Серебряный бор440014, г. Пенза, ул. Спартаковская 28 а

Detailed description of the tour “Russian countryside” & “Poet Lermontov” WE INVITE YOU FOR GUIDED TOURS WITH Serebryanyy Bor, LLC in cooperation with the travel agency for domestic tourism “PenzaTour”! Guided tours are for groups of 40+ persons; if a group is less than 40 persons, the cost calculation shall be made individually for the group. Itinerary: the city of Moscow – Narovchat village – Poim village – Lermontovo village – Sazanye village – the town of Serdobsk – Treskino village – the town of Penza – the town of Saransk - Boldino – Diveyevo – Arzamas – Moscow The State Lermontov Museum-Reserve “Tarkhany” The State Lermontov Museum-Reserve “Tarkhany” is an inseparable fusion of nature, poetry, music, folk art, simple-friendly architecture of the landlord’s manor house. In the grandmother’s estate of Tarkhany, where Lermontov spent more than a half of his short life, you will visit the old manor house, where the harmony of graceful lines of the XIX century, the warm glare of mahogany furniture and mysterious atmosphere of memorial items reign. There is the family tomb at the village church, where the poet is buried – please put a humble wildflower on his lead coffin. In the servant’s hut, weavers are weaving old-fashioned rugs and napkins which you can buy in the gift shop. In the steward’s wooden cabin, a potter will teach you to mould pots and clay whistle toys that have long been considered as the best talisman against evil forces. If you get to a workshop, you will have an opportunity to experience malleable clay in your hands, hear the buzzing of the potter’s wheel, and observe the slow appearance of a miracle pitcher in its glimpses. You can mould a whistle with your own fingers and save it in the memory of this joyful day. Enjoy yourself in inviting alleys of the manor park in the aroma of Antonov apples and wild strawberry glades; it is so nice to sit here in a pavilion with a book, savour the silence or quietly and leisurely chat with friends, feed the ducks on the lower pond, or stroll through the camomile meadow to the mill. On Barskiy pond you can ride a boat recreated from the drawings of the XIX century. An old carriage will bring you to the Far garden, and in the winter – a sleigh will do the same through the deep snow at the ringing of a bell. And if you wish to go on a horse ride on horseback along the marvellous surroundings – you will be provided excellent horses of the very breed, which Lermontov enjoyed the most, at any time of the year. Since 1971, All-Russia Lermontov Holidays have been held in the “Tarkhany” – thousands of people listen to the vital word of the poet once again in the performance of the country’s best actors. And here, on the sacred Tarkhan land, it is perceived in a special way, it can be heard louder and brighter. Come and enjoy the fresh air, Russian expanse and warm hospitality. “Crafts and Arts of the Region of Surskoe – Toy of Abashevo” A business card of the Region of Penza is an art pottery. Currently, three clay hotbeds are the best known: the Village of Abashevo of the District of Spassk, the Village of Yazykovo of the District of Belinskiy, the Village of Sokolka of the District of Serdobsk. The Village of Abashevo is an unconditional leader among them, traditionally famous for its hereditary potters and pipers. The most famous Abashevo products are clay whistle toys (in the form of human and animal figures – a reflection of ancient beliefs, superstitions, omens in view of the protection of humans, dwellings, crops, livestock). Other areas of work by Abashevo masters include large sculptural forms of beasts and birds, clay pottery (milk pots, jugs, mugs, dough, beer and kvass pots, oil vessels, flower cans, hand washing basins). Abashevo clay ceramics used to be in demand at fairs of Spassk, Narovchat, Kerensk, as well as Mordovia, Tambov province. The most famous toys of Abashevo were horses and ladies of the manor. Penza pottery was known not only in Russia but abroad. Abashevo masters are participants of major international exhibitions. In 1993, a laboratory-workshop on studying the experience of folk artists, recreating the technology of pottery production, manufacturing pottery, teaching pottery skills to the younger generation was established in Abashevo. Modern Abashevo is the centre of the revival of pottery and art products production, preservation of Abashevo toys canons, and continuation of traditions of the famous pottery masters. An Abashevo pipe is an amulet and the main souvenir. A Guided Tour to Narovchatskiy Troitse-Skanov Convent Narovchatskiy Troitse-Skanov Convent, the cave monastery, Saloleyskie miraculous springs. Of the many Penza architecture landmarks, Narovchatskiy Troitse-Skanov Convent is the most beautiful. Located in the ancient City of Narovchat in the north-west of the Region of Penza, Troitse-Scanov Convent was founded in the XVII century as an outpost of Orthodoxy in the heathen lands. The current appearance of the Convent was formed during many centuries. Instead of the destroyed buildings new ones were built, more beautiful and perfect. When you find yourself in the Region of Penza, be sure to take the time to visit the caves of Skanovo. Why? Because you will not see anything like this anywhere else in Russia! Formerly, hermit monks settled there to escape the worldly fuss. In their rock cells, they offered their prayers to the Lord in the absolute silence and solitude. These narrow cells are located at the sides of long corridors leading away into the ground. Over the centuries, the cave maze grew and expanded, and new levels were constructed. There is a chapel in the underground monastery. Multilevel underground tunnels stretch for a distance of over 600 meters, in its length of the cave exceeding Kievo-Pechersk Lavra. And what discoveries more are waiting ahead in the obstructed galleries? Anyone who visited the caves of Skanovo notes the healthy air of the dungeons – another mystery of this amazing monastery. Forty Martyrs spring is located near Troitse-Skanov Convent. In years of the repressions, forty priests were buried alive on the top of the hill. After this villainy, forty streams flowed parallel to each other from the top of the completely dry hill. Later, the spring was made at the hill foot. The streams were directed along the gutters; several streams were joined in the pool and formed sort of a waterfall. More details at: eparhia.onego.ru/ A Guided Tour to St. Tikhvinskiy Kerenskiy Friary The Holy Springs of Tikhvin Mother of God and Kazan Mother of God. In 1683, near the Town of Kerensk (currently the Village of Vadinsk), a monastery was founded on the advent site of the miraculous icon of Tikhvin Mother of God as “Virgin Odigitriev Tikhvinskiy monastery of the Town of Kerensk”. The monastery was abolished in 1764 due to its small size, but actually existed as a parish with an affiliated almshouse opened in 1822. In 1848, the almshouse was renamed into Tikhvin female parish, and in 1851, it received a monastery status. By this time, there were more than 200 nuns in the monastery. The monastery economic activity was determined by farming, animal husbandry, horticulture, gardening, and beekeeping on 857 land tithes owned by the monastery, as well as gold embroidery and icon painting. In the beginning of the XX century, the monastery complex included a number of stone buildings: the 5-dome Cathedral in the name of the Icon of Tikhvin Mother of God and the bell tower with the gate church in the name of St. Dimitriy, Metropolitan of Rostov; the Church in the name of the Mother of God Icon “Life-Giving Spring”, built on the site of gaining the icon of Tikhvin Mother of God, where there had been the first wooden church before, named after the icon; several 2-storeyed buildings: the abbot’s, a refectory, a school, an icon hall, a hospital with a church in the name of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker; and buildings located outside the monastery: a hospice, houses of the church clergy and some other buildings. By 1915, there were more than five hundred nuns in the monastery. In the 1920’s, the monastery was closed, and all its property was nationalized. Over 70 years, the monastery premises housed a secondary school, an orphanage, a boarding school, an agricultural school, and a branch of Nizhnelomovskiy plant. On May 2, 1997 at 11 a.m., a holy waters church service was held near the holy spring. And on May 5, Archbishop Seraphim of Penza and Kuznetsk decreed the opening of Kerenskiy St. Tikhvinskiy Friary. On May 21-22, the first Vigil and Divine Liturgy was held. On July 3, a cross procession delivered a list with the miraculous icon of Tikhvin Mother of God from the Mitrofanovskiy Temple of the City of Penza. The restoration of the Temple of Life-Giving Spring was the first to begin. In 1999, restoration works in Tikhvin cathedral began. In 2000, crosses on the temple domes were sanctified and set. On December 30, 2004, a bell weighing 1,200 kg was installed in the bell tower – the biggest in the Eparchy of Penza. Currently, there are 12 bells at the Belfry. More details at: tihvin.kerensk.ru The Excursion to Solovtsovka Visiting the temple with the relics of St. John Olenevskiy and his cell in the Village of Olenevka, Martyr Paraskeva spring, the temple complex in Bolshaya Valyaevka. The relics of St. John are resting in the Troitse Sergievyy Temple, in the Village of Solovtsovka, Region of Penza. The Reverend St. Confessor John Olenevskiy is a specially revered ascetic of Penza land. During his holy life, he was gifted with an ability of healing and foresight. The spring of St. John Olenevskiy (also known as a Holy or Pure Spring) is located in a ravine on the outskirts of Olenevka. According to the legend, the spring was created by the holy man, who constantly took water out of it in order to heal with it sick and suffering people from physical and mental infirmities. The source is located near the confessor’s cell, where he lived until his death. Not far away, where the revered icon of St. Martyr Paraskeva was found, there is another source of the miraculous spring which also helps people, especially if the person visits this place of natural wealth with pure thoughts and belief in removal of afflictions. A chapel and bathing pond are raised above the holy spring. In Bolshaya Valyaevka a spring is flowing, its water is recognised as healing. The spring became revered after one monk found an icon of the Mother of God at the turn of the XVII and XVIII centuries, during a Kuban nomads’ raid. In 1871, the monumental five domed stone church was built in honour of the icon of the Mother of God Life-Giving Spring, and later a bell tower was constructed. As a result, the temple complex was formed, but now it is under reconstruction. The restored Kazanskiy Church has become a place of worship for several years, and the restoration of the second temple has begun. According to the materials of the websites: pravoslavie58region.ru tv-express.ru The Excursion to the Village of Treskino, the Town of Serdobsk and the Village of Sazanye Sazanye: Kazan Aleksievo Sergievskaya Hermitage, the cave monastery near the holy spring of the Kazan Mother of God. Serdobsk: Michael the Archangel Cathedral. Treskino: Christ’s Christmas Hermitage, the Temple of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God, the holy spring of Saint Nicolas the Wonderworker. Beneath Kolyshley, on the banks of the river of Kolyshley, the Village of Treskino is located. It is a centre of pilgrimage and spiritual life of the Russian Orthodox Church. There are Christmas Monastery and a wooden Temple of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God. A local priest, who is gifted by the Lord with enlightenment and cleansing of human spirit, attracts the believers. By doing a special prayer, he invokes the grace of God for sick and possessed people, and heals their souls and bodies. The Five domed Temple of St. Michael the Archangel appeared in the centre of Serdobsk at the beginning of the XX century. This grandiose building of eclectic architecture with the original decision of five domes (central dome is supplemented by four tents). The cathedral was being built during 10 years, from 1895 to 1905. It was designed by A.M. Salko, an architect from Saratov. In 1909, the interior of the temple was decorated with paintings and ornaments by Moscow artists from the School named after P. P. Pashkov. In 1937, the cathedral was closed. The fact, that a military warehouse was placed there, saved the temple from its destruction. At the request of the parishioners, the cathedral was allowed to open at the end of World War II. In 1946, it was reconsecrated. Rehabilitation and restoration works were conducted in the cathedral. In 1993, new bells were installed. The cathedral runs a Sunday school. In Sazan Mountain the largest underground temple is located at a depth of 5 m. Kazanskiy Aleksievo Sergievskiy Monastery is situated on the mountain Sazan, founded by a holy man Andrew at the beginning of the XX century. It stands not far from Serdobsk and possessions of a “diamond knyaz” Kurakin. Sazanye is covered with legends about the antiquity of this holy place, where the cave monastery was established. Man made caves, dug in the mountain, stretches for 700 metres, the height of crossing is 2 m. In the cave monastery retained the cell of a holy man Seraphim, who spent several years in seclusion. Nowadays, a chapel is restored above the cave monastery entrance in honour of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The caves are cleared, where Nikolskiy Temple is consecrated. The caves retain the remains of a monastic necropolis, where the remains of the holy man Andrew, the seer and healer, and the founder of the desert, rest now. The tunnels, the underground temple space, and cells, have arches. It is cool in caves, and easy to breathe. People come from a distance in order to pray in the underground temple. There are known cases of miraculous healing of diseases. The water from a holy spring is considered healing, the bathing pond was built near it. The ground based temple of the monastery contains unique relics and icons, found during excavations. “There is such a grace here that one can overcome all difficulties,” say the monks and pilgrims, who visited Sazanye. According to the materials of the websites: www.serdobsk.ru penza-trv.ru The Excursion to the Holy Spring Semiklyuchye with a Visit to an Ethnographic Exhibition in the Local Museum of the Village of Shemysheyk. 40 km from Penza, in the Village of Russkaya Norka, District of Shemysheyka, the famous Sem Klyuchey (Seven Springs) feeders are located in a picturesque place. This place is considered holy among believers. Families from all over huge Russia come here to fetch exceptionally healing water from cool springs, and worship the icons. This place is unusual, sacred, it may well claim to be the spiritual pearl of Russia. It is located in a ravine, away from traffic roads; and the area around is unique: stagnant water, overgrown with duckweed, borders with exceptionally crystal springs. And there are a lot of trees around, and, once you appear there, you involuntarily think that you are in a fairy tale. 7 monks lived here in the past. Their asceticism, in a form of rejection of life essentials, gave them something more. They merged with the Nature. And the Nature accepted them by creating miraculous springs in this place. This happened not once, not during their life, but a little bit later. The monks were killed during the invasion of foreigners. But their faith remained, with its strength and power. That’s when the Nature awarded this place with special properties. Seven springs almost simultaneously spilled out from the mountain. People living near built the chapel here, and began to pray in this place. And this place became sacred. No one can say exactly how a miraculous Tikhvinskaya icon appeared in the chapel. But the events connected with it, make us think of its divine power. For the first time, the icon was found on Sem Klyuchey on the ninth week after Easter. Three times people transferred the icon into the temple of God to the closest Village of Russkaya Norka, and three times the icon mysteriously returned to its original place near Sem Klyuchey. And the water in the Semiklyuchye acquired healing properties. If a person three times plunges into spring water with belief, many illnesses and diseases will go away and never come back. The residents of the nearby villages of the District of Shemysheyka are aware of this and keep their spring with love and care. That’s why newcomers are fascinated with nature, where the wooded ramp to water is established in the background, candles are burning and small icons stand. “Nikolsk – the City of Glass Slippers” The City of Nikolsk is over 300 years old. Its history is connected with a crystal factory, founded in 1764 on the basis of large deposits of glass sand. Crystal factory’s products had an all Union and export value. A special place in a cultural life of the city took the museum at the factory Krasnyy Gigant, which contains unique products made of crystal and glass. The museum, which celebrated its 200th anniversary, was enlarged from a warehouse of the former factory’s owners – the Bakhmetyev family and Mr. Obolenskiy. There you can see masterpiece glasses of A. Vershinin, whose secrets still have not been found out; the crystal of the 60’s of the XIX century, similar to the one which was given by the owner of the factory A.P. Bakhmetyeva, Tolstaya nee, to her relative L.N. Tolstoy, who visited Nikolo Pestrovka. The works of the Russian craftsmen were shown at many all Union and international exhibitions. On the way to Nikolsk, you will learn about folk arts and crafts common in our region: pottery, lacing, shawl knitting, and gingerbread preparation. You will hear about folk customs, rites, national costumes, which served as a passport for his owner in the old days, as it provided all the details about him. You will be told about the famous Nikolsk citizens – a singer G. Kareva, scientists and doctors of the Bakhmetyevs family, work at the local factory of the future Lithuanian poet E. Miezelaitis. The programme includes a visit to the fabrication shop of glass products. Are you interested in our offer? Call us +7 (8412) 62-82-17, 62-82-33 Or send a request by e-mail: 628217@mail.ru