Novozybkov can be explored from two perspectives: the local history museum’s collections take you through natural and urban history, while carved wooden details and wooden churches shape the town centre. Museum rooms and architecture in the urban landscape thus stand side by side, offering different insights into the town’s history.

Urban History and Nature at the Local History Museum

The section “Istoricheskoe proshloe Novozybkovskogo kraya s drevneishikh vremen do nachala XX veka” comprises two halls with collections of original objects. One hall depicts a street in 19th-century Novozybkov. The section spans the period up to the beginning of the 20th century; the street display offers a concrete glimpse of the townscape in the 19th century.

Another historical landmark is the richly decorated mansion where the museum moved in 1953. The house had previously belonged to M. Volkov, one of Novozybkov’s largest match manufacturers in the 19th century. The history of the museum and the building thus brings together two points in time, without equating the house’s former ownership with its use as a museum.

The nature department of the Novozybkov Local History Museum is also spread across two halls: “Geologicheskoe proshloe i evolyutsiya organicheskogo mira” and “Priroda nashego kraya”. The first hall displays rocks of different ages, minerals, fossils and bones of extinct animals. Its themes thus range from geological finds to remains of past wildlife; the title of the second hall already turns the focus to the region’s nature.

Wooden Architecture in the Town Centre

On a walk through the town centre, you can discover examples of local wooden architecture with its rich openwork carving. Many houses in Novozybkov are distinguished by carved wooden window frames and other wooden ornamentation. Three surviving wooden churches complete the picture: Spaso-Preobrazhenskiy khram, Nikolskiy (Nikolsko-Rozhdestvenskiy) khram and khram Rozhdestva Bogoroditsy.

Another landmark is the house of merchant B. I. Pevzner, built at the beginning of the 20th century. It borders Novozybkov’s central square. Together with the 19th-century street depicted in the museum, the building invites a comparison between a historic view of the town and a structure from the early 20th century.

A city tour conveys the history of Novozybkov’s development and the architectural features of several sights. These include the Rozhdestvensko-Nikolskiy khram, the Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya tserkov, the former Orlovskiy bank and the mansion of merchant Osipov on “Kommunisticheskaya ulitsa” Street. Check before your trip whether the tour is available.

More Topics in Bryansk Oblast

Beyond Novozybkov, Bryansk Oblast offers further cultural and natural attractions. The “Khatsun” memorial complex commemorates the victims of the Nazi occupation regime in the Bryansk region and the Russian villages destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. The Tyutchevs’ family estate was located in Ovstug; Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev was born there. The “Ovstug” museum estate lies on the banks of the Ovstuzhenka.

The Dyatkovo Crystal Museum displays works in coloured and colourless crystal made using rare processing techniques. Its themes include more than two hundred years of glassmaking, artistic compositions by Soviet glassmakers, vases and decorative interior objects from the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as gifts and keepsakes for well-known figures. The collection also includes artistic lamps and decorative glass ensembles.

Those interested in nature and landscapes can also visit the “Bryanskiy les” nature reserve in Bryansk Oblast. It lies between the Desna and Nerussa rivers and is the region’s only nature reserve. Environmental education, trails and wildlife observation offer opportunities to experience the wilderness. The area is also one of the centres for breeding and reintroducing bison, which were historically native to this area.

Discover more destinations: Kamen', Navlya, Krasnyy Kurgan, Osinovaya Gorka, Krasnyy Most, Krasnaya, Bryansk, Domashovo.

See the regional travel overview: Bryansk Oblast.