Halfway to the sea: what to see in Voronezh in three days
The Voronezh Region, through which the M‑4 Don highway runs, is still only a few hours' journey between Moscow and the southern resorts for many. For several years now, the regional government has been offering car travelers to take a break and stay for a couple of days for the sake of the sights of the capital of the Black Earth region. As part of the Prostrustvie car rally: On the way to the sea, don't miss Voronezh." The Izvestia correspondent studied an alternative route and inspected the infrastructure for tourists.
The start is given
The car trip, designed for three part-time days, began in a parking lot in the capital. Get acquainted, take a solemn photo and go ahead. There was a column of three KGM brand cars — two comfortable Torres and the most super-passable Rexton. By the way, this is the fifth run to Voronezh organized by the Prospace team. For several years now, local authorities have been looking for an opportunity to turn the region from a transit zone into a tourist—attractive route. In this case, the initiative and support in the organization came from the regional Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Trade and Tourism, as well as the My Business center.
A castle among the black soil
The M-4 highway is quite comfortable and modern, although repairs are underway in some places. However, no matter how convenient it is, driving for hours on a monotonous road is quite dangerous. Therefore, the stop near Voronezh, located 6-7 hours away from the capital, is dictated not only by the tour program, but also by common sense.
The first point for which we leave the M‑4 is Ramon. After a 15-minute drive along a country road, a decent southern town grows up with a market, a church, an administration building and a monument to Lenin on Sovetskaya Street, as usual. But around the corner there is a neat park. We walk along a rich brick fence and find ourselves at the beginning of the last century. The upper park is a prelude to an ensemble of pseudo—Gothic buildings: first comes the administration building (this is a stylized renovation), and then the main gate with a tower and clock. Next is the museum's ticket office building. We dive into the arch under the clock and the austere Oldenburg Palace grows up in front of us — circular alleys lead to it. The place looks like the setting for a movie about the life of aristocrats at the beginning of the last century.
This is the only palace in the Black Earth region of a representative of the imperial family (granddaughter of Nicholas I Eugenia of Oldenburg) looks like a decoration for a European fairy tale: carved towers, brick "heel" masonry, preserved almost in its original form. A stone staircase runs from the back of the castle down to the Voronezh River. The green space around is the Lower Park. Restoration work is still underway here, but the place is quite suitable for romantic walks and cultural events.
The tour quickly takes you beyond the garden and the interiors — the guide reminded that once it was not just a country nest of an august family, but the center of the Ramona economy. There was a sugar factory, a candy and chocolate factory that produced hundreds of products. Ramon was connected to other centers by a railway. The water tower that fed the production was also preserved. Today, the exposition "For the Benefit of the Fatherland" is open in the main halls on the ground floor of the palace, where the history of the Oldenburgs unexpectedly develops into the history of Russian industrialization. The halls of the "residential" floors of the palace became a venue for immersive theatrical performances.
Voronezh: millionaire at the reservoir
After a short trip from Ramoni, we get to Voronezh itself, a millionaire with a southern mood, as its organizers presented to us. A city with an interesting landscape — the main attractions, business and cultural center of the city are located on the right bank of the Voronezh reservoir.
The first object that we were shown on the trip was a "mimic" sculptural composition based on the cartoon "The Kitten from Lizyukova Street". After checking into the Versailles Hotel in Detsky Lane, we went to see the cultural center of the city. An evening walking tour of the historical center builds a classic route: Revolution Avenue, Karl Marx Street, monument to the White Beam, "chair from redneck" on Platonov. I was surprised that there are no "official" places in the city, corners dedicated to the cult group of the 80s and 90s of the last century "Gaza Strip" and its leader Yuri Khoy (Klinsky), who was born in Voronezh. But street musicians do not forget the late rocker, actually playing "Fog" and "Home" non-stop on the embankment.
Relaxing by the water
At the end of the first day, there will be a dinner at the 15/86 view restaurant with a tasting of author's sets and a view of the Voronezh Sea. By the way, the reservoir is completely located within the city limits — beaches, benches, and the pedestrian zone of Petrovsky Embankment are at guests' disposal. We had a chance to look at the city "from the water" during a trip on a river tram called "Happiness". This holiday option is more of a meditative one, but there are also more extreme options. A cable is stretched along the Chernavsky Bridge — this is the famous "Hey, Trolls" attraction in the city — a 400 m long zipline. Start from the top of the restaurant "15/86", finish at the first pillar. If you hear screams over the river, it's most likely from there.
Peter's creation
One of the most visited tourist sites on Admiralteyskaya Square is the Goto Predestination Ship Museum. A replica of the first Russian battleship, built on engravings and watercolors from the Peter the Great era, turns out to be not a prop at all, but a visual history textbook. The guide explains in detail how the ship's cannons were loaded, how much alcohol was given to the sailors according to the regulations of Peter the Great, how they fought with rats and what live canned food was. Modern Voronezh can be seen from the portholes on the upper deck, and in the captain's cabin there are engravings and documents that were used to assemble the replica ship.
The edge of mammoths
The second day of the trip is connected with traveling through the steppes and hills of the Black Earth region. We are going to Kostenki, Ostrogozhsk and Divnogorye. The first point is the archaeological museum—reserve "Kostenki", the world pearl of the Paleolithic era. Here, under the glass, you can see the real ruins of a mammoth bone dwelling: a round bone‑and-earth masonry with a diameter of about nine meters, composed of skulls, jaws, shoulder blades and long bones. Archaeologists have proved that this is not an animal cemetery, but the foundation of a house built by humans 20 thousand years ago. The visiting card of the museum is a life—size reconstruction of a mammoth. In fairness, it should be noted that this facility needs to be upgraded, there is a lack of vivid interactive content and "chips" aimed at young visitors.
The house where the artist Kramskoy began
From Kostenok, the road goes further south to Ostrogozhsk, an old merchant town and the birthplace of the artist Ivan Kramskoy. Here, in a low Little Russian hut with a reed roof, there is now a house museum. Once upon a time, the family of the clerk Nikolai Matveevich Kramskoy ran a poor but stable farm here. A tour of the house is a story not only about the everyday details of the 19th century, but also about the character of the artist and his family: about Anastasia Ivanovna's mother, a quiet and gentle Cossack, about a stern father. And, of course, about the boy Vanya, who sculpted figures of Cossacks out of clay, listened to neighborhood musicians and loved to draw. His mother apprenticed him to an icon painter, but he was in no hurry to share his knowledge with the teenager, keeping the boy at his beck and call. In response, the obstinate Vanya left with the words: "I did not hire myself as a servant."
Cretaceous divas and cave temples
The brightest point of our route and the pearl of the Voronezh Region is the Divnogorye Museum—Reserve. For the sake of such a miracle, you will come not only from Moscow, but also from Vladivostok. The chalk diva pillars on the high bank of the Don and the cave temples carved into them create the feeling that you are somewhere in the Mediterranean. By the way, the place names are appropriate here: the tour begins at the entrance to the cave temple of the Sicilian Icon of the Mother of God. The guide tells two versions of the icon's origin — the official one, which connects the plot with the Greek samples that came to Russia after the fall of Constantinople, and the legend of the Greek monks who fled from Sicily from the Saracens and Turks. A special place in the history of the icon is occupied by the miracles of 1831 and 1847, when, according to legend, processions with the image stopped epidemics of cholera. Inside the cave complex there is an altar, places for choristers, a high vault, deliberately cut down by the monks for the sake of acoustics. The impression is made by the tunnel for the procession, built manually around the temple. After the source (and for whom the pilgrimage) part of the program, the tourist will be interested in visiting the natural part of the open—air exposition, which includes more than 7 thousand species of vertebrates and invertebrates (50 of them are red books), over 800 species of plants. The most beautiful cowberry and leafless iris are considered unique for the region. The combination of steppe landscapes with chalk cliffs and a bird's-eye view of the Don River makes this place one of the most spectacular in Central Russia.
Family happiness in Voronezh
The third and final day of the rally is dedicated to exploring the entertainment and gastronomy of Voronezh. The central market, twice recognized as the best in Russia, is a place where guests of the region buy goodies and taste the region. And there is something to choose from. The first thing you want to take is natural products on the table.: sunflower oil, linseed oil, meat, sausages, sour milk squeezed out in front of your eyes. It's all fresh and at an affordable price. Cheese, bread, and lard deserve special attention. The legend of the market is black marshmallows. However, there is no marshmallow here — on the second floor there is a whole line for this delicacy. There is also a food court where they will cook a steak from farm meat. At the exit from the city, the convoy makes another stop at the Grad City Park, where there is a shopping center, the only aquarium in the Black Earth region and a grand indoor amusement park under one roof. For a family car tour, visiting this point is a logical finale. There are more than 300 species of marine and land animals in the aquarium. Here you can feed sharks and penguins, hang out at the performance of fur seals and take hundreds of spectacular selfies against the background of exotic mammals (yes, not only marine life is represented here) — monkeys, capybaras. After the cultural trip, children will be interested in riding the Russian roller coaster. And in the final, buy on the market and rush further to the sea.
Verdict from a car traveler
The Voronezh Region is only 500 km from Moscow and a few hours along the M‑4. The organizers demonstrated a decent route for independent travel, which is quite capable of replacing the classic "gas station — cafe — overnight" scheme for residents of northern cities moving to the sea.
According to Mikhail Moskaltsov, Minister of Entrepreneurship, Trade and Tourism of the Voronezh Region, the auto route "Don't miss Voronezh on the way to the Sea" was created as part of the national project "Tourism and Hospitality", detailed information about it is posted on the Travel.rf website.
"It is very important to me and my colleagues that the participants of the run, as professional travelers, as journalists, evaluate all the pros and cons of this route: parking, recreation and leisure facilities, the level of provision of gas stations, and so on," the minister said.
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