Klintsy: Cathedral, Churches and City History

Klintsy is shaped by its sacred architectural heritage, civic memory and glimpses into everyday life in earlier times. The Epiphany Cathedral stands out for its dimensions; churches, monuments and museums introduce different chapters of the city’s history. When planning your trip, you can choose according to your interests: focus on architecture and religious history, or on depictions of nature, peasant life, archaeology and economic history.

Churches, Cityscape and Places of Remembrance

The Epiphany Cathedral is 47 metres high and covers an area of around 2,000 square metres. Its height and area offer two different ways to measure the same building. It also features a marble iconostasis made in Miass. Alongside the cathedral’s size, the origin and character of one of its interior features also come into focus.

A particularly large number of architectural monuments have been preserved on Oktyabrskaya Street, one of Klintsy’s main streets. The street adds a perspective on preserved urban architecture to the individual religious buildings.

A T-34 monument stands at the entrance to Klintsy, commemorating the city’s liberation by Soviet troops. It was erected for the 40th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, by decision of the bureau of the city Communist Party committee and the executive committee. N. F. Andryushin designed the monument.

The Transfiguration Church takes the story further back: its origins lie in a prayer house built in 1823 on what was then Pushkinskaya Street, now Pushkin Street. The prayer house was later converted into a fully fledged church dedicated to the Transfiguration of the Lord. The church remains active. Its history traces the transition from prayer house to church.

Another chapter is connected with the founding of the city: in 2007, on the 300th anniversary of its founding, a bell-shaped monument was erected at the presumed site of the settlement’s origins. It depicts the founding family. By commemorating the city’s founding, the monument offers a different emphasis from the T-34 monument, which commemorates liberation.

Museums: Nature, Everyday Life and City History

The Klintsy Museum of Local Lore focuses on different subjects. Its “Nature” exhibition features birds and animals from the surrounding area. The exhibition “Peasant Everyday Life in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries” shows the interior of a peasant house with household objects. It also includes tools for processing flax, sowing and harvesting. This brings activities and domestic life into focus alongside individual objects.

One hall covers the founding and development of the Sloboda and Posad Klintsy. Collections of documents shed light on the history of the textile industry and other sectors of the city’s economy. Another exhibition draws on archaeological evidence to offer insights into the way of life and activities of people in earlier times, as well as the animals they hunted. Its themes therefore range from the city’s development and industries to earlier ways of life.

The M. M. Ovchinnikov Museum of Russian Culture and Old Belief offers a distinctive perspective through its collection. Among its most significant rarities is an Apostolos book embroidered with river pearls. Unlike the broad range of subjects at the local history museum, this museum draws attention to a single rare book.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Zhukovka, Pochep, Krasnyy Kurgan, Novaya Salyn', Belye Berega, Osinovaya Gorka, Krasnyy Most, Domashovo.

For the overview of the wider region: Bryansk Oblast.