Gonba brings together local history and two specific points of interest in the village: the All Saints Church and the memorial. For travelers who take culture and history into account when choosing a destination, this provides a local focus. The following sections place Gonba’s history alongside distinct cultural and natural themes from the wider Altai Region.

The History of the Crossing Point

The village of Gonba was founded in 1726 at the narrowest and most convenient point for crossing, 15 kilometers from the silver smelting plant. Historic trade routes passed through this crossing, carrying food and military equipment to Russia’s distant capital. The village’s history thus connects a precisely identified founding site with a wider trading network: the convenient location explains its connection to the crossing, while the trade routes add the transport of specific goods to that story.

All Saints Church and the Memorial

All Saints Church is located in the village of Gonba. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; on days with an evening service, it remains open until 6 p.m. As hours may change, check the opening hours for the day of your visit before you go. The possibility of a later closing time is particularly relevant if you plan to visit in the late afternoon.

The names of 174 heroes are commemorated at the memorial in Gonba. The number may change if more names are added. The church and the memorial offer different points of focus: for the church, opening hours are important when planning a visit; at the memorial, the names of those honored take center stage.

More Cultural and Natural Themes in the Altai Region

In the wider Altai Region, other places and landscapes offer a distinct regional perspective. In the village of Srostki, the Vasily Shukshin Museum opened in 1978. It is housed in the former wooden school building that Shukshin attended and briefly taught in, and contains thousands of exhibits. Here, the history of a school building and that of the museum come together with an extensive collection.

In Belokurikha, forest health trails invite visitors to take walks; more challenging routes lead to Lonely Pine, Four Brothers Rock, and Shishi Creek. This regional example thus offers both walks and explicitly more challenging routes. A chairlift takes visitors to the summit of Mount Tserkovka. Check the chairlift’s operating status before your trip.

In Altai Foothills Nature Park, established educational trails lead to rock formations, a former tungsten mine, abandoned mines, and factory villages. These destinations bring together landscapes and themes related to mining and factory settlements. A botanical survey in the park recorded about 700 plant species, including remnants of broadleaf forests, endemic plants, and 20 rare species listed in the Red Book. In the steppe meadow zone, up to 70 different plants bloom in succession within one square meter.

Discover more destinations: Solonovka, Chemal, Biysk, Katun', Yuzhnyy, Rebrikha, Ust'-Koksa, Aya.

Back to the wider travel overview: Altai Region.