TO SEE
TSIOLKOVSKY STATE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF COSMONAUTICS
ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ МУЗЕЙ ИСТОРИИ КОСМОНАВТИКИ ИМ. ЦИОЛКОВСКОГО
About
The first space museum in the world whose foundation stone was laid by the first man in Space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961. Today, the museum is the largest of its kind in Russia, and is due to become even larger when the new part of the museum opens to public in 2017. But even today the collection of the museum on display is truly impressive. A part of the museum is dedicated to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a rocket science pioneer who lived most of his life in Kaluga. There're his scientific works and a model of the rocket designed by him (in fact, he was the one who invented the rocket shape for space exploration), the other part consists of the models of space crafts, satellites, human spaceflight modules, space rovers, modular space stations, spacesuits, etc. There's also a planetarium inside the museum. Learn more about it and check the schedule of the shows here.
Info
2 Akademika Koroleva St. (ул. Академика Королева, д. 2)
+7 4842 70 50 25
+7 919 037 33 22
Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun 10am-6pm, Wed 11am-9pm, Sat 10am-7pm. Closed on Mondays and on the last Friday of the month.
General 160₽ / Seniors and Students 110₽ / Free for children under 16. Photography/ video inside the museum 200₽
Average Visit: 1h30min
TSIOLKOVSKY HOUSE MUSEUM
ДОМ-МУЗЕЙ ЦИОЛКОВСКОГО
About
A tiny wooden house at the bottom of the hill is where the famous Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky spent 29 years of his life, wrote most of his works and сonducted his most famous experiments. The house was bought by Tsiolkovsky in 1904, it then was a one-storey hut with only one living room. Tsiolkovsky rebuilt it and added an upper floor where he set his study and laboratory. The museum was opened here in 1936, a year after the scientist's death. It was visited by all famous Russian cosmonauts including Yuri Gagarin, Alexey Leonov and Valentina Tereshkova. Each and every item in the museum stands where it was when Tsiolkovsky lived there. His books, his tools, even his two favourite bicycles are still there.
Info
79 Tsiolkovskogo St. (ул. Циолковского, д. 79), entrance from Kosmonavta Volkova St. (ул. Космонавта Волкова)
+7 4842 74 61 80
Tue, Thu, Fri, Sun 10am-6pm, Wed 11am-8pm, Sat 10am-7pm. Closed on Mondays and on the last Friday of each month.
General 150₽ / Seniors and Students 100₽ / Free for children under 16. Photography, video inside the museum 200₽
Average visit: 40min
KALUGA LOCAL LORE MUSEUM
КАЛУЖСКИЙ КРАЕВЕДЧЕСКИЙ МУЗЕЙ
About
Probably the most beautiful building in Kaluga, the Local Lore Museum stands on the top of the hill above the Oka River. The palace which now belongs to the museum was built in the beginning of the 19th century by one of the most prominent merchants in Kaluga, and was meant to accommodate members of the royal family. Today, the palace houses a collection of everything from local natural history collection (including a collection of stuffed crocodiles and other exotic animals brought by some nature enthusiast) to ancient pottery and jewelry founded in the region, to exhibition dedicated to Russian writers who travelled or worked in Kaluga region. It seems like many of the displays haven't been updated since the Soviet years and still bear quotes of Lenin here and there. However, the upper floor of the palace with its amazing stucco works, frecoes, antique furniture, mirrors and chandeliers is definitely worth seeing.
Info
14 Pushkina St. (ул. Пушкина, д. 14)
+7 4842 74 40 07
Tue-Fri, Sun 9.30am-5.30pm. Last admission at 5pm. Sat 11am-7pm. Last admission at 6.3opm. Closed on Mondays and on the last Friday of each month.
General 150₽ / Concessions 100₽ / Free for children under 18
Cash only
Average visit: 1h15min
KALUGA ART MUSEUM
КАЛУЖСКИЙ МУЗЕЙ ИЗОБРАЗИТЕЛЬНЫХ ИСКУССТВ
About
Another beautiful early-19th century mansion is occupied by the state art museum. The core of the collection was bequeathed to the museum by a local doctor (and also an avid art collector) Nikanor Vasilyev. A significant part of the collection was destroyed during the World War II when the Germans occupied Kaluga. However, in the years after the war the collection was replenished with paintings sent from other museum. There's an exhibition of medieval icons which came from local churches and monasteries, a collection of 18th-century portraits which came from the estates and mansions in the region, 19th and 20th-century works by prominent Russian painters, and a collection of European art, including a work by Peter Paul Rubens.
Info
104 Lenina St. (ул. Ленина, д. 104)
+7 4842 56 28 30
Tue-Sun 10am-6pm. Closed on Mondays and on the last Friday of each month.
General 100₽ / Seniors 60₽ / Students 50₽ / Free for children under 18. Photography 200₽
Cash only
Average Visit: 1h
HOUSE OF CRAFTSMEN
ДОМ МАСТЕРОВ
About
This fairy tale wooden house on a quiet lane in the old part of Kaluga houses an interesting collection of local crafts. Everything that has been traditionally produced in Kaluga region is on display there. There're Russian bast shoes and bast baskets, clay toys and embroidery, dresses and jewelry. Some items are century-old while others have been produced in recent years. The museum also houses temporary exhibitions by local artists, craftsmen and art collectors. Don't forget to pop into their souvenir shop next to the ticket office, there's an excellent collection of toys and other souvenirs made by local craftsmen.
Info
9 Grigorov Lane (Григоров пер., д. 9)
+7 4842 57 90 44
Tue-Sat 9.30am-6pm. Lunch break from 1.30 until 2pm. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
General 90₽ / Student 50₽ / Children 40₽
Cash only
Average Visit: 30min
KOROBOV CHAMBERS
ПАЛАТЫ КОРОБОВА
About
A rare surviving 17th-century house in Kaluga, Korobov Chambers house a branch of the Local Lore Museum. The house that once belonged to a merchant Kirill Korobov has survived almost intact throughout the centuries (only the outer staircase is gone). However, none of the interiors have survived, only the original windows and vaulted ceiling remind us of how it might have looked in the 1700s. Tradiotionally, the lower part of the building was not heated and used for storing goods. The room in the left wing with 6 windows belonged to women who needed lots of light to be able to sew and embroider. The first historical opened here in the end of the 19th century. Today, Korobov Chambers house only temporary exhibitions set up by the museum staff but in the next couple of years it is planning to build a permanent collection dedicated to the history of merchantry in Kaluga.
Info
88 Plekhanova St. (ул. Плеханова, д. 88)
Tue-Fri, Sun 9.30am-5.30pm. Last admission at 5pm. Sat 11am-7pm. Last admission at 6.3opm. Closed on Mondays and on the last Friday of each month.
General 40₽ / Free for children under 18
Cash only
Average Visit: 30min