A day out in Arzamas…

A day out in Arzamas…

After the busy and hectic examination season ended, I finally get to breathe the fresh air outside! Hehe… Since I still have about 5 days before I depart home, I was planning to go to some places interesting and rich of historical background.

 So, I chose Arzamas, a small town which is not far away from Nizhny Novgorod…

At the bus-stop waiting for the bus to Avtovakzal…

Arzamas, a city in Nizhny Novgorod oblast, Russia, located on the Tyosha River, 410km east from Moscow. Arzamas was founded in 1578 by Ivan the Terrible in the lands populated at the time by the Mordvin people. By 1737 more than 7,000 people lived in Arzamas and the town became a major transit center on the route from Moscow to eastern parts of Russia. It was known for its geese and onions as well as leather crafts.

Catherine the Great in 1781 gave Arzamas an official city status and its own coat of arms based on the colors of the Arzamas regiment. In the early 19th century Arzamas had over twenty churches and cathedrals, the foremost being the Resurrection Cathedral. It was built in the Empire style to commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812.

We took a ‘mashut (van)’ from Avtovakzal Station in Nizhny. It cost us about 200rb per person. The actual price for the ticket is 150rb, but since today is Saturday, and the driver demanded us to pay more. So, what to do…

It took about one and a half hour to reach there. The view along the roadside was superb! Since it is summer here and the land was colored by lush of greenery scene and flowers, making it the most picturesque view ever!

1^st we reached the train station, which is located about 20 minutes from the center. The head of the locomotive caught our attention at the train station. There was a old man who claimed himself as the driver of the locomotive explained the history of the development of the train to us. He said that it was used for more than 50 years before it was replaced by the newer model.

And we took the local bus to Sabornaya Ploshat (Sabornaya Square) which is located at the main tourist attractions. It cost us another 10rb to reach there. What came to our surprise was the local buses. Lol, I think, back in Malaysia, we already placed them in the museum, but here they’re still using them as the main transportations.

 Resurrection Cathedral is the main tourist attraction here. It was built in the Empire style to commemorate the Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812. It is a very beautiful and interesting building. But we were not allowed to take pictures inside the cathedral. And from the mural, we saw some of the fragments of the history about the war of Russian victory over Napoleon in 1812. And the altar is very big and unique. For those who’ve never seen any of the Orthodox Churches in Russia, I think you better visit this. I think it is one of the finest art of work among all the Russian Orthodox churches which I’ve visited.

 After the church, we went to other smaller churches around the area. And there are lots of flowers there. And I will post them in Zhi’s Garden, just stay tuned…

 This is a very small town. I think you only need about 2 hours to walk thru the whole town. But I found it interesting to travel around this town. It seems like a very old and classic Russian Town, it gave me the feelings as we were in the early or middle of the 19-th century which gave us a glimpse of the development history of Russian cities.

Arzamas, a place where you can find old nostalgic time in modern days!