Smolensk

Smolensk (Russian: Смоленск) is a city in Central Russia.

Understand

Smolensk kremlin

Smolensk is one of the oldest cities in Russia. The city has been taken over by different countries more times than any other city in Russia, so has its own cultural background. Therefore there are many monuments from different epochs: huge Kremlin, many buildings dated back to the 18th to 19th centuries. There are also 3 churches that were built before the Tatar-Mongol invasion, which is rare. Due to many wars some of these buildings have been destroyed. The city leaves different feelings, but it is hard to leave the city feeling indifferent.

History

The first recorded mention of the city is in 863 AD. It was the capital of Slavic Krivichs tribe in the ninth century. Smolensk is a city with great history. Since the XII century it was a capital of the princedom, but since 1522 it became a city of the Moscow kingdom. In 1596 the great fortress was built to protect people. Now this fortress is the most interesting sight of the city. It's bigger than Moscow's fortress (the Kremlin). The length of its walls is about 6.5 km.

Get in

By plane

Although there are two airports, they are used by military only and civil planes are not accepted. There are discussions to revert them to civil airports, but the projects are still on hold.

By train

Smolensk railway station

From Moscow several trains from Belorusskiy train station reach Smolensk in 5-6 hours. Some of them reach into Europe as far as to Paris and Nice (in summer only). The same trains can be used to reach Smolensk from Belarus. Daily express connects Smolensk with Bryansk. Railway Station Inquiry Office: 27-15-20, 39-52-85

• 1 Smolensk railway station. (updated Nov 2020)

By bus

Several times a week there are buses connecting Smolensk with European towns, such as Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid, Riga and some others, the timetable is subject to change, though. Other buses run to Mogilev, Kaluga, Velikiye Luki, Kursk and Tver. Daily buses run to Mstislavl, Belgorod, Bryansk, Moscow, Oryol, Saint Petersburg and Tula. Bus Station Inquiry Office: 27-09-52

By car and by thumb

Smolensk is situated on the M1/E30 and A141 highways. Both are good for hitchhiking as well, though note, that M1 is about 6km from the town.

Get around

Smolensk tram map (2022)

By foot

Centre of Smolensk is quite pedestrian friendly and you can access many sights on foot. Outside of it you need to mind which side of a street you are on as stretches of congested roads without crossing for a kilometer are the norm, also city is much hillier than you could expect.

By car

You can go by car nearly everywhere in Smolensk and there are plenty of free parking spaces. Road conditions are quite good for Russian standards. It is worth noting that Smolensk is quite hilly.

By taxi

It is common to use taxis as they are quite cheap - an average trip within the city should cost around 200 RUB. Russian ridehailing apps are also an option. Drivers are mostly Russians contrary to larger cities in the country.

By public transit

Public transportation is cheap, unreliable and slow, mostly based on marshrutka buses often in bad condition (damaged doors and windows, visible rust). Trams are in notoriously bad condition with significant amount of rust and on many routes move only little faster than on foot due to bad tracks. If you want to use public transit try to stick to buses and trolleybuses as these offer best quality of service. In all cases you need to pay either to driver or check-taker. All forms of public transport arrive whenever they want and timetable is only a suggestion. Signal that you want to ride as bus may not stop for you. In general it is much better to go on foot or by taxi.

See

Katyn Memorial Wall

• 1 Smolensk Kremlin. Partially preserved fortress wall was built between 1595 and 1602. On western side there is a nice park with pond and small amusement park with ferris wheel providing great view of the city. On southern side there is commemoration site for hero city of Smolensk and Soviet soldiers who died in defence of it during World War 2. (updated Nov 2020)
• 2 Dormition Cathedral in Smolensk. 300-year-old cathedral in the baroque style. (updated Nov 2020)
• 3 Katyń. Several kilometers west of Smolensk lies the Katyn (Russian: Катынь; Polish: Katyń) forest. Early in World War II, the Soviets had a non-aggression pact with Germany and both countries invaded Poland. The "Katyń massacre" was actually a series of massacres of Poles of various professions (professors, doctors, soldiers, lawmakers, and police officers) by the NKVD (Soviet Secret Police), apparently on direct orders of Joseph Stalin. The number of victims is estimated at 22,000. Only a few thousand were actually executed in the forest, but it has some mass graves and a memorial.  

Eat

• 1 Russkiy Dvor, ulitsa Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii, 1Б, ☏ +74812683999. 10:00-22:00. Located in leafy city center park. Fancy decorated restaurant with Russian/Soviet cuisine and grill bar. (updated Jun 2024)

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Derzhava hotel (Гостиница «Держава»), Kashena 5a ( ул. Кашена) (near to the railway station), ☏ +7481227-02-79, +74812 27-02-92. Free Wi-Fi 1800 руб-4500 руб. 
• 2 Medlen (Гостиница «Медлен»), Rumyantseva 19 (ул. Румянцева) (2 km from the center), ☏ +74812 55-41-35. 1800 (2011). 
• 3 Patriot (Гостиница «Патриот»,), Kirova 22g ( ул. Кирова) (half an hour walk from the center), ☏ +7 4812 38-49-36. There are complaints about the lack of hot water. Free Wi-Fi. 1200 руб-3300 руб. 

Go next

In Smolensk Oblast:

• Vyazma
• Roslavl
• Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park

Further afield:

• Minsk
• Moscow
• Vitebsk