Malye Korely

Founded in 1964, Malye Korely covers around a hundred and forty hectares of hills and ravines above the Northern Dvina, with more than a hundred wooden buildings brought here from villages across the Arkhangelsk north as those villages emptied - churches, bell towers, peasant houses, granaries, windmills, bathhouses, wells and fences. They are arranged in four sectors by the district they came from, each laid out as a village would have been, which is what separates this from a simple collection of buildings. The northern peasant house is the thing to look at: a single large structure combining living quarters, byre, hayloft and store under one high roof, built so that a family could pass the winter without going outside. Several tent-roofed churches and a set of windmills stand on the ridges. Bell ringing is performed on the belfries, and winter brings sledges and horse traffic on the paths.

What you actually see

• The northern house - living space, byre, hayloft and store under one roof.
• The tent-roofed churches - wooden churches moved from emptied villages.
• The windmills - post and tower mills standing along the ridges.
• The four sectors - buildings grouped by the district they came from.

When to go

June to September, or winter for snow and sledges. Half a day; the site is large and hilly.

Honest expectations

The site involves several kilometres of walking on hills and steps. Interiors of most buildings are closed or open only in part. Mosquitoes are heavy in summer, cold severe in winter. Labelling is Russian and buses from Arkhangelsk are infrequent.

Nearby

Arkhangelsk is half an hour away; the Northern Dvina runs below the site.