• The wooden architecture of Tomsk
• The Troitskaya church
• The Tomsk University
• The Bogoyavlensky cathedral
• The The Tomsk State University's botanical garden
• The Tomsk Theatre of Young Spectator
• The Tomsk Drama theatre
• The monuments of Tomsk

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The wooden architecture of Tomsk

One of the most noticeable city features is the abundance of wooden ornaments which many researchers call as «a wooden lace of Tomsk». Even today wooden mansions can be seen in the city center, their distinctive features are huge, often dual or triple windows, the abundance of a through and a laid on wooden carving on platbands, magnificent «lacy» ornaments of eaves and pediments. An attentive traveler during his walks around Tomsk will notice, how traditions of wooden architecture of the XVII-XX century changed.

In Tomsk there are 51 such monuments. Each of them is unique in an own way, and some have unique speaking «names»: the house with a tent, a tower with firebirds, the house with dragons etc.

The revival of historical districts in Tomsk opens ample opportunities for tourism development. A part of buildings will remain inhabited, in some of them offices, restaurants, hotels will be located. It is planned to open in protected zones the forge, tanning, glass-blowing, spinning workshops, working with using of the XIX century technologies, souvenir shops, taverns, libraries, mini-museums.

The Troitskaya church

More than one and a half century the southeast cape of the Voskresenskaya Mountain in Tomsk is crowned by a white building of the Sacred-Troitskaya church. It was built for the Common Faith community of Tomsk in 1836-1844 according to the project of the architect- K.G.Tursky. The petty bourgeois P.I.Pozdeev was the patron and the trustee of the church. In 1844 the church construction was over, and in the same year it was consecrated. In 1858 the side-altar in honor of the martyr Haralampy Magneziysky was attached to the central temple, and in 1888 was attached the southern side-altar in honor of the great martyr Dimitriy Solunsky, who is considered to be the patron of Siberia . On the 27th of September in 1939 the City Council decided to close the church. The temple building was occupied with a motorcade office «Sibtrans» under a garage, and later the building was transferred to the Tomsk bread-baking complex under a bakery. And only in 1945 the temple was returned to believers, and in 1946, on a holiday of Meeting of the Lord, the church was again consecrated. The temple was being restored by believers.

One of the main Siberian orthodox shrines is being stored in the temple - the icon with a particle of relics of the martyr Haralampy.

Adress: Oktybrskaya Street, 43, Tomsk.

The Tomsk University

The Imperial Tomsk University was opened in 1878 and it has become the first higher educational institution beyond the Ural. For the first time there was only one medical faculty and today it numbers 23 faculties where 23 thousand students study. Over 700 candidates and 350 doctors of science work in the university departments. In TSU there are 2 teachers with the Nobel Prize.

The leading directions of researches and preparations of experts are – the nuclear physics, fundamental and applied mathematics, mechanics, biology and biotechnology (including fabric engineering and virology).

The TSU is also well-known for its scientific library, a botanical garden, a zoological museum.

In 2007 the most powerful supercomputer in CIS countries and Eastern Europe SCIF Cyberia was established in the museum.

Adress: Lenina Street, 36, Tomsk.

The Bogoyavlensky cathedral

The Bogoyavlensky cathedral originates from a small Bogoyavlenskaya church which was constructed in this place in 1630. After the establishment of Tomsk department in 1666 this church got the cathedral status, though the bishop wasn't appointed to Tomsk. The temple suffered from fires, but each time was restored. In 1777 near already a decayed wooden temple the present stone temple was built, and on the 23rd of November in 1784 it was consecrated. Every year the city Religious Procession "to Iordan" for the Great consecration of water in the Tom' River on the patronal feast day on the 6/19th of January starts here. After the revolution, in the 1930ies years, the temple was closed. From 1941 to 1989 the plant of rubber footwear was locating in the temple. In 1997 the destroyed temple was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2000 in church daily services were renewed.

The main shrine of the Bogoyavlensky cathedral is the particle of relics of the sacred great martyr and healer Panteleimon living in the 3rd century. The Lord granted him with a special good fortune - to cure human diseases and infirmities. Every Wednesday after evening church service this shrine in a special ark is taken out from the altar to the middle of the temple and before it the Acathistus to the God's saint is conducted, after each person can touch the sacred relics, pray before them for themselves or for relatives.

In the cathedral altar there is the Crucifixion with a fixed zvezditsa storing a particle of the Cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified. During the Crossbowing week (the third Sunday of the Lent) and on the holiday of Rising of the Lord Cross (the 14/27th of September) the Crucifixion is taken out to the middle of the temple for the general worship.

Adress: Lenina Street, 82 A, Tomsk.

The Tomsk State University's botanical garden

The Siberian botanical garden was based in 1880. In the first years the garden consisted of a stone greenhouse with the area more than 400 sq.m, it included three departments - one tropical and two subtropical. Besides the garden had small greenery (93 sq.m.) with a gable roof for cultivation of plants.

By 1941 more than 12000 species grew in the greenhouse and hothouses, but in the days of the Great Patriotic War many of them were lost because of lack of fuel for heating.

Now the Siberian botanical garden is a well- known botanical-introductional center which has the richest vegetative funds for Siberia . It occupies 128 hectares and includes: a hothouse complex, a reserved park and experimental economy (114 hectares). The special place is given to a unique exposition of tropical and subtropical plants (over 2000 species). worship.

In nine research laboratories: of instructional dendrology, landscape architecture, herbs introduction, agricultural plants introduction, etc. the introduction problem, that is enrichment of the cultural flora of Siberia with new species and forms of plants is being developed.

Adress: Lenina Street, 36, Tomsk.

The Tomsk Theatre of Young Spectator

There are many interesting and famous actors work in the theatre. The theatre is considered to be family, i.e. the repertoire is interesting not only for children and young people, but also for their parents. The theatre staff isn’t afraid to experiment and to raise the deepest and actual problems of the present days, and the language is clear for people of any age.

The repertoire along with children performances includes shows of youth and classical directions for example the plays of Jerome K. Jerome «Ms. Gobs», of E.Isayeva «School compositions», of N. Ostrovsky «Every dog has his day», of G. Selegey «The hero in another's plate», of A.Litvin «A northern sphinx or the legend about an aged man Fedor», of R. Ibragimbekov «Touch», of G. Gorin «To forget the Fame-thirsty person!», of K.Vonnegut «Happy birthday, Wanda June!», of N. Erdman «Suicide», of G. Yagdfeld «Music at night».

In 2006 The Tomsk Theatre of Young Spectator was awarded with the Diploma of the charity foundation «Family of Russia» for preservation and strengthening of the family institute in society.

Adress: Nakhanovicha Street, 4, Tomsk.

The Tomsk Drama theatre

The Tomsk drama theatre, one of the oldest in Siberia, appeared in 1850 when the merchant and mayor N.E.Filimonov, using partly the collected money and partly his own capital, built a wooden building for theatrical performances.

There are two scenes — the main and the small. For some time after the creation the small-scale theatre «intimacy» worked on the small scene. There is also a flower shop of the Riga trading house in the theatre building.

The theatre got the name of V. P. Tchkalov in a result of association in 1945 of the Kolpashevsky-Narymsky district drama theatre and the Gorky mobile drama theatre of V. P. Tchkalov. On the 26th of April in 1984 the theater was awarded the Labour Red Banner order.

In the post-war time the dramatic theatre was located in Nakhanovich street 4, and now there is the Theatre of a young viewer. The modern building of theatre stands on the place where before there were malls. It was put into operation on the 30 of December in 1977, and was opened on the 4 of February in 1978 by the performance «Salty honeydew » put by Felix Grigoryan on the basis of Sergey Zalygin's novel.

The theatre constantly travels with performances and concerts around the area villages. Leading actors' benefit performances meet with great applause.

Adress: Lenina Street, 4, Tomsk.

The monuments of Tomsk

The Tomsk monuments are a special pride. There are about forty monuments in the city. Among them there are typical successors of the socialism/communism era, obligatory monuments for each Russian city in memory of fallen soldiers in the Second World War, Lenin’s busts. However a special charm the city atmosphere has not from them.

Tomsk is the city which follows the recent world trends in town planning and street design. That is why street sculpture, which is so popular in much megalopolises, became an integral part of the Tomsk landscape.

The majority of such monuments – first of all are ironic and not striking sculptures which emphasize, apparently, insignificant events, and sometimes don't concern any concrete dates or facts. Striking examples: a monument to a wolf - to the animation hero of the cult animated film «Once upon a time there was a dog», a monument to Anton Chekhov how he was seen by a drunk person from a ditch who did not read «Kashtanka», the monument to a lover hanging on the Balcony, to the baby found in a cabbage, to home slippers, to a football fan  at the stadium, to an electrician clambering along a column and many other monuments . In Tomsk there is a set of such modest, but «live» sights which bring comfort into the urban environment.

So don’t be surprised, when entering into one of the Tomsk hotels you will be met by bronze slippers on a pedestal. The city is glad to receive guests, and is glad so much that is ready to immortalize its own hospitality in a little peculiar but lovely way.