Discover Maksatikhinskiy District: Monastery, Churches and Museum

Maksatikhinskiy District invites you on a journey steeped in cultural history. A convent, churches built in different periods and a local history museum featuring a recreation of an old farmhouse interior offer different perspectives on religion, regional history and everyday culture. The “Troitskiy Khorovod” festival is also among the district’s cultural highlights.

A monastery and religious heritage

The Nikolo-Terebenskaya Pustyn in the village of Truzhenik is a convent dating from the 18th to 19th centuries and one of the sights of Maksatikhinskiy District. The Great Bezhetsk Cross Route begins at the monastery and heads towards the Mologa River. Another attraction in the district is the holy spring of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa.

A local history museum exploring regional and everyday life

The Maksatikha Local History Museum named after Anton Efimovich Smusenok presents exhibitions on the present and past of the Maksatikha region. Its exhibits include old objects, photographs, manuscripts, books and letters. The recreation of an old farmhouse interior includes kitchen utensils and crockery, as well as a folk art corner with embroidered towels, shirts, tablecloths and headdresses. Photographs and documents are displayed alongside domestic furnishings and textiles, offering different ways into the themes of the regional collection.

Churches built in different periods

The churches’ construction dates offer a timeline. The All Saints Church, also known as the Church of the Nativity of Christ, is one of the sights of Maksatikhinskiy District. The three churches mentioned last are architectural monuments. Taken together, their dates span the early 19th century to 1905.

A festival of folk customs and cuisine

One specific example of the festival culture is the edition of the open-air festival “Troitskiy Khorovod” held on June 18, 2022. It took place for the sixth time in the Lesiny settlement of the village of Truzhenik. The programme featured folk customs and performances by soloists and cultural groups. Participants from the Raikovo Cultural Centre presented Karelian cuisine and cooked pancakes on a log. The festival format thus differs from the museum: in 2022, the programme centred on a specific date, performances and a cooking demonstration, while the museum focuses on collection items and recreated domestic life.

More nature and culture in Tver Oblast

The wider destination of Tver Oblast offers additional nature-focused experiences. The Central Forest Nature Reserve offers guided tours along the “Tayny Okovskogo lesa” and “Lesnaya azbuka” nature trails. Visitors use their own vehicle for an excursion to the “Staroselskiy mokh” raised bog. The “Boloto Staroselskiy mokh” nature trail runs through a picturesque raised bog with broad, open expanses completely covered in moss and unusual plants.

A hike to the “Barsuchikha” cordon can be taken as a day trip or with an overnight stay in a forest cabin. Along the way, you can see southern taiga forest and a raised bog. The reserve’s central estate has a visitor centre with information about the organisation’s history and structure, a regular exhibition of children’s artwork and a souvenir shop. The nature museum showcases the protected area’s main ecosystems and the species that live there; one room is devoted to scientific research.

Torzhok, also in the wider destination of Tver Oblast, has its own focus on cultural history. The “Verkhneye gorodishche” is an archaeological monument of federal significance and a tourist attraction in the city’s historic centre. The “Novotorzhskiy Kreml” hosts the “Blin s Pripyokom” and “Kuzminki v Torzhke” festivals each year. The “Novotorzhskiy Borisoglebskiy monastyr” in Torzhok was founded in 1038 and is one of Russia’s oldest Orthodox monasteries.

Choose your holiday apartment based on your travel plans

When choosing a holiday apartment, you can start with the type of trip you have in mind. If the monastery, churches and local history museum are your main focus, search in Maksatikhinskiy District. If you also plan to visit nature or cultural attractions elsewhere in the wider destination of Tver Oblast, include those places separately when choosing your location.

Discover more destinations

As a nearby destination, you can also explore Podsosenye. Discover more destinations: Torzhok, Molokovsky District, Toropetskiy District, Rzhevskiy District, Torzhokskiy District, Kalininskiy District, Kalyazinskiy District.

Back to the overview of the wider destination: Tver Oblast.