Maslovo: The Kazan Church and Local History

Maslovo is particularly appealing to travellers who want to get to know a place through specific historical connections. A stone Kazan Church was built here between 1775 and 1801. A historical account places Maslovo on the road from Tula to Kaluga, by the Upa River. The church’s construction history and the town’s historic location tell different parts of the same local story: the church provides a tangible architectural connection, while the road and river form the geographical setting. If you are looking for a holiday rental in Maslovo, these connections can help you choose a location that suits your interest in history and landscape. Near Maslovo, on the river, are a new dam and the remains of an old mill. Both lie in the area around Maslovo by the river. As traces of different periods, they complement the connection to the stone church with another perspective on Maslovo’s architectural history and the use of the river surroundings.

Cultural and landscape themes in Tula Oblast

In the city of Tula, the exhibition “Skazanie o Mamaevom poboishche” at the “Tulskie drevnosti” Museum explores the Battle of Kulikovo Field. In its interactive areas, visitors can weave a piece of chain mail, try on armour and learn to read chronicle miniatures. By contrast, the exhibition “Sekrety tulskikh masterov” features a pottery workshop, a blacksmith’s workshop and household objects from the 17th to 19th centuries. Comparing the two makes it easier to choose a theme: one exhibition brings together battle history and chronicle miniatures, while the other focuses on crafts and everyday objects.

At the Yasnaya Polyana Museum-Estate, visitors can take a guided tour through the central part of the estate from May to October. They learn about Tolstoy’s favourite places for daily walks, the local flora and fauna, and the history of the Tula defensive lines and Tolstoy’s plantings. Nature, literary history and regional history come together here, giving the tour a different focus from the exhibitions in Tula. Another connection to cultural heritage is Leo Tolstoy’s personal library, which was included in UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” Register.

Architecture and landscape enthusiasts can also find points of interest across the wider Tula Oblast. At the Polenovo estate, the artist Vasily Polenov designed all the buildings himself. The village of Monastyrshchino, in Kimovsk District of Tula Oblast, is home to a museum and a monument to the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo Field. The Romantsevskiye Mountains, also known as Konduki, are a former open-pit coal mine in Tula Oblast. The focus thus shifts from a complex of buildings designed by one person to a landscape whose origins are linked to past coal mining.

The local history and the region’s cultural and landscape themes offer different scales to consider when planning your trip.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Yasnaya Polyana, Meshcherino, Novomoskovsk, Tula, Poselok, Sudakovo, Bogoroditsk, Khmelevka.

Go to the main travel overview: Tula Oblast.