What to see in Sarapul What to see in Sarapul?
One of the sites described as many as 18 (!) attractions of the city of Sarapul. On our trip to this small town, we counted 7 of the most significant (arranged in the order of their visit): 1. Observation deck over the Kama River 2. Central square of Sarapul 3. Monument to Nadezhda Durova 4. Bashenin’s dacha 5. Water pump building 6 Tsar's House 7. Monument to the steam locomotive
On the May holidays of 2021 (May 10-11), it was decided to go to the city of Sarapul, located 67 km from the capital of Udmurtia, Izhevsk, on the banks of the Kama River. In terms of the trip, the main goal was to visit Bashenin’s dacha, the main attraction of Sarapul, a very interesting unique building. Read more about this.
Do you remember in the film “The Diamond Arm” the heroine N. Mordyukova asks Yu. Nikulin to give a lecture “Istanbul - a city of contrasts”? At that time, it was clear that the lecture had an ideological bias: the splendor and poverty of capitalist society as opposed to socialist society. So, the association... Most small Russian towns can safely be called the “City of Contrasts”. And in this case, the contrast lies in the condition of city buildings: some are looked after and are a decoration of the city, others are in deplorable condition, with trees growing on their roofs. And this immediately catches your eye: after all, these buildings stand next to each other, creating a real contrast!
Sarapul is no exception in this context. On the central square ALMOST everything is well-groomed, flowers are planted in the flower beds, a clean cozy embankment on the banks of the Kama River, a new beautiful building of the Sarapul Hotel. And then mixed in with all this beauty is something shabby, with birch trees on a leaky roof. Ehhh... City authorities, ah!
However, the central square of Sarapul is worth a stroll. Moreover, one of the historical attractions of this city is located there - a monument to Nadezhda Durova, a cavalry maiden, the prototype of Shurochka Azarova from the film “The Hussar Ballad”. However, we began our exploration of the city by visiting the observation deck above the Kama.
Observation deck over the Kama River
This is an ordinary observation deck with a beautiful view of the Kama River. Apparently, local residents come here when they celebrate some significant event (a wedding, for example). A memorial stone was also installed here to the mayor of Sarapul, Andrei Vasilyevich Durov, the father of the famous cavalry maiden Nadezhda Durova (a story about her below).
Sarapul observation deck
A few more photos at the Sarapul observation deck:
Central square of Sarapul
Since we arrived in Sarapul on the May holidays of May 10-11, when Victory Day was celebrated, the central square was decorated with flags. It’s very pleasant to walk around the square, everything is very clean and well maintained.
Central square of Sarapul
Here are some more photos:
A small digression. We were very lucky with the weather on this trip - it was very sunny and warm, which is clearly visible in the photographs. We can say that on May 11 our Ural summer in 2021 ended...
On the central square there is another city attraction: a fountain in the shape of a sterlet fish. The symbol of Sarapul is the sterlet, because the name of the city comes from the Chuvash word “sarapul”, which literally translates as “yellow fish” - this is how the Chuvash call sterlet. This fish crowns the fountain on the city embankment, but on the day we visited, the fountain was not working and was apparently under reconstruction (or maybe they simply had not yet turned it on after the winter).
Symbol of Sarapul
Where to go in Sarapul with a child
Naturally, Sarapul has prepared interesting places and entertainment for children. We'll look at the most interesting ones below.
Children's Museum Center Dacha Moshchevitina
- Address: st. Nekrasova, 21B.
Next to Bashenin's Dacha there is a children's museum center unique for a small Udmurt town - Moshchevitin's Dacha. Tourists with children who have visited Sarapul recommend visiting this attraction first of all, because a real fairy tale lives here for a child.
Animators organize exciting show programs, especially during holidays, such as New Year or Christmas. And the wooden building of the center is very beautiful in appearance and is immediately memorable.
Merchant teahouse
- Address: st. Dostoevsky, 60.
Next to Bashenin’s dacha there is also a Merchant Tea House, which tells a lot of interesting things about the traditions of tea drinking in Udmurtia and Russia in general. In addition to an educational story that will be more interesting for teenagers, they offer delicious treats that kids will enjoy.
Children's park
- Address: st. Pervomaiskaya/st. Dostoevsky.
In the city center there is also a Children's Park, which many consider a green oasis among the gray city gloom. It has children's playgrounds and slides, a sandbox. There are benches for adults so that children can be easily watched.
See also the sights of other cities of Udmurtia - Votkinsk, Glazov and Mozhga
Sarapul, although not very large in size, will delight you with a huge number of interesting places. Any tourist, having visited here at least once, will want to come back here repeatedly just to admire the unique architectural monuments and other interesting places of the modern city.
Monument to Nadezhda Durova
Another historical landmark of Sarapul, located on the central square of the city, is the monument to Nadezhda Durova, a cavalry maiden, the prototype of Shurochka Azarova from the film “The Hussar Ballad”. In general, Nadezhda Durova has an amazing fate. Her mother was really looking forward to a boy, and Raisa Zakharovna was born a girl. Her mother did not love her very much, to such an extent that one day she simply threw the little crying child out of the carriage. After this incident, the father took the daughter from the mother and from then on she was raised by her father's orderly. By the way, Nadezhda Durova’s father is the mayor of Sarapul, and it is in his memory that there is a stone on the observation deck.
Monument to Nadezhda Durova in Sarapul
As N. Durova herself writes in her autobiographical book “Notes of a Cavalry Maiden,” the saddle was my first cradle; horse, weapons and regimental music were the first children's toys and amusements. There is a lot of information on the Internet about the biography of Nadezhda Andreevna Durova; read about this amazing fate on the pages of other sites. I will only say that she dedicated her life to serving the Fatherland. Her courage and dedication, as well as her great desire to serve her homeland, admired her colleagues, and her military career was successful, even after her “deception” was revealed. After 10 years of service in 1816, she was transferred to the reserve with the rank of headquarters captain.
Monument to the cavalry maiden in Sarapul
Monuments and sculptures in Sarapul
In the city of Sarapul there are a lot of monuments dedicated both to individual events in the history of Russia or a locality, and to personalities who glorified their homeland. Some of them are unique to modern Russia.
Cenotaph
- Address: DK Electron square.
The monument is located near the Elekond plant. It was dedicated to all the soldiers who died during the Second World War. More than one hundred mothers came here instead to the graves of their sons to honor their memory. And each of them always saw her own child in the figure standing on the pedestal. Veterans see their comrades in the sculpture’s outlines.
Monument to the Prisoners of the Death Barge
- Address: Kama River embankment.
During the Civil War, death barges were the floating prisons in which all detained and captured White Guards were kept. When they left the city, they placed there all those whom they suspected of sympathizing with the Bolsheviks as hostages.
The barge itself was placed at a pier located not far from Sarapul, in the village of Golyany. All of them were then subjected to torture by hunger, and some by cold due to the lack of normal clothing.
Periodically, the White Guards took some of the captured people out of the hold to shoot them. They were released in 1918 on October 17. But by that time, of the 600 people who were there initially, only 432 were able to survive.
Monument to Durova
- Address: Red Square, 6.
The monument was erected in Sarapul in 2013 in memory of the first female cavalryman, Nadezhda Durova, whose childhood years were spent in the city. She took part in a huge number of battles, in which she always showed herself to be a brave soldier. One of her main awards was the St. George Cross, received for saving an officer during the battle.
After her childhood, Durova visited Sarapul again in 1812, when she came here for treatment after being wounded during the Battle of Borodino. Later she was Kutuzov's orderly. But already in 1813 she returned to the cavalry again and took part in the battles to liberate German lands.
Durova retired only in 1816 - after her father’s urgent request. Then she returned to her hometown, where she surprised everyone with her men's suit. Nadezhda Durova died in 1866. She was buried with all the honors due to soldiers.
Fragment of a railway line
- Address: Naberezhnaya street.
This historical sign was opened in Sarapul in 2014. This was done early in the morning of June 22. In fact, these are the remains of a preserved railway line that operated during the war. Many trains carrying wounded people passed along it and came to local hospitals for treatment.
It was also along this route that in 1941 a train arrived with equipment from the Ordzhonikidze plant, which was previously located in Moscow. Quite a few food trains with products for both residents of Sarapul and other neighboring settlements passed through it.
Monument to Sivkov
- Address: st. Sivkova, 24G, Northern district.
A monument dedicated to the hero of the Soviet Union Sivkov was erected on the territory where the city school No. 17 is located. It was in Sarapul that the future soldier once spent his childhood, although he was born in Izhevsk.
He moved here in 1938, and subsequently graduated from high school here. By the end of 1943, he graduated from a tank school located in Kazan, after which he was sent to the 212th tank regiment.
In 1944, on the night before March 14, he managed to break into the village of Yavkino. There he independently managed to kill more than a hundred Germans, as well as destroy 3 guns and 12 armored personnel carriers belonging to them.
After that, in the process of maneuvering through the village to repel the fierce attacks of the Nazis, he got stuck in an anti-tank ditch. As a result of this, the entire crew immediately found themselves trapped. After they had completely used up all the remaining ammunition, Sivkov decided to set fire to the tank and blow up himself and his driver along with the car.
Monument-steam locomotive Ov-3705
- Address: Privokzalny residential area.
The locomotive was installed in memory of the Sarapul peasants, who in 1919, despite the scarcity of their own reserves, were able to send 80 pounds of bread they collected to St. Petersburg and Moscow. On the monument on the tender there is an inscription in memory of that gift from Sarapul to all the starving people from these cities.
Bashenin's dacha
Bashenin's dacha in Sarapul
Bashenin's dacha is the most beautiful and memorable attraction of this city, this is exactly what you need to see in Sarapul. Actually, this is the attraction for which we came to Sarapul.
First of all, the builder himself and the first owner of the dacha, Pavel Andreevich Bashenin, is interesting. This is a merchant, philanthropist, industrialist, honorary citizen of the city of Sarapul. In the period from 1904 to 1909. he was the head of the city. Under his, let’s say, leadership, the city was transformed and what Sarapul is now, in our time, is largely thanks to P.A. Bashenina.
Pavel Bashenin directed all his efforts to the development of his native city and its improvement. Under him, the central streets were paved, 50 kerosene lanterns were installed, at his personal expense and the expense of others who followed his example. The main brainchild of P.A. Bashenin, the capital Sarapul water supply system (see below Water pumping building) and the Sarapul power plant were built on his initiative and his active participation. It is for these merits that P.A. Bashenin in 1909 was awarded the high title of honorary citizen of Sarapul.
Bashenin's house. Sign near the entrance
One very interesting architectural feature of Bashenin's dacha. From a distance it looks like the building is made of wood. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, dachas were built exclusively from wood. P.A. Bashenin decided to build a dacha using the latest construction technologies and it was built from stone that imitates wood.
Initially, the dacha was owned by P.A. Bashenin, who suddenly died of hemorrhage on March 4, 1910. After his death, the dacha was inherited by his younger brother Peter, who lived there with his family until 1917.
I will not describe the architectural features of the building; the photo shows that it really looks very original and beautiful. The building is in perfect harmony with the surrounding park.
Park near Bashenin's dacha
Bashenin's dacha. Fountain
We were definitely not lucky with fountains in Sarapul. Apparently this fountain near the house was not unpacked after the winter and stood under an awning (pictured above). We saw this fountain only in the picture. It looks like this:
Fountain Children in the rain in the picture
During Soviet times, the building housed a tuberculosis clinic. Since the 80s of the last century, the building was abandoned and began to crumble. In the 90s, the building was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Museum of the History of the Middle Kama Region. The restoration and restoration work at Bashenin's dacha took four whole years. In the fall of 1995, the architectural monument “Dacha Bashenina” was inaugurated; it housed the oldest collection of artists of the 19th-20th centuries in Udmurtia.
At the moment, the house represents itself as a museum, in the halls of which you can see originals (canvases and sculptures) of famous artists such as I. Aivazovsky. Also on display are unique exhibits - interior items that once belonged to the merchant families of Sarapul.
We wholeheartedly recommend taking a tour of the museum - it is very interesting. This is not the first time I have noticed how much museum workers care deeply about the history of their native land. And when such a person conducts an excursion, it is always interesting and informative. And of course, answers to any questions - after all, a person is completely immersed in the topic. This time we were very lucky in this regard, the story was very deep and interesting, it’s a pity that we were limited by the time frame.
Museum address: Sarapul, st. Dostoevsky, 60
Beautiful temples and churches of Sarapul
It is difficult to imagine any locality in Russia, even a small one, without its own church. Sarapul is no exception. There are churches here that have been around for decades, and temples that have appeared quite recently.
Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
- Address: st. Raskolnikova, 83A.
The construction of St. Nicholas Church began in 1995 with money raised by local residents, as well as working groups of Sarapul. The first divine service on the territory of the Orthodox shrine took place here only on January 6, 2009.
Today, work on painting the walls is still ongoing in the St. Nicholas Church, and preparations for the future iconostasis are also underway.
But already here the Cossacks managed to install the only Poklonny Cross in the city, at the foot of which they built a Golgotha. In addition, there is a memorial stone nearby, which is dedicated to everyone who suffered during the period of Soviet repression.
Church of Xenia of Petersburg
- Address: st. Gorky, 74, Central district.
The cathedral, dedicated to Xenia of St. Petersburg, was opened by the local Old Believer community in 1911. It existed under him until 1940. At the same time, the building was transferred to one of the military units to house a food warehouse. The cathedral was returned to the parishioners in 1991. Today there is an Orthodox parish here.
Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Address: Internationalnaya st., 2A.
Almost on the embankment of the Kama River there is a beautiful Church of the Intercession, which is the oldest in the city. It was built between 1785 and 1792, which confirms this fact.
The architect of the Orthodox Church was F.M. Roslyakov. In addition to the throne of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, there are two other thrones here - Flora and Lavra, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Church of Seraphim of Sarov
- Address: st. Seraphim of Sarov, 1.
The new church of the city is the Seraphim Temple, located in South Sarapul - it was built in the 21st century, between 2008 and 2013, in the original wooden design. Reviews confirm that there is a sincere atmosphere, wonderful servants and beautiful, original architecture.
Sarapul Annunciation Convent
- Address: st. Soboleva, 15.
In the northern part of the city there is the only monastery in Sarapul - Blagoveshchensky. The convent in these places was founded in 1811, and since 1923 it was closed by the Soviet authorities, almost completely destroyed. The current monastery complex is a new building, since construction work began only in 2015 and elsewhere.
Water pump building
The Sarapul merchant Pavel Bashenin built towers in accordance with his surname. The building of his dacha and the building of the water pump were built in the form of towers. The photo below shows the most beautiful water pumping building in Sarapul, located on the Kama embankment. The station operated for its intended purpose until the mid-1980s of the last century. Today this building houses the modern restaurant and hotel complex “Old Tower”. Address: Sarapul, Opolzina street, 1
Sarapul. City water pump building
Tsar-house
Tsar-house in Sarapul
In 1904, an outstanding entrepreneur and mayor of Sarapul, Pavel Bashenin, built a house in the Art Nouveau style. The building amazed contemporaries with its beauty. The arrow-shaped battlements that crowned the building resembled a crown, for which the townspeople nicknamed it “the king’s house.”
Bashenin’s “Tsar House” is one of the best buildings of its kind in the entire Kama region. It was in this building in Sarapul that an electric light bulb first lit up. After the revolution, the Palace of Labor was located here, and then a children's hospital. For a long time the object was in a dilapidated state, then it was under restoration. Now the building houses a diagnostic and treatment center.
Address: Sarapul, st. Truda, 15. Located a 5-minute walk from the embankment.
Cultural Sarapul: museums and theaters
Sarapul, although not very large in size and population, has its own museums and theater. Some of them are known even outside of modern Udmurtia, so if possible it is worth taking the time to visit them.
Museum of Academician Melnikov
- Address: st. Efima Kolchina, 37.
The museum is historical and biographical and is dedicated to the life of a mining scientist who made a significant contribution to the development of this science. Melnikov’s main achievements are considered to be work related to the development of methods for crushing rock by explosions, the development of methods for determining all kinds of parameters of specialized machines, as well as various issues regarding the development of the mining industry in general.
The exhibition itself is located in a wooden house where the scientist’s family lived in the first decades of the 20th century. On its ground floor, it was possible to restore the interior of the living quarters of that time in the family of a shoemaker working at home. The second floor is entirely dedicated to Melnikov’s scientific activities.
Museum of History and Culture of the Middle Kama Region
- Address: Pervomaiskaya st., 68.
The museum is the oldest in Udmurtia. It was established by the local district zemstvo in 1909. During the Second World War, 35,000 exhibits that belonged to Leningrad museums were evacuated here.
Today, there is a large unique collection of the museum’s own exhibits collected over more than a century of the museum’s history. In total there are now about 200,000 of them. The museum is now a repeated winner of competitions, both at the regional and national levels.
Radio Factory Museum
- Address: st. Gogol, 40U.
On the territory of the plant, which operates in the radio industry, there is a small but colorful museum, where a good exhibition of old samples of radio equipment has been selected. Reviews do not highlight this place in any way, saying that it is an ordinary museum at a factory. But visiting it is still recommended.
Drama Theater
- Address: Pervomaiskaya st., 22A.
The first theater on a professional basis in Sarapul was opened in 1911. And today the creative team continues to rely on the rich not only theatrical, but also cultural and historical heritage passed on to them.
For more than a century, contributions to it were made by such an outstanding theater figure as Skibnevsky, who worked here as artistic director in 1937-1944, as well as the actress Miklashevskaya, who served as Yesenin’s muse. Today, the theater is visited annually by more than 32,000 spectators of different ages.
Steam Locomotive Monument
Monument to a steam locomotive in Sarapul
Not far from the railway station there is a monument to a steam locomotive. On the pedestal of the monument there is a sign “Dedicated to the feat of the peasants of the Sarapul district, who saved thousands of lives of residents of Moscow and Petrograd from hunger by delivering 80 thousand pounds of donated bread in March 1919.”
Plaque on the steam locomotive monument
I hope that thanks to this article, travel lovers can choose what to see in Sarapul. We will be happy to answer all questions. All the best!
