Kostroma Oblast: Taiga Forest, Estate and Museums

Kostroma Oblast offers a range of reasons to travel: the Kologrivsky Les Nature Reserve showcases the southern taiga, while the estate and museums offer insights into the region’s culture, history and nature. The right holiday rental as a base depends on which topics and places interest you most.

Southern Taiga in the Kologrivsky Les Nature Reserve

The Kologrivsky Les State Nature Reserve in Kologriv comprises two separate areas. They preserve different southern taiga landscapes with zonal and provincial physical-geographical features. Those interested in the landscape will find a specific connection here to the distinctive features of this taiga region.

The “Journey into the Protected Forest” tour includes a visit to the ecological trail of the same name. The trail passes through an area of old-growth southern taiga forest. This means the tour connects the reserve’s landscape with a specific nature trail, rather than offering only a general impression of the region. Check the tour’s current arrangements before your visit.

Ostrovsky’s Shchelykovo Estate

Shchelykovo is the estate of Russian playwright Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky. Guided tours visit the park and the house of A. N. Ostrovsky. They take place at 10:00, 11:30, 13:00, 14:30 and 15:30 and are available for groups of at least five people, or for a fee covering five people. Check the current schedule and participation requirements before planning your visit.

Unlike the taiga tour, Shchelykovo focuses on Ostrovsky’s cultural heritage. If you would like to combine this visit with other themes, it is worth including the relevant places and activities separately in your plans.

Stories and excursions in Susanino

The exhibits in the Susanino Local History Museum’s five halls tell, in turn, about the nature, archaeology, history, culture and everyday life of the Susanino region. The renewed exhibition “At the Crossroads of History and Legend” features Ivan Susanin and Savrasov’s “The Rooks Have Arrived” as important regional themes. Together, the permanent topics and the exhibition offer different points of interest, from nature and everyday life to history and regional themes.

The Local History Museum also offers walking and bus excursions to places associated with Ivan Susanin, including the Isupovo bog and the villages of Derevenki and Domnino. Another way to explore local themes is “Dom gracha” (“House of the Rook”): it organizes guided tours of Susanino and the house, as well as events and workshops about local traditions and art. If you plan to take part in any of these activities, confirm in advance that they are running and check the dates.

Culture and nature in the museums of Kostroma Oblast

At Kostromskaya Sloboda in Kostroma, visitors can see historic wooden houses and churches, as well as ethnographic exhibitions about peasant life in the Kostroma region. The Museum of Dreams in Nerekhta tells the city’s history through the life stories of people who dared to dream big; original keepsakes bring their stories to life. The two museums thus focus on different themes: regional peasant life and individual life stories connected with the city.

The Nature Museum adds a natural history perspective to these themes. Its permanent exhibition presents present-day animals, birds, insects and fungi alongside the paleontological past of the Kostroma region. Groups with varied interests can weigh up cultural and historical, personal and natural history themes without reducing them to a single type of visit.

Choosing a holiday rental based on your planned visits

When looking for a holiday rental, it helps to first decide which visits matter most to you: for example, a tour through the taiga forest, guided tours in Shchelykovo, activities in Susanino or different museum themes. Then choose a base according to the specific places in your plans.

Discover more destinations: Kostroma, Lunyovo, Khmelevka, Kostroma District, Mytishchinsky District, Sharyinsky District, Sharya, Chukhloma, Kirovo, Stepanovo, Nerekhta, Buy, Borovikovo, Sudislavl, Drenevo, Gustomesovo, Glebovo, Bolshaya Chezhma, Lipki, Krasnoye-on-the-Volga, Sukhonogovo, Stanovshchikovo, Vysokovskoye, Volgorechensk, Nerekhtsky District, Kostroma District, Makaryevsky District.

For the overview of destinations: Russia.