TO SEE
KOLOMNA KREMLIN
About
Kolomna Kremlin, as we see it today, was built in the first half of the 16th century on the site of an ealier wooden fortress. The tall and thick red-brick structure with mighty towers was then seen as one of the best strongholds in Russia. Sadly, in the 18th and 19th century, when the fortress lost its strategic importance, local population pilfered the bricks from the wall and towers to build their own houses. Today, as you walk along the row of beautiful mansions of the Old town, you can't help but notice that some of them are made of very familiar red bricks.
The Cathedral Square is at the heart of the Kolomna Kremlin. Don't miss the green-domed 14th-century Assumption Cathderal with stunning frescoes and the smaller Church of Our Lady of Tikhvin. However, seven of the towers have survived more or less intact, and some parts of the walls have been restored in recent years. Kolomna Kremlin is one of the few kremlins in Russia where people actually live on its territory. In this sense, it's not a sort of museum where you need to buy tickets. It's a real pleasure to wander the 900-years-old cobbled streets of the trading quarter in kremlin and gaze on those beautiful 19th-century houses with carved platbands and richly-decorated fences. The best way to explore Kolomna Kremlin is just to get lost in its streets and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of an old Russian trade town.
Info
The walls of Kolomna Kremlin surround the oldest part of Kolomna. Whether you walk or come by taxi you won't miss the tall red-brick walls and towers on your way. The cars are allowed inside but not on the main square.
Go to Website (only in Russian)
Open anytime
Free admission
Average visit duration: 1h30min
Cash only
KOLOMNA PASTILA MUSEUM
МУЗЕЙ "КОЛОМЕНСКАЯ ПАСТИЛА"
About
Unlike many museums, the purpose of this museum is not to exhibit items but to take forgotten flavours and smells of Kolomna back to life. You won't find glass cases with information plates in here. But instead you'll be welcomed by a lady dressed in a 19-century dress of a Kolomna merchant wife who will then take you inside the original merchant house and tell you about the story of the house, local customs, manners and traditions as well as the origins of Kolomna pastila. All tours end in the drawing room with tea ceremony and pastila tasting. In autumn, you can also visit the famous apple and cherry orchards of Kolomna known since the 14th century. The guide will take you through the orchards and explain how they were kept in the 19th century when local merchants started producing pastila here.
There's an outdoor tearoom located in a secret garden on the territory of the museum. As you enter the gates of the museum turn right and you'll see a hidden passage in the wall, walk down the vine archway towards the garden. The tearoom is only open in summer season, they serve freshly-brewed tea with Kolomna pastila. There's a confectionary in the lobby where they sell over 30 kinds of Kolomna pastila and books about its production both in Russian and in English.
Info
13a Posadskaya St. (ул. Посадская, д. 13а)
The museum is located outside the Kolomna Kremlin, in the old part of town known as the Kolomna Posad. As you walk outside Pyatnitskaya gates of the kremlin, continue straight down the street until you see a street to your left with a church 100m away. Walk towards the church and turn right just before you reach it. You'll see the big wooden gates to your left and a sign of the museum.
+7 985 727 52 92
Mon-Sun 10am-8pm
General 350₽/ Children 300₽ (Weekends and holidays: General 450₽/ Children 400₽), the guided tour and tea ceremony with pastila tasting are included in price.
Guided tours in English are run by ilovekolomna.com. Call them up and book in advance.
Average visit duration: 1h
Cash only
PASTILA MUSEUM FACTORY
МУЗЕЙНАЯ ФАБРИКА ПАСТИЛЫ
About
The Pastila Factory recreates the production of Kolomna pastila in the 19th century. You'll learn about the owners of the company that used to produce it, try your hand at beating the apples manually as it was done back then, then baking the apple mass in the oven with the help of the guides dressed as 19th-century factory workers. The tour ends in the drawing room where you can explore the collection of antique pastila boxes and try various kinds of pastila.
Don't forget to pop into their recreated 19th-century confectionary shop selling all sorts of Kolomna pastila in vintage-style boxes.
Info
4 Polyanskaya St. (ул. Полянская. д. 4)
As you walk outside Pyantitskaya gates of Kolomna Kremlin continue straight down Pushkin street until you get to a small square with antique drinking fountain in the middle. You'll see the museum building in front of you.
+7 985 767 02 20
Mon-Sun 10am-8pm
General 400₽/ Children 300₽ (Weekends and holidays: General 500₽/ Children 400₽), the guided tour and tea ceremony with pastila tasting are included in price.
Guided tours in English are run by ilovekolomna.com. Call them up and book in advance.
Average visit duration: 1h
Cash only
KALACH MUSEUM
МУЗЕЙ "КАЛАЧНАЯ"
About
Kalach is a traditional Russian pastry in a shape of a padlock, a sort of a 19th-century Russian fastfood. The small museum and bakery organise daily theatrical performances where you can learn about the history of kalach baking in Russia, see how it's made (the actors/bakers/guides will bake it in an antique oven right in front of you) and try hot just-out-of-the-oven Russian kalach with butter and freshly-brewed tea.
The museum bakery is located next door. You can buy freshly baked kalach and bread made by traditional centuries-old Kolomna recipies.
Info
14 Zaitseva St. (ул. Зайцева, д. 14)
Walk outside the Pyatnitskaya gate of Kolomna Kremlin and take first turn left. The museum is in the first building to your left.
+7 985 995 52 92
Mon-Sun 10am-8pm
General 350₽/ Children 300₽ (Weekends and holidays: General 400₽/ Children 350₽)
Guided tours in English are run by ilovekolomna.com. Call them up and book in advance.
Average visit duration: 1h
Cash only
ARTKOMMUNALKA
АРТКОММУНАЛКА
About
Another very unusual museum is located in the new part of Kolomna, 5min walk from Kolomna Kremlin. Where else would you see a meticulously recreated Soviet communal apartment (commonly known in Russian as 'kommunalka')? Once a man called Venedict Yerofeyev once worked in a grocery store on the ground floor of this building. He later became one of the most famous Russian writers, the author of the postmodernist prose poem 'Moscow-Petushki'. Thus, the museum is also a tribute to the period when Yerofeyev lived in Kolomna (1960s). Walk from room to room in a company of a guide dressed in a Soviet student uniform who'll tell you how things were run in this type of flats where 4-5 families lived together and shared kitchen and bathroom. When you get to the kitchen, open the door of the cupboard and you'll find a secret passage behind the rag of clothes. Go through the cupboard and you'll end up in an art gallery. Every season 'Artkommunalka' organises a competition whose winner becomes the new Artist in Residence. An Artist gets accommodation right at 'Artkommunalka' where he or she works and organises performances.
The museum also organises guided tours with tea ceremonies and theatrical performances with Soviet food tastings. Soviet style souvenirs, postcards and board games are sold at the entrance to the museum-flat.
Info
205 Oktyabrskoy Revolyutsii St. (ул. Октябрьской Революции, д. 205)
The museum is located in the new part of town on one of its central street. You'll see the sign of the museum on the building that overlooks the square with a statue of Lenin. But the entrance to the museum is from the rear. You need to walk down Orkyabrskoy Revolyutsii St., turn left after you pass the building and the left again to walk into the courtyard. You'll see another sign and the entrance. Walk up the stairs to the 1st floor.
+7 985 335 02 20
+7 985 180 09 61
Mon-Sun 10am-8pm
General 150₽/ Children 100₽ (Weekends and holidays: General 200₽/ Children 150₽), guided tour is included in price.
Guided tours in English are run by ilovekolomna.com. Call them up and book in advance.
Average visit duration: 1h
Cash only