TUMBLEWEED

Walking the old cobbled streets of this quaint little town on the border of Moscow and Ryazan regions, it's hard to imagine that it had a very turbulet past. Over the course of history, Kolomna has been burnt, ravaged, and destroyed dozens of times. Being an important stronghold on the Eastern frontier of the Grandy Duchy of Muscovy, it has seen the invasions of various Slavic princes and outlived the Mongol Yoke, only to become the residence (and then the prison) of the Polish princess Marina Mnishek, whose name still bears one of the towers of the Kolomna Kremlin. Kolomna lost its political significance in the 17th century when Romanov dynasty came to power but remained an important merchant and logistic centre.

Today, Kolomna is a charming town with a well-preseved kremlin (where people actually live even today), beautiful merchant houses with wood-carved windows, ancient churches and monasteries dotted all around the Old town. But there's also a vibrant cultural life with new museums openning every few months. 

Kolomna was traditionally known for its pastila, a dessert made from oven-dried apple purée, egg white and sugar or honey. The production of pastila discontinued in Soviet times but was recently revived by local enthusiasts who opened a factory and two museums entirely dedicated to this traditional local confectionary. 

Distance from Moscow: 110km                   Founded in 1177                          Population: 143 578                          UTC+3