Velikiye Luki, Pskov region, Russia

General information and history

Velikiye Luki is located in the south of the Pskov region. It is a significant cultural, educational, commercial and industrial center, as well as the capital of the Velikoluksky district, without being part of it. The area of ​​the city is 60.08 km².

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In 1166 the city was first mentioned. In 1167 and 1198, the settlement was subjected to fires, first due to the fault of the Polotsk and Smolensk princes, and then the Poles and Lithuanians. In 1211, a fortress arose, built by the Novgorodians. In 1406 the name Velikiye Luki first appeared. 72 years later the city became part of Muscovy. In 1708, an earthen fortress was built. After 16 years, a pier appeared on the river. In 1777, Velikiye Luki became a district town. In 1781, a coat of arms appeared. In 1812, an agreement with Spain on counteracting Napoleon was signed near the city. In 1878, telegraph communication appeared with Pskov. In 1901 a railway station appeared. Seven years later, telephone communication was established. In 1912-13 the theater and cinema opened.

In August 1919, Soviet power was finally established in the city. After 9 years, the airport began to operate. In 1932, Velikiye Luki was electrified. Also in the 1930s, a number of industrial enterprises appeared. During the war, the city was occupied by the Germans twice - the first time until July 1941, and the second time from August of the same year to January 1943. In 1944, several enterprises appeared. In 1945, Velikiye Luki was included in the list of cities subject to priority restoration.

In 1949, a water dam was built on the Lovat River and a cultural and recreation park was opened. In 1954, a knitting factory and a bridge across the Lovat appeared. Three years later the city became part of the Pskov region. In 1958, fish and flax processing plants appeared, and in the next decade several more factories. In 1973, the 100,000th resident was born. In 1985 it appeared. In 2008, Velikiye Luki was awarded the title “City of Military Glory”.

Velikie Luki

Video: Velikiye Luki

Basic moments

The cozy green neighborhoods of Velikiye Luki are lined with low-rise buildings. There are industrial enterprises in the city, and higher educational institutions host students. There are theaters, interesting museums, art galleries, and monuments to outstanding cultural figures and heroes of the Great Patriotic War, which did not spare the city, are installed in the parks.

Velikiye Luki welcomes guests in inexpensive hotels, but discerning travelers will also find quite comfortable apartments with a high level of service here. Local restaurants and cafes offer Russian and European cuisine. You can take a walk and go on rides in the city park. There is a boat rental service on the park lake, and there is a beach on the shore of Lovat. In the evenings, nightclubs open in Velikiye Luki, and many restaurants close after midnight.

After seeing the sights of the provincial town, tourists head to the Velikiye Luki area to spend a few days in nature. On the banks of numerous rivers and lakes, guests will find recreation centers with a decent hospitality infrastructure and a variety of entertainment - from swimming on equipped beaches and fishing to horseback riding, trike and hot air balloon flights.

History of Velikie Luki

The lands surrounding modern Velikiye Luki, from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. were inhabited by Slavic tribes known as Krivichi. In the Velikiye Luki region, at least 250 archaeological sites associated with this culture have been discovered - the remains of ancient settlements, burial mounds, burial grounds, ritual stones of pagan temples.

In ancient Russian chronicles, the town of Luki on the Lovat River was first mentioned in records in 1166, when the Kiev prince Rostislav arrived here to meet with the Novgorodians. Scientists have found that the chronicle was about a fortified settlement on the right bank of the river, protecting Novgorod Rus' from the south. It was located 3 km from the modern city. Archaeologists have excavated the foundations of residential buildings and craft workshops there. Valuable finds of researchers are demonstrated in the local history museum. Bows are mentioned in several 12th-century birch bark documents found during excavations of the Novgorod Kremlin.

In 1211, construction of a new fortress began on the right bank of the Lovat. By that time, the settlement had become a center of crafts and trade with a busy river port. Already by the beginning of the 15th century, chroniclers called the fortress Velikolukskaya. Since 1478, after the conquest of Novgorod by Prince Ivan III, the city on Lovat was also captured and included in the western borders of the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the state plunged into the abyss of chaotic wars and riots of the Time of Troubles. Waves of armies of Polish impostors, Lithuanian regiments and grand-ducal Moscow troops swept through Velikiye Luki. Wooden houses and churches, walls and towers turned to ashes. In 1611, an eyewitness to the devastation wrote in the chronicle “Belsky Chronicler” that on the site of the city there was a vast “coal pit and fallen bones.”

In the first years of the 18th century, Peter I ordered the fortress to be restored and the city to be rebuilt. But by the end of the century, after the division of Poland, the borders of the empire moved far to the west, and the fortifications lost their importance. Velikiye Luki turned into a provincial town in the Pskov province, through which horse-drawn postal routes ran, and the railway appeared here only at the beginning of the 20th century. Workers from the Velikiye Luki locomotive depot and repair shops led protests in 1905. During the First World War, Velikiye Luki became a front-line base for Russian divisions.

After the revolution of 1917, cultural life developed rapidly in the city. The young Red Army soldier Sergei Eisenstein, who arrived at the local garrison, was one of the initiators of the creation of the Veliky Luki Drama Theater. In his memoirs, the great director recalls that here he staged Romain Rolland’s contemporary play “The Taking of the Bastille” and created the stage decorations himself.

In the 30s, Velikiye Luki was put on the map of international air travel. Not far from the city, in the village of Balandino, an airfield was built where planes flying from Moscow to Stockholm landed for refueling. In the first months of the Great Patriotic War, the city was occupied by the Nazis. In 1944, the Germans desperately resisted the advancing Soviet troops, and as a result of fierce fighting, Velikiye Luki again turned into ruins. After the war, the city was included in the list of settlements subject to priority restoration. In 2008, Velikiye Luki joined the list of Russian cities of military glory.

Geography

The city was built in the Lovat lowland, on both banks of the Lovat River. Two railway bridges and one road crossing are thrown across its winding bed. Within Velikiye Luki there are numerous tributaries of the river, blocked by dams. Fish are bred in the resulting shallow reservoirs, and they themselves are surrounded by parks.

Within the city, the Lovat riverbed meanders into seven bends. Perhaps this topographical feature served as a visible reason for the ancient Russians to call the settlement Luki. The riverbed of the turbulent Lovat winds through the hilly basin of Lake Ilmen, where coniferous and mixed forests grow, cut through by a dense network of rivers. The vegetation is dominated by pine, birch, and aspen trees; the undergrowth is rich in mushrooms and berries. Dozens of large and small lakes, created by ancient glaciers, are full of fish and waterfowl. There are also peat bogs here.

The Velikiye Luki quarters are divided into four districts: Central, where the main attractions are concentrated, Northern, Southern, and Zarechny, separated by the river. The city's area is 60 km², its population exceeds 90,000 inhabitants. The regional center is located 274 km southeast of Pskov, and 469 km to the west from Moscow along the highway.

Climate

Velikiye Luki is located in a continental climate zone, with long winters and cool summers. The average air temperature in January is –8…–6 °C, and the wind from the south periodically brings thaws. In the summer months the air warms up to +22…+25 °C, and it often rains. It gets colder at night, the temperature drops by 8-10 degrees. Maximum precipitation occurs in August-September.

Forecaster reports over the past 20 years in Velikiye Luki have recorded extreme indicators: in winter there were frosts down to -33.8 °C, in summer there was record heat up to +35.7 °C.

The swimming season on the Lovat River lasts from June to August. The water is cold, its temperature rarely exceeds +17 °C.

Sights of Velikiye Luki

The city of Velikiye Luki, with its 850-year history, was repeatedly destroyed to the ground, restored and again turned into ruins. Unfortunately, no clear traces of antiquity have been preserved here. The register of attractions includes archaeological sites, several miraculously surviving pre-revolutionary buildings, restored churches and modern monuments.

You can learn about the history of the city in the local history museum on Matrosov Square, 1. The halls contain archaeological artifacts and weapons collections. The numismatic section is interesting. Most of the museum exhibition tells about the period of the Great Patriotic War and the post-war reconstruction of the city. A diorama of central streets destroyed by bombs has been created here, and war newsreels are shown. Near the museum in 1954, a monument was erected on the grave of 19-year-old Red Army soldier Alexander Matrosov, who threw himself as a human shield at the embrasure of an enemy pillbox. This is a monument by the famous Soviet sculptor Vuchetich. Minibuses No. 4 and 11 go from the railway station to the museum; you need to get off at the Rodina cinema.

From the museum building you can walk through the square to the historical core of the city and the oldest landmark - the Velikiye Luki Fortress. On the river bank, the outlines of the earthworks of the Peter the Great era have been restored, and the western entrance gate cutting through the embankment has been restored. No other traces of powerful fortifications are visible. In the center of the fortress, the Commandant's Pond splashes, which supplied the defenders with water; a small fragment of the ancient stone pavement has been cleared of sediment. Here you can see the ruins of the garrison Resurrection Cathedral.

The fortress took its last battle during the Great Patriotic War. A T-34 tank is installed on one of the concrete bastions; a wide staircase leads to it. Another bastion is crowned by a 26-meter obelisk of Glory.

On Kalinin Square, near the fountain, there is a monument in honor of the Victory, and Lenin Square is decorated with the stele “Velikie Luki - the city of military glory.”

In an ancient two-story building on Nekrasova Street, 1, where the city post office is located, a small postal museum was opened in 1997. Today, its curious collection includes about 17 thousand exhibits. The atmosphere of a provincial postal station from the century before last and a typical post office of the Soviet era are recreated here. The display cases display samples of postmen's uniforms, antique telegraph machines and other means of communication. Philatelists are examining with interest collections of stamps, postcards, envelopes, and triangles of soldiers’ letters from the front. Entrance to the museum is free.

On the quiet Stavsky Street, 48, there is a memorial house of a native of Velikiye Luki, widely known in domestic and world science - an outstanding mathematician, academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences I. M. Vinogradov. His contribution to science was so significant that the museum was created during Ivan Matveevich’s lifetime, in 1986. He himself donated personal belongings, office furnishings, part of the scientific library, published works, and state awards to the exhibition. There is a bronze bust of the scientist in the park. The museum welcomes visitors from 10:00 to 17:30. You can get here by minibuses No. 1, 4 and 5.

Walking along Pushkin Street, which runs through the park, you will see a small chapel of Catherine. This is a copy of the chapel, built on the site of an ancient graveyard, where the townspeople who died during the Time of Troubles were buried. From here, from the high bank of Lovat, you can see the green island of Dyatlinka and the bridges connecting the banks of the river.

Not far away, among the trees, stands the Alexander Nevsky Chapel, restored in the 90s of the last century. A stone's throw away, on the embankment, a new park attraction has recently appeared - a pair of openwork Lovers' Armchairs, forged from metal. The chairs face the river; here you can sit, admiring the panorama of Lovat, and take a photo as a souvenir.

On a hill near the river, on the territory of the old Kazan cemetery, stands the Baroque Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God - an architectural monument of the 19th century. It was built in 1821 as a cemetery church, funded by titular councilor Grigory Nechaev and donations from parishioners. Famous townspeople were buried in the graveyard next to the church. The temple managed to survive both the era of persecution of the cult and the years of the Great Patriotic War - services here never stopped. The interiors of the church are decorated with authentic paintings, and the ancient iconostasis has been preserved.

The main church of Velikiye Luki, the Holy Ascension Cathedral, is located on Karl Liebknecht Street. It was built in 1752 on the site of the Ilyinsky Monastery that was burned during the Time of Troubles. During the years of Soviet power, the church was closed, looted and partially dismantled. It was restored in 1990. The temple looks quite modest, but stands out from the surrounding buildings. The City Day celebration begins annually near its walls.

Entertainment

You can start your cultural program in Velikiye Luki with a visit to the drama theater. The building is located on Oktyabrsky Prospekt, 28/13. The basis of his repertoire are performances by Russian and foreign playwrights. A ticket will cost 300-600 rubles. Interesting plays are staged on the stage of the Troubadour youth musical theater and the Harlequin studio theater. Evenings of symphonic and chamber music are held at the city philharmonic. Concerts are held in the House of Culture on Zvereva Street, 29, and in the hall of the Center for Aesthetic Education on Botvin Street, 12.

Fans of midnight entertainment for adults are invited to the Vegas club (Gagarin Ave., 118). On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays the establishment is open from 22:00 to 06:00. Bowling club "Capricorn" on Nekrasova Street, 16/6, open daily from 18:00 to 04:00. You can play billiards until late in the Pyramid cafe on Dyakonova Street, 25. Its doors are open from 17:00 to 02:00.

City cinemas “Rodina” (Liza Chaikina St., 11/16) and “Sputnik” (Pionerskaya St., 7) invite you to watch new films. The large cinema hall is located on the second floor of the shopping mall, which is on Vokzalnaya Street, 13. The shopping center houses 7 cafes and the Limpoostrov entertainment town with attractions. Modern equipment with 3D technologies has been installed in the Seventh Heaven cinema (Nekrasova St., 18/7).

In June, Velikiye Luki traditionally hosts annual spectacular ballooning competitions. These days, colorful balloons rise over the city. Tourists from many parts of Russia come to see the balloons floating in the sky. Velikiye Luki belongs to a limited number of tourist centers in the country, where hot air balloon and trike flights are available to everyone all year round.

Camping

There is a city beach in Velikiye Luki, Rabochaya Street leads to it. It is located on the banks of the Lovat River, south of the Velikolukskaya Fortress, opposite the Dyatlinka Island. Every year sand is brought here and leveled, benches, changing rooms, and trash bins are installed. There are no cafes or toilets here, and there is no rental of sunbeds or other equipment. Vacationers sit on the mats and eat the snacks they brought. Many townspeople take the remaining packages with them, but by the evening a lot of garbage still accumulates on the shore. It is rarely removed.

Inspectors from the regional Rospotrebnadzor regularly check the condition of water in Lovat, which is heavily polluted by industrial and sewage waste. Problems arise with the indicators every year: the water contains dangerous concentrations of chemicals and bacteria. Warning signs are installed on the city beach, but people do not pay attention to them and splash in the river. But tourists should not risk their health, especially since in the vicinity of Velikiye Luki, on the banks of lakes and forest rivers, modern beach resorts and tourist centers have been built, where decent conditions have been created for outdoor recreation.

At the Kudykina Gora base in the village of Molotovka, wonderful fishing and swimming are offered in Lake Astso and on the Vydega River. Tackle and boats are available for rent: fishing rod – 300 rubles/day, motorboat – 350 rubles/hour. Here you can catch pike perch, bleak, crucian carp, pike, and bream. The hook catches burbot and tench. To prepare the catch, fishermen have gazebos with barbecues at their disposal. At the base you can play paintball (from 400 rubles per person), ride a horse (800 rubles/hour), rent a bicycle (800 rubles/day). Those who wish have the opportunity to ascend to the clouds in a balloon (from 5,000 rubles). Renting a double cottage with an equipped kitchen and a dining area on the terrace will cost 5,500 rubles.

In the village of Rudnya (39 km south of the city) the Lesnoye Ozero recreation center awaits guests. The three-story building was erected in a pine forest, 150 m from Lake Uritskoye, where there is a beach and a pier with rental of water skis, rowing boats and motorboats, and sports equipment. Vacationers have saunas, a billiards room, and sports grounds at their disposal. Horseback riding and walking tours are offered. The cost of a double room is from 900 rubles per day.

The Blue Lakes sanatorium is located in the village of Opukhliki near Lake Maly Ivan. There is a sandy beach, and rental of jet skis and catamarans is available. There are other lakes in the surrounding forests where you can swim and fish. In the building you can visit an indoor swimming pool, a sauna complex, a cafe, and a billiard room. Bicycles and sports equipment are also available for rent. The sanatorium is all-season. In winter, a ski resort opens here and an ice skating rink is opened. Daily accommodation in a standard single room will cost 1850 rubles, in a double room – 2700 rubles. There are spacious apartments - from 5500 rubles. Upon request, a transfer from Velikiye Luki can be arranged for 800 rubles.

The wooden cottages of the elite recreation center "Volyn" are scattered over an area of ​​24 hectares among centuries-old pine trees on a peninsula jutting into the vast Lake Zizhitsky. Guests can enjoy a restaurant, a beach, and boat and pleasure boat rentals. A hunting lodge for two will cost 5,100 rubles per day. On the ground floor there is a living room with a kitchen area and TV, and a bathroom. A cozy bedroom is located in the attic. For accommodation in a 4-bed family townhouse with all amenities you need to pay about 9,500 rubles (breakfast included). For groups of 6-8 people, there are two-story cottages with a glassed-in veranda, a fireplace room, a kitchen, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The cost of daily rent of a cottage is 30,000 rubles.

Country excursions

From Velikiye Luki tours are organized to the estate-museums of famous people whose names are associated with the history of this region. It is worth going on an excursion to the village of Polibino (25 km from the city), where the country’s only museum of Sofia Kovalevskaya, the first woman in the world crowned with the academic title of professor of mathematics at the end of the 19th century, is located. The ancient noble estate of Sophia’s father, Lieutenant General of the Artillery Forces of the Russian Empire Vasily Korvin-Krukovsky, has been restored 2 km from the Lovat River. This architectural complex, built according to a draft design by the artist Alexander Bryullov, is included in the list of Russian cultural heritage sites.

The house houses an exhibition of Kovalevskaya’s personal belongings, books, manuscripts, paintings, and a collection of antique furniture. One of the rooms displays an interesting exhibition of ladies' clothing and accessories from the 19th century. The estate can be viewed from 10:00 to 17:00. A ticket costs 40 rubles, excursion service costs 300 rubles. Weekends – Saturday, Sunday. Buses going from Velikie Luki to Nevel stop in Polibino.

In the village of Naumovo, 60 km from Velikie Luki, there is a memorial museum for the composer Modest Mussorgsky. The exhibition is located in a restored 19th-century manorial estate, built on the shores of Lake Zizhitsky. A cultural program awaits tourists at the estate: piano music in the living room, performances by performers of Russian romances and a folk ensemble, interactive games, ballroom dancing and other entertainment. In one of the rooms where servants once lived, there is a collection of peasant household items from the century before last. Puppet shows for children are held in the outbuilding. Guests are treated to tea and pancakes baked in a Russian oven.

The museum is open from 09:00 to 17:00. The entrance ticket costs 100 rubles, for photo and video shooting you need to pay 150 rubles. There is a guest house at the museum; you can stay here for 800 rubles per day. The hotel is used by tourists who come for folklore festivals, held on Maslenitsa, Easter, and New Year. You can get here on your own by the Velikiye Luki – Nelidovo train; you need to get off at the Zhizhitsa station.

Purchases

The largest shopping center in the city is the Orange shopping center on Vokzalnaya Street, 11. There are many branded boutiques with imported and domestic clothing, shoes, cosmetics, jewelry, electronics stores, Detsky Mir, Sportmaster are open here. In the “Ant” salon you can have purchased outfits tailored to your figure, and in the “Masterovaya” atelier you can have your shoes and travel bag repaired. Another large department store “Planet” is located on Botvin Street, 19.

Buy memorable gifts in souvenir shops and shops at local museums. They sell magnets with images of city landmarks, carved wooden boxes, photo albums, forged and ceramic handicrafts. At the City History Museum you can buy jewelry that imitates ancient Russian jewelry found during archaeological excavations.

In the city center there are two food markets located next door - on Dyakonova Street, 1, and on Karl Liebknecht Street, 32. It is curious that both competing bazaars are called “Central”. There are always fresh vegetables and fruits; mushrooms and berries are sold in season. If you come across it, be sure to buy fragrant homemade cloudberry jam and a jar of wild lingonberries, ground with sugar.

At Oktyabrsky Prospekt, 21, the Smolensky Market is open from 08:00 to 18:00. There is a beekeepers' products pavilion where you will find high-quality honey.

From Velikiye Luki, surrounded by forests and lakes, tourists bring salted, dried, pickled mushrooms and dried fish as gifts. Specialized stores sell smoked eel and delicacy fish balyks - ancient gourmet snacks on the festive table. Beer lovers love to nibble on salted silver bream and flatbreads of pressed pike caviar. These delicacies are sold in bazaars.

High-quality meat products from the popular Velikolukskie Sausages brand are in great demand among tourists. The local dairy plant is famous for its delicious cheeses and excellent butter.

Cafes and restaurants

Prices in Velikiye Luki culinary establishments are low. Lunch in a restaurant will cost 1000-2000 rubles, a snack in a cafe can cost 400-500 rubles per person.

One of the most popular places in the city where you can eat delicious food in a pleasant atmosphere is the Irish pub O'Hara, located in the Amaris Hotel on Druzhby Street, 23. The establishment specializes in grilled dishes. Imported beer and ale and a dozen varieties of Scotch whiskey are available. Dinner for two with alcoholic drinks will cost about 2,500 rubles. The pub is open from noon to midnight, and on Fridays and Saturdays its doors are open until 02:00.

The Chaplin Club karaoke restaurant on Oktyabrsky Prospekt, 60 is stylishly decorated. You can have dinner here for two for about 3,000 rubles (including alcohol). Several cozy cafes are located on the embankment. Here, lunch for two persons will cost around 1,200 rubles.

For sweets in Velikiye Luki, go to the café-pastry “French Bun” on Grazhdanskaya Street, 7-B. They bake several types of French bread, cakes, cookies, pies with different fillings - fruit, berries, cheese. For desserts, those with a sweet tooth are served tea, coffee, milkshakes, and juices. If desired, you can order a light broth with croutons or gazpacho tomato soup with croutons. The confectionery is open from 09:00 to 21:00, seven days a week.

Where to stay in Velikiye Luki

The service and comfort in the best city hotels barely reaches the three-star category; the choice of hotels is small. Among the most popular in Velikiye Luki is the new small hotel “Amaris” 3* (Druzhby St., 23/1). The clean, spacious rooms have refrigerators, TVs, and hygiene kits are provided in the bathrooms. There is a charging station for electric vehicles in the free parking lot. The hotel has a stylish Irish pub with a good selection of food and drinks. You can rent a double room for 3277-5083 rubles per day, breakfast included.

Hotel "Yubileinaya" 3* is located in Velikiye Luki itself, on Lenin Square, 2, not far from the bridge over the Lovat. Within walking distance of the drama theatre, Catherine's Chapel, Kazan Church. This is where the pleasant bonuses end. The hotel building was built in 1969, the rooms are tiny, the electronics are antediluvian, the furniture is old, tourists don’t like the restaurant. Guests write that the prices here are too high and do not correspond to the level of services. Cost of living is 3160-5800 rubles.

Near the railway station there is the Luki-Service hotel (Nelidovsky proezd, 3-B). A McDonald's shopping and fast food store is a stone's throw away. The hotel has a restaurant, sauna, jacuzzi. Daily accommodation will cost from 2830 rubles.

Nearby, on Vokzalnaya Street, 18, you will find the Idyll mini-hotel. The rooms are equipped with kitchenettes, refrigerators, and electric kettles. Apartments available. The cost of living in a double room is 1970-3125 rubles.

You can stay inexpensively at the Harmony Plus mini-hotel on Furmanova Street, 65. There is a lounge bar and a souvenir shop in the lobby. There are gazebos with grilling facilities in the courtyard. The price range for accommodation is 1500-1630 rubles.

Transit autotourists have the opportunity to relax at the Podvorye motel, built in the near suburbs, at the turn to Velikiye Luki from the M-9 Moscow-Riga highway. Free parking is available for guests' cars. You can have a snack in the cafe-bar; there is also a convenience store and a souvenir kiosk. Rooms are rented for 1975-2500 rubles per day.

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Transport

Municipal transport in Velikiye Luki is represented by buses. They rarely run, giving way to numerous private minibuses on the roads. But this transport also runs irregularly; the schedule is not posted at the stops. Tourists prefer to use taxi services. A trip within city attractions will cost from 80 to 100 rubles.

The surrounding villages and country resorts can be reached from the bus station, it is located on Gagarin Avenue, 48-A. Minibuses No. 1, 3, 4, 7, 11 and 13 and buses No. 6, 15, 103, 110 and 118 depart to the suburbs. The railway station is located at Vokzalnaya Square, 2.

How to get there

It is convenient to get from Moscow to Velikiye Luki by rail. Trains No. 001R Moscow – Riga (travel time – 8 hours 33 minutes) and No. 663R Moscow – Pskov (the train will take you there in 9 hours 18 minutes) stop at the city railway station. Both trains depart from the platforms of Rizhsky Station.

Train No. 677A departs from St. Petersburg to Velikiye Luki from Vitebsky Station. Travel time – 8 hours 58 minutes. The schedule and ticket prices are presented on the Tutu.ru website.

Buses run from the Northern capital to Velikiye Luki. Departure is from the bus station on the Obvodny Canal embankment, 36. The transport covers a distance of 482 km in 8 hours 30 minutes.

Tourists from remote regions of the country can get to Velikiye Luki by plane through Pskov Airport. From there, buses on route No. 4 run to the center of the regional city. Electric trains go from the Pskov-Passenger railway station (Vokzalnaya St., 23) to Velikiye Luki. From the bus station on Lenin Square, buses depart from Pskov to the city on Lovat daily. Travel time will be about 5 hours.

Autotourists from Moscow get to Velikiye Luki in 6-7 hours. The shortest route – 469 km – runs along the M-9 federal highway through Volokolamsk.

Population of Velikiye Luki for 2021 and 2021. Number of inhabitants of Velikiye Luki

Data on the number of city residents are taken from the Federal State Statistics Service. The official website of the Rosstat service is www.gks.ru. The data was also taken from the unified interdepartmental information and statistical system, the official website of EMISS www.fedstat.ru

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. The website publishes data on the number of residents of Velikiye Luki. The table shows the distribution of the number of residents of Velikiye Luki by year; the graph below shows the demographic trend in different years.

Links to official documents and resources on the population census are marked with a [*] sign; when you hover your mouse, you will see the title of the document.

Velikiye Luki population change chart:

The number of citizens in 2015 was approximately 95.6 thousand. According to this indicator, Velikiye Luki ranks 177th among Russian cities. Almost 15% of all residents of the Pskov region live here. Population density is 1591.31 people/km².

In 2010, the demographic situation was distributed as follows: newborns - 953 people; deceased - 1642 people; birth rate - 9.6 ppm; mortality rate - 16.6 ppm; migration 761 people; number of those who left - 1120 people; migration loss -359 people.

The national composition as of 2002 and 2010 is as follows: Russians - 95.96 and 95.71%, respectively; Ukrainians – 1.04 and 0.79%; Belarusians – 0.92 and 0.75%; Armenians – 0.36 and 0.29%; Azerbaijanis - 0.22% each; Jews – 0.19 and 0.11%; Tatars – 0.11% each; Uzbeks – 0.04 and 0.09%; Tajiks – 0.04 and 0.06%; Poles – 0.08 and 0.05%; Chuvash, Moldovan – 0.04% each; Georgians – 0.05 and 0.04%; other nations – 0.51 and 0.42%. Nationality was not indicated – 0.39 and 1.26%.

The percentage of the employed population is 37.6%. 22.4 thousand citizens work in the non-production sphere, 15.2 thousand work in material production. Share of the employed population by industry, as of 2009: manufacturing – 19.4%; repair and trade – 18.8%; education – 10.2%; communications and transport – 9%; construction – 8.4%; real estate – 8.2%; social sphere and healthcare – 7.7%; civil service – 7.4%; household services – 4.2%; Housing and communal services – 3.3%; restaurants and hotels – 1.9% and finance – 1.5%.

63.8% of Velikoluchens are of working age, 20.45 are older than him, 15.85 are younger than him.

Ethno-bury: velikoluchanin, luchanin, velikoluchanka, luchanka, velikoluchany, luchany and velikoluchinka.

Map of the city of Velikiye Luki. Velikiye Luki Yandex maps

Created using the Yandex service People's Map (Yandex map), when zoomed out you can understand the location of Velikiye Luki on the map of Russia. Velikiye Luki Yandex maps. Interactive Yandex map of the city of Velikiye Luki with street names, as well as house numbers. The map has all the designations of Velikiye Luki, it is convenient and not difficult to use.

On the page you can read some descriptions of Velikiye Luki. You can also see the location of the city of Velikiye Luki on the Yandex map. Detailed with descriptions and labels of all city objects.

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Velikiye Luki: photos from space (Google Maps) Velikiye Luki: photos from space (Microsoft Virtual Earth)

a brief description of

Located within the Lovat lowland, on the banks of the river. Lovat (Lake Ilmen basin), 313 km southeast of Pskov.

Railway junction lines.

Territory (sq. km): 57

Information about the city of Velikiye Luki on the Russian Wikipedia site

Historical sketch

It was first mentioned as the city of Luki on Lovat in the Novgorod Chronicle in 1166. The first settlement was in the 9th-11th centuries. is located 3 km from the modern city. From the 12th century as part of the Novgorod feudal republic, and was of strategic importance as a fortress (built in 1211) on the approaches to Novgorod and Pskov on the border with Lithuania. This is where the name “mantle of Novgorod” comes from.

Since 1406 (Pskov Chronicle) it has been referred to as Velikie Luki. Since 1478, with the fall of Novgorod, it has been part of the Russian state.

The name is in the plural form of the bow “a large, long bend of the river; arc, steep meander,” - r. Lovat, on which the city is located, forms sharp bends next to it. The definition of great (Old Russian “big”) refers to the city, and not to the bend of the river.

During the Livonian War of 1558-83, the headquarters of Ivan the Terrible was located here (from 1558). In 1580 the fortress was taken by the Polish-Lithuanian troops of King Stefan Batory; in 1583 it was returned to Russia.

At the beginning of the 17th century. the city was occupied by the troops of False Dmitry I, then False Dmitry II. In 1611 the city was completely destroyed. In 1619 it was restored by the Ural and Don Cossacks by decree of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.

During the Northern War of 1700-21 in Velikiye Luki, on the orders of Peter I, a six-bastion earthen fortress was built according to the drawings of Leonty Magnitsky. During the Patriotic War of 1812, Velikiye Luki was a large rear base of Russian troops.

In 1708 the city was assigned to the Ingermanland province (from 1710 - St. Petersburg), from 1719 it was a provincial center. Since 1727 it has been a provincial center in the Novgorod province. Since 1777, the district town of the Pskov governorship (since 1796 - Pskov province).

In 1856, in the district town of Velikiye Luki, Pskov province, there were 11 churches, 1192 houses, 83 shops.

At the end of the 19th century. Postal routes passed through Velikiye Luki. There were 10 leather factories, 2 soap factories, a candle factory and a wax factory.

In 1901, a railway was built through the city.

During the Great Patriotic War, fierce battles took place in the Velikiye Luki region. It was occupied by Nazi troops on July 19, 1941, liberated on July 21, 1941 by the troops of the Western Front. Occupied for the second time on August 25, 1941. Finally liberated on January 17, 1943 by troops of the Kalinin Front during the Velikiye Luki Operation.

In 1944-57. center of Velikoluksk region.

Municipal indicators

Data sources:

1. Regions of Russia. Main characteristics of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation: statistical collection. Goskomstat of Russia. - M:, 2003.
2. Regions of Russia. Volume 1. Statistical collection. Goskomstat of Russia. - M:, 2001. p. 201
3. Regions of Russia. Basic socio-economic indicators of cities. Statistical collection. Rosstat. - M:, 2005. p. 136
4. Regions of Russia. Basic socio-economic indicators of cities. 2006. Statistical collection. Rosstat. - M:, 2006. p. 136

Culture, science, education

Institutes: agricultural, physical education. Branch of the St. Petersburg Institute of Railway Transport Engineers.

Drama Theater (since 1919).

Museums: local history museum, memorial museum of academician I.M. Vinogradova, Alexandra Matrosova.

Near Velikiye Luki there are memorial museums of M.P. Mussorgsky and S.V. Kovalevskaya.

In Velikiye Luki and the surrounding area, there are about 60 monuments to soldiers who fell during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45.

Universities of the city

Velikiye Luki State Academy of Physical Culture and Sports
182100, Pskov region, Velikiye Luki, Yubileinaya sq., 4 WWW: https://www.vlgafc.ru/

Velikoluksk State Agricultural Academy

182100, Pskov region, Velikiye Luki, pl. Lenina, 1 WWW: https://www.vgsa.ru/

Velikoluksky branch of St. Petersburg State University of Service and Economics

182100, Pskov region, Velikiye Luki, st. Malysheva, 1a

Velikoluksky branch of the North-Western State Correspondence Technical University

182100, Pskov region, Velikiye Luki, Gagarin Ave., 128

Velikoluksky branch of the Modern Humanitarian Academy

182100, Pskov region, Velikiye Luki, st. Gastello, 21a

St. Petersburg State Transport University (Velikoluksky branch)

182100, Pskov region, Velikiye Luki, st. Gagarina, 95

Museums, galleries, exhibition halls

Museum of Local Lore of Velikiye Luki 182112, Pskov region, Velikiye Luki, pl.
Matrosova, 1 Telephone(s): (81153) 7-27-11 Literary and Art Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War named after. I.A. Vasilyeva 182156, Pskov region, Velikoluksky district, p/o Borki Phone(s): (81153) 23-101

Memorial House-Museum of Academician I.M. Vinogradova 182100, Pskov region, Velikiye Luki, st. Stavskogo, 48 Phone(s): (81153) 7-38-36

Polibinsky Memorial Museum-Estate of S.V. Kovalevskaya 182157, Pskov region, Velikoluksky district, village. Polibino Website: https://museums.pskov.ru/

Architecture, sights

In the historical center of the city, an earthen fortress dating from 1704-08 has been preserved. The total length of its shafts is 2 km, the initial height is 10 fathoms (21 m).