Directions and transportation: Rostov Kremlin is located in the heart of Rostov, and close to the bank of Lake Nero. There're 3 entrances. One of the Eastern side (leading to the Dormition Cathedral), and two on the western side (one next to the Dormition Cathedral, and the other is closer to the river, where Leninskaya St. begins). The latter entrance is the central, ticket office is located there.
Website: http://www.rostmuseum.ru (only in Russian)
Tel: +7-496-540-41-01
The length of an average visit: 3h
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 10am-5pm.
Admission: Combined ticket to all exhibitions: General 500₽/ Free for children under 16. Separately, exhibitions cost between 30₽ and 80₽. You also need to pay extra 150₽ if you want to watch a 10min film about the history of Rostov and the hurricane that hit the town in 1953 (you can buy the ticket to the film either at the central ticket office, or in the tower where the cinema is located).
Accepted payment methods: Cash or card
Accessible to English speakers: No. The majority of the signboards are only in Russian.
Guided tours: You need to order a guided tour in English in advance by calling +7-48536-617-17, or emailing to rk1883@mail.ru. You can either book a general tour to the kremlin grounds and the churches, or to a specific exhibition in the kremlin.
Restaurant: There's a restaurant called Sobranie located on the ground floor of the Red Chamber (the entrance is just under the white covered staircase). There'a also a café next to the hotel selling mead, sbiten', and tea with herbs from Mitropolichy garden which is adjacent to the Kremlin. In the garden itself, there's another café in one of the towers, serving locally made tea.
Shop: Yes. There're several souvenir shops on the territory of the kremlin. One is located next to the central ticket office, the other is in the basement of the hotel (there's a separate entrance from the street). There's also a shop inside the Museum of Rostov Enamel selling silver jewelry, jewel boxes and icons with Rostov enamels (finift). In the building next to the belfry, there's a workshop making and selling traditional Rostov black polished ceramics.
Tips: If you want to see the kremlin by night, stay in the hotel located on its territory. They'll give you a guest card which will allow you to go in and out of the kremlin any time of day and night.
TO SEE
Rostov Kremlin
Ростовский Кремль
Rostov Kremlin like no other conveys that fairytale image of Russia: a mighty fortress stands on a beautiful lake with its heavy wooden gates, gingerbread houses inside, an array of domes and spires of all colours, shapes, and sizes peeking out from behind the walls. Although Rostov is one of the oldest cities in Russia dating back to 862, the kremlin we see todays mainly dates from the 17th century. The older wooden structures were burnt by the Mongols, and their remains were later destroyed in order to give place to the new stone structures.
Today, Rostov Kremlin is a museum reserve with museums, galleries, churches, restaurants, sovenir shops, art studios, workshops, a cinema, a hotel, a garden, a herbary, and an apiary. You'll probably need more than one day to explore everything that the Rostov Kremlin has to offer. You can buy a combined ticket which gives you access to all museums on the territory of the kremlin. And you can also stay in a historical hotel on its grounds, and explore the kremlin at night when no one is around. If you're short of time, you can choose exhibitions that interest you most. We've written about all the exhibitions on the territory of the kremlin to make it easier for you to choose what to visit.
Parlour (Red Chamber, Ground Floor)
A small exhibition space recently opened on the ground floor of the Red Chamber, just next to the restaurant Sobranie. There you can learn about the history of the Red Chamber, see how it changed throughout the centuries, and learn about the reconstruction works that the building underwent in the 1950s. But the most interesting part is the multimedia panel which shows you full panoramas of various sights in and outside Rostov. It's a great place to get inspired and decide what to explore next. There's also a tiny information centre where you can pick various leaflets about the museums and events in Rostov.
White Chamber (Rostov Museum of Church Antiquities)
The oldest exhibition space in the Rostov Kremlin, the White Chamber, originally served as a refectory, and a great hall to the local clergy in the 17th and 18th centuries. When the diocese was moved to Yaroslavl, the building gradually fell into decay. The White Chamber reopened in 1883 after major restoration, and became the first museum on the territory of the Rostov Kremlin. It was named 'Rostov Museum of Church Antiquities'. The largest share of objects were donated to the museum by local churches and monasteries (hence the name), and also by Rostov merchants who helped to set up the museum. By 1918, there were almost 13 000 objects in the museum collection, including objects not related to 'church antiquities'. After the revolution, the museum housed temporary exhibitions and was later turned into a Local Lore Museum. The original exhibition reopened only in 1993. The majority of the showpieces have survived, and occupy their original places. The museum still preserves the concept of a 19th-century museum which was in fact, a collection of everything put together. You'll find icons, paintings, furniture, books, musical instruments, and much more there. And don't miss the 19th-century photos of the museum on the walls. It shows how little the exhibition changed since 1883.
In the antechamber, there's a separate exhibition of antique lamps, candelabras, chandeliers, etc. which also came from the original collection of the Museum of Chirch Antiquities formed in 1883-1917.
Note that there's no sign of the museum on the wall, or on the door of the building. You just need to find the right door and pull it.
Samuilov Building (Ancient Russian Art Department & Picture Gallery)
Opposite the White Chamber stands Samuilov Building constructed in the 16th century. Originally, the building served as the living quarters of the metropolite. In the 18th century, metropolite Samuil commissioned to build two floors above the original single storey building. Although he'd moved the diocese to Yaroslavl before he finished the reconstruction, the building received a new name after him. Today, the museum houses a large collection of icons dating from the 13th-20th centuries. The majority of the collection came from the churches and monasteries in Rostov and its suburbs. In the corridors, there're exhibitions of local painters, and upstairs you'll find a temporary exhibition (currenly about Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky).
The entrance to the museum is from the second floor, opposite the White Chamber. You need to climb the stairs to the platform from either side of the courtyard.
The Museum of Rostov Enamel (Finift Museum)
The museum occupies one of the oldest buildings in the Rostov kremlin, once a court of justice and administration department. The museum opened in 2000 with over 3000 showpieces of Rostov enamels. The production of enamels (called finift in Russian) began in Rostov in the 18th century. The technology came from France but was reworked and improved by local craftsmen. For a long time enamels were used only to embellish icons and other religious objects. Everything changed in the second half of the 19th century when local nobility and merchants began to order portraits of their beloved ones on enamels, and silver jewelry with enamel inlays. Yet the production was only known in the region, and it took a lot of effort to exhibit Rostov enamels in Moscow, London, Paris, and other cities across the globe. Eventually, Rostov enamels became one of the symbols of Russian craftsmanship, and acquired wolrdwide fame. The production of enamels continued after the revolution, but mainly for jewelry. During the Soviet years, bracelets, brooches, and earrings with Rostov enamels were among the most popular presents.
The exhibition shows the history of the enamel production in Russia from its origins in the 18th century until today. On the ground floor, there's a shop where you can buy jewelry and other objects with Rostov enamels made on a local finift manufacture, as well as by independent artisans.
Church of the Virgin Hodegetria (Russian and Western European Baroque)
A colourful single-dome church with geomertical patterns stands out from the rest of the Rostov kremlin churches. It was built in an unusual for Rostov Muscovite baroque style in the end of the 17th century. Rich rococo interiors were added in the 18th century. The church was shut down after the revolution, and reopened as none other than an antireligious museum. It later housed a library, reading and conference rooms until the major works started here at the turn of the century. It was decided not to return the building to the Orthodox Church but open a museum instead. Today, the church houses an exhibition on the history of Russian and European church baroque including furniture, candelabras, religious clothing, etc. Even if you're not interesting in those, it's still worth peeping in on the beautiful baroque interiors, iconostasis, and frescoes.
The History of Rostov Lands (Red Chamber, Upper Floor)
If you climb up the the beautiful white staircase of the Red Chamber and turn left, you'll find yourself in a local lore museum, which tells you the history of Rostov lands from the Paleolithic and the Iron Ages until late medieval period. Bones, early weapons, pottery, and jewelry are all there. A more ineresting part, perhaps, is the one with a well-preserved Western European knight sword, a collection of Arabic coins, and even the remains of a Viking ship, all found here, in Rostov.
Russian Art of the Second Half of the 19th Century and the Beginning of the 20th Century
This temporary exhibition occupies the largest room of the Red Chamber, located next to the History of Rostov Lands exhibition halls. The collection includes works of some prominent Russian artists such as Shishkin, Vereshchagin, Polenov, Aivazovsky, Makovsky, and Nesterov. As well as some works of the local artists, predominantly landscapes with the Rostov Kremlin, and the Lake Nero.
The exhibition is open until 5 April 2016.
Borisoglebsky Museum: History and the Future
A temporary asylum for a former Borisoglebsky museum was found here, in the Rostov Kremlin. A former branch of the Rostov Kremlin museum-reserve, Borisoglebsky museum was located 19km from Rostov, in the ancient Borisoglebsky Monastery founded in the 14th century. The monastery was shut down after the revolution but continued to function as a museum, until in 2014 the Russian Orthodox Church got it back, and the museum had to move out. The museum acquired a 19th-century peasant's house in Borisoglebsky, and at the moment it is being renovated and adapted for a museum. The museum is due to open in the new building in summer 2016. As for now, you can see ths Borisoglebsky exhibition in the Red Chamber. Note that one of the rooms at this exhibition showcases a collection of antique medals which are not related to the exhibition, but you can visit it with the same ticket.
The exhibition is open until 31 March 2016.
Bells and Jingle Bells. Rostov Centre of Campanology
This new museum opened in one of the chambers of the kremlin in the end of 2015. The exhibition is tiny but it's still worth peeping in. Besides, it has English translations unlike many other exhibitions in the Rostov Kremlin. Learn about the history of bell founding in Russian, and how the bells are founded and arranged on a belfry today. And don't forget to shake the shaft bow (which is on display there) to hear the sound of a Russian troika with its bells and jingle bells.
Documentary Film 'The Hurricane of the 1953'
One of the towers of the Kremlin houses a small cinema hall where you can watch a 10min film about the history of Rostov, learn how and when the kremlin was built, and see the documentary videos of the hurricane that hit Rostov in 1953, and wrought significant damage to the kremlin. The film is a good introduction to your visit to the kremlin, and, as a bonus, you get access to the Eastern wall of the fortress. Although kremlin walls are closed from October until May, this part remains open for those who attend the film. The entrance to the cinema hall is on the Eastern wall of the kremlin, in front of the Samuilov building, and next to the Dom na Pogrebakh hotel. Climb the narrow stairs, buy your ticket (150₽) from the museum attendants, and they'll show you the way to the cinema hall through the passage on the wall.
