Tobolsk Kremlin

Tobolsk was the administrative capital of Siberia for two centuries and the only place there that got a kremlin in stone: white walls and towers on the edge of a bluff above the Irtysh, built from the 1680s, with the St Sophia cathedral of 1686 inside, the oldest stone building in Siberia. The Swedish prisoners taken at Poltava were put to work on parts of it. Below the bluff is the lower town, laid out on the flood plain and much decayed, with wooden houses and a few churches; a long wooden staircase connects the two levels. The complex includes the Gostiny Dvor, the archbishop's palace, and the prison castle, in use from 1855 to 1989, which is now a museum with the cells left as they were - Dostoevsky passed through here on the way to Omsk. Tobolsk also holds a museum of Siberian Tatar and Khanty material, and the town below has been slowly emptying for a century.

History

Tobolsk was founded in 1587, and masons from Moscow and Veliky Ustyug built the stone St. Sophia-Assumption Cathedral in 1683-1686. Semyon Remezov, cartographer and first historian of Siberia, added the Departmental Palace (1699-1704) and the Trading Arcades (1702-1706), Swedish prisoners of war worked on new buildings under the first governor from 1708, and in 1799 a multi-tier bell tower, the tallest building in the city, went up (Wikipedia, Tobolsk Kremlin).

What you'll find

• The only Siberian stone kremlin - white walls and towers on the bluff edge.
• St Sophia of 1686 - the oldest stone building in Siberia.
• The prison castle - cells kept as they were, in use until 1989.
• The lower town - the decayed wooden town on the flood plain below the stairs.

When to go

June to September. A day. Winter is long and very cold, though the kremlin looks its best in snow.

Before you go

The lower town is genuinely derelict in parts, which some visitors find bleak. The prison museum is a heavy visit. Museums are ticketed separately and labelling is Russian. Tobolsk is a four hour drive from Tyumen and accommodation is limited.

Nearby

The Irtysh runs below; Abalak with its monastery and wooden fort is about 20 km upriver.

Key facts