, Mironositsky, none of them are gone. And from the rivers - Pochayna, Chernaya, Kovalikha, they are all driven into underground pipes.

    But in the summer, the reservoirs dried up, became polluted by the drains of cesspools, slops and garbage. The people began to carry water from the Volga. Who is richer - on horseback, and the poor - in buckets.

    And fires - how often do we witness that, despite all the efforts of the police for a person, the fire spreads due to lack of water. Going through the annals of Nizhny Novgorod, we notice that since the middle of the fourteenth century, up to twenty times it has been subjected to terrible misfortunes from fire; often a whole half of the city burned down, sometimes more - and always main reason this was the lack of water, - wrote "Gubernskiye Vedomosti" in 1846.

    Things moved under the governor-general, Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich Urusov. He found funding, and the project was developed by hydraulic engineer Andrey Ivanovich Delvig. Water supply equipment - unique for Russia - was made at the Vyksa plant of the Shepelevs.

    The plumbing worked. Water from 18 springs of the Volga slope - it was tested by the medical council - flowed through wooden pipes into a brick pool at the crossroads of the Kazan and Georgievsky congresses. There was also a water-lifting station - a beautiful building in the Gothic style, in which two water-lifting steam engines were placed.

    The water pipeline was laid through the entire central part of the city. Through four cast-iron pipes laid through the Alexander Garden, steam engines delivered water to the first water intake - to the Martynovsky hospital (at the intersection of the current Minin and Semashko streets). Further, the conduit delivered water along Zhukovskaya Street (now Minina) to the fountain - this was the main water intake. Then the water went to the Kremlin, to the governor's house, along Alekseevskaya and Dvoryanskaya streets and along Bolshaya Pokrovka to the Lykov congress, where a pond was arranged.

    Skeptics said: "There is no such water pipeline anywhere in Europe, how can it be in Nizhny Novgorod?" But on October 1, 1847, the fountain was solemnly opened. The water supply provided 40 thousand buckets of water per day.

    By the way, then the fountain was located near the current public transport stop - between the cafe and the Kremlin wall. But in 1930, the temples - Alekseevsky and Blagoveshchensky - were demolished, the square was "reformatted", and the fountain was moved to its current location.

    It was restored in the 1990s. The historical appearance was preserved, even this year it was repainted in its original color, and the “stuffing” was completely changed: an underground part was built and modern pumping equipment was installed.

    In 2007, the fountain was decorated with lighting. The software synchronizes the water supply, music and light accompaniment and creates the effect of a "dancing" fountain. Musical and light show lasts from 8 pm to 1 am.