What to See in Nizhny Novgorod - Top Sights and Attractions

Nizhny Novgorod Fair was a fair in Nizhny Novgorod held annually every July near Makaryev Monastery on the left bank of the Volga River from the mid-16th century to 1816. Following a massive fire in 1816, it was moved to Nizhny Novgorod, but for some decades thereafter it still was commonly referred to as Makaryev Fair. It attracted many foreign merchants from India, Iran, and Central Asia.

According to Durland, a journalist who visited the fair in 1905, the fair dates from "before the discovery of America." The fair was established by Muscovite princes to compete with, and draw commerce away from, a fair held since 1257, at Kazan, the Tartar capital. At the time Durland visited the fair, it consisted of 60 buildings, 2,500 bazaars and 8,000 exhibits, with goods for sale, along with a broad range of performances for the public.

This fair was a commerce centre to sell up to half the total production of export goods in Russia. The fair ceased in 1929. A society named Nizhegorodskaya yarmarka (Russian: Нижегородская ярмарка, Nizhny Novgorod fair) was created in 1991 with its headquarters in the former main fair building. However, today it is not actually a fair, but an exhibition center. Located in the historical centre of Old Kanavino.^[6]

The monument to Valery Chkalov is one of the landmarks of Nizhny Novgorod, installed near the St. George Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin in honor of the famous Soviet pilot who made the first nonstop flight from the USSR to the United States across the North Pole. A staircase descends from the monument to the Volga River, which is also called "Chkalovskaya".

At the place of the present monument to V. P. Chkalov at the beginning of the XVII century was founded Proiskhozdvizhensky nunnery, later called Krestovozdvizhensky and moved in 1815 to its present place near Lyadov Square. Worn-out buildings of the monastery were preserved until 1840, when all the buildings on the territories adjacent to the Kremlin were demolished, and along the walls a recreation area for citizens with the laying of walking paths, planted with trees and shrubs was arranged.

The monument to the legendary test pilot was unveiled on December 15, 1940, on the second anniversary of his death. The author of the sculpture was V. P. Chkalov's friend I. A. Mendelevich. P. P. Chkalov's friend I.A. Mendelevich, with whom they had chosen this place for the monument to A. M. Gorky. I. Mendelevich was awarded the Stalin Prize for this work. The architects of the monument: I. G. Taranov and V. S. Andreev.

The surface of the pedestal bears outlines of the Northern Hemisphere map showing the routes of the heroic Chkalov-Baidukov-Belyakov crew's flights to the Far East and across the North Pole to America. The pedestal itself is lined with labradorite.

The pedestal bears the years of the pilot's life and the inscription "To Valery Chkalov, the great aviator of our time. Under these words, above the map of flights, you can see the holes from the mounts - there was the inscription "to the Stalin Falcon", removed during the struggle against the cult of personality of Stalin.

Tourist attraction in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. The Chkalov Stairs is a monumental flight of steps in the center of Nizhny Novgorod, connecting Minin and Pozharsky Square, the Upper Volga and the Lower Volga embankments. It was built by the architects Alexander Yakovlev, Lev Rudnev and Vladimir Munts. It is the longest staircase in Russia. The staircase starts from the monument to Chkalov, near the St. George's Tower of the Kremlin. It is built in the form of a figure of eight and consists of 560 steps, if you count it both sides. The number of steps from the bottom to the top is 442 on the right. In the intersections of the side slopes there are two observation platforms. At the bottom of the stairs is a monument to the boat "Hero", which is located at the Lower-Volga embankment.^[7]

Cathedral in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral church located in the Kanavinsky city district of Nizhny Novgorod. The cathedral is located on the former territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. It is one of the unofficial symbols of Nizhny Novgorod, along with the Dmitrovskaya Tower of the Kremlin, the Chkalov staircase and the fair.

The main construction of the cathedral was begun on August 18, 1868 and lasted for 13 years, internal work continued until 1881. July 20, 1881 it was solemnly consecrated in the presence of Emperor Alexander III, his wife Maria Feodorovna and Tsarevich Nicholas. The height of the temple is 87 meters (3425.2 inches).

The closest metro station is Strelka.^[9]

The Nizhny Novgorod Synagogue serves the Jewish community of the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, which currently numbers over 10,000 people. It is located at 5a Gruzinskaya Street.

The Jewish population of the city grew rapidly during the 19th and early 20th centuries, rising from 300 people in 1850 to some 3000 people in 1913. The city accepted many Jewish refugees after the First World War and Russian Civil War, swelling its number by some 15,000 people. The synagogue was built in the period from 1881 to 1883. The synagogue was led by a rabbi and a chief rabbi. There they formed a yeshiva and held charitable and funeral services.

Despite the increase of Jewish refugees in Nizhny Novgorod, government policy was aimed at reducing the Jewish population in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The policy of the Soviet regime towards Jews was dual. On the one hand, community institutions were abolished, and atheism was propagated. On the other hand, the government attempted to control accused anti-Semitism and fought against pogroms. For the most part, however, the propagation of atheism had the greater effect on Jewish church organisation, and as a result the synagogue's social role diminished along with the services it provided. By 1938 the synagogue, club and national society had been abolished.

With glasnost during the late 1980s and the subsequent fall of the Soviet government, the Jewish community of Nizhny Novgorod experienced a renaissance. A Club of Jewish Culture was established in 1989, and a religious community was registered. On 18 May 1991 the synagogue building was returned to the community, and services resumed later the same year. The synagogue is once again the centre of the city's Jewish community, and is involved in the organisation of a wide range of services, including schools and youth clubs, and social aid programmes such as a soup kitchen and drug and alcohol addiction prevention and support schemes. The synagogue is currently run by Rabbi Shimon Bergman.^[10]

There are several theaters in Nizhny Novgorod Among them there are three academic theaters, comedy theaters, young audience theaters, etc: Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Drama Theatre named after M. Gorky, Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Puppet Theatre, Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre named after A. S. Pushkin, Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Philharmonic Society named after M. Rostropovich, Nizhny Novgorod State Theatre for Young Spectators, Chamber Theatre of Opera and Musical Comedy named after A. S. Pushkin, Nizhny Novgorod State Academic Philharmonic Society, Nizhny Novgorod Chamber Opera and Musical Comedy Theatre named after M. T. Stepanov. V. T. Stepanov Chamber Theater of Opera and Musical Comedy in Nizhny Novgorod, Vera Children's Theater, Creative Association "Netheatre", Musical and Plastic Drama Theater "Transformation", Piano Theater, Simultaneous Play Theater "Zoo", Culinary Theater "Theater with Taste", Educational Theater of the Theater School named after E. A. Evstigneev, and the Theater of the Future. E.A. Evstigneev, People's theater of the J. M. Sverdlov House of Trade Unions, People's drama theater of the GAZ Culture Centre, Theatre-studio "PROGRESS", Plastique and pantomime theater "Crimson Ridge"