Tobolsk - the Stone "Heart" of Siberia

In summer of 1587 at the confluence of the rivers Tobol and Irtysh a detachment of Cossacks led by Danila Chulkov placed the first wooden prison and the Trinity Church. Historically Tobolsk competes with Tyumen for the championship in Siberia. And if in Tyumen the jail appeared earlier than in Tobolsk, then the status of the city was first received by Tobolsk.

Another achievement of Tobolsk is the construction of the first stone building in Siberia. It was the five-domed Sofia-Uspensky Cathedral. Then in nine years the main pearl of the city was built on the Troitsky (Trinity) Cape — the only stone Kremlin in Siberia. The fortress with four-meter walls and nine towers inspired such awe to the enemies that they never attacked it. To enter the Kremlin they used a crevice in the hill, which was called Pryamsky vzvoz (uphill road). Where the carts used to go, now the wooden staircase of the XIX century stands. Climbing the ancient staircase to the walls of the Kremlin is an obligatory ritual for every guest of Tobolsk. The territory inside the Kremlin is clearly divided into the church territory and the secular one. To the right of the entrance there is the Sofia courtyard and the residence of the Metropolitan of Tobolsk and Tyumen, to the left — chambers and palaces. If one does not have much time to see the whole Tobolsk, he can confine himself to the Kremlin’s museums. Ancient icons, finds of archaeologists and the restored interiors of palaces and chambers are collected here.

A pedestrian trail along the outer perimeter of the Kremlin is an observation deck with a view of the Nizhny Posad (lower part of the city). Since olden times rich merchants settled near the Kremlin. Today in the city one can see their mansions in the style of the Siberian Baroque with a rich decor. A real Renaissance palace opposite the Alexander Garden was built by the merchants Kornilovs, the relatives of the creator of the periodic table of elements Dmitri Mendeleev. Now in their palace the Western Siberia judicial system History Museum is located.

The heyday of the city happened in the 18th century. Till the nineteenth century the power of Tobolsk spread to all of Western and Eastern Siberia right up to the Pacific Ocean. Furs, that were collected as a tax from the local population, were brought here. Their sale in the XVIII century brought the empire almost a third of all income! The popularity of Tobolsk at that time is evidenced by the fact that in 1719 the city was mentioned in «The Further Adventures of Robin Crusoe» — the continuation of the popular novel by Daniel Defoe. The protagonist travels from Southeast Asia to Europe through Russia and spends winter in Tobolsk. Now there is a monument to Robinson and Friday in the Square of Robinson Crusoe at Remezov Street.

In the 1820s in the era of Emperor Nicholas I Tobolsk became a transit point for exiles and convicts. In 1838 they started building the Prison Castle on the territory of the Kremlin. In the XIX century Decembrists, Russian writers F. Dostoevsky, N. Chernyshevsky and N. Korolenko were kept in it. But in 1839 Omsk became the capital of Western Siberia, and Tobolsk lost its significance. The last significant event in the biography of the city happened in 1918, when for the past nine months the last Russian emperor Nicholas II lived here with his family and servants. His memorial office in the former governor’s house is open to visitors today.

A bell, the ringing of which in 1592 notified the inhabitants of Uglich about the death of Tsarevich Dimitri, was also serving a sentence in Tobolsk. On the order of Boris Godunov, who ascended to the throne, the bell was sent to Siberia. Its exile lasted 300 years. At the end of the XIX century the bell returned to Uglich, but a copy of it was preserved in Tobolsk.

In Tobolsk one needs to pay attention to the traditional Siberian cuisine. Its basis is the fish. In the city it is worth trying sterlet, muksun, syrok, fried dumplings and cutlets made of local pike. Shangi — cheesecake with stuffing from potato or carrot puree sprinkled with sour cream also have interesting taste. Local gingerbread is among the sweets. «The gingerbread palace» even works at the territory of the Kremlin where they sell real Siberian branded gingerbread. They are still baked with copies of gingerbread boards of the XVIII-XIX centuries! The recipe of Siberian gingerbread from rye flour and honey differs from others in Russia, as grinded dried cherry, raspberry or cranberries are added in the dough.

In addition to the cuisine, Tobolsk is famous for its crafts. The main Tobolsk souvenir is a figurine made of bone. In the Gubernskiy museum on the Krasnaya Square inside the Kremlin one can see unique miniature figures carved from the mammoth tusk, the tooth of a sperm whale or moose horn. Masterpieces of local bone carvers were included in the collections of the best museums of the country.

One can distract from immersion in the history of Tobolsk in the Resort Alemasova. It is located just nine kilometers to the north of the Tobolsk Kremlin, where in winter people ski and snowboard, and in summer play paintball and experience strength in the ropes course. Although the main attraction center for tourists is the majestic Kremlin, Tobolsk surprises the guests with various surprises.

Get directions

The nearest to Tobolsk airport is located in Tyumen, 270 km from the city. From here one can get to Tobolsk by bus or train in 4 hours. Travel by rail from Moscow takes at least 38 hours.