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Kazan – Bolgar

The city of Bolgar was founded in the 10th century by the Volga Boulgars, In 1361 the Golden Horde prince Boulat-Timur destroyed it. Bolgar was rebuilt but in 1431 it was destroyed again by Prince Fyodor Pestry and was never reestablished. All the people left it. Modern Bolgar is town of Spassk-Kazan region. In 1991 the city got its present name in honor of the ancient city of Volga Bulgaria, the ruins of which were not far from the place.

The best and the most prosperous times for the city were at the edge of the 13th and 14th century. Most of the architect monuments still preserved are dated back to this time. Now the reconstruction of the monuments is in process. The name “Bolgar” (the first syllable is stressed) or “Bulgar” (the last syllable is stressed), or “Great Bulgars” comes from the ethnonym of the ancient Volga Boulgars.

According to one of the versions the word “Bolgars” is transcribed from the “Volgars” (those who live near the Volga). Ancient city of Bolgar state belongs to the historical and architectural museum-reserve. Here we can find the Cathedral Mosque, the Eastern Mausoleum (“The Church of St. Nicholas”) and the Northern Mausoleum (“monastery cellar”), Khan’s Shrine, Small Minaret, the Black Chamber, the White chamber, the Red and the Hellenic Chambers, Khan’s bathhouse and many others archeological sites. The White Chamber attracts a lot of tourists as a cultural heritage of the Volga Bulgaria. The historical and ethnographic complex museum of bread is also one of the most popular places among the guests.

    Day 1

  • Meeting at the railway station or at the airport
  • Accommodation in the hotel
  • Bus sightseeing tour around Kazan
  • Old-Tatar Sloboda, where the original tatar people had lived since the XVI century, the oldest Marjani Mosque, the Fountain Cascade, Lake Kaban– its mysteries and legends, Cloth Hall – the industrial transformation of Peter I, the stylish little village “Tugan avylym” (native village), the Puppet Theatre, The tram Museum in the open air
  • Svobody Square and its attractions – The City hall , the Concert hall, the Opera and Ballet Theatre, “The White House ” of Tatarstan, Black Lake. From the Square near the National Culture Centre there is a magnificent view to the sporting facilities of Universiade 2013
  • Cathedral of St.Peter and Paul built in 1723- 1726 in memory of the visit of Peter I. Bogoroditsky Monastery  and the miraculous Kazan Icon of Mother of God, that was returned from Vatican to Russia under the will of Pope of Rome. Kazan University, Kremlyovskaya Street, Millenium Park
  • The tour along Peterburgskaya street and Bauman Street: Church of the Epiphany, The Kazan Publishing House, a sculpture of the Kazan Cat, the carriage of Catherine II, the Shalyapin Chamber Hall, the “navel” of the city of Kazan
  • The tour along Bolaq and its bridges (Lozhkinskiy, Lebedevskiy, Romanovskiy), the Palace of Farmers, the banks of the Kazanka River.
    The excursion to the Kazan Kremlin – the heart of the Republic of Tatarstan: May 1 square, the National Museum, The city Hall , Kremlin Spasskaya Tower, The Savior’s Transfiguration monastery, the Cannon Yard Museum, The Governor’s Palace, Cathedral of the Annunciation(with the excursion), Leaning Suyumbike Tower, mausoleum of the Kazan khans. You will see a magnificent panorama of the city and the rivers around it. You will hear the legends of the city, you will see its unique monuments. The culmination of the excursion program is the pearl of the Kazan Kremlin – the main mosque of the Tatar Republic – Kul Sharif Mosque (with the excursion inside)
  • Lunch
  • Excursion to the museum chosen
  • Free time
  • Additional excursion “Night lights of Kazan”
  • Day 2

  • Breakfast in the hotel
  • Bus tour to ancient Bolgar
  • Bus sightseeing tour: Museum of Bulgarian civilization, the Memorial sign, the Bulgarian fortification
  • Lunch
  • Visiting the White Chamber, the Cathedral Mosque, the Assumption Church
  • Visiting the museum of bread (on request)
  • Free time
  • Back to Kazan
  • Visiting shops of the local producers
  • Transfer to the railway station or to the airport

Hotel The cost
from 850 р.
from 1 200 р.
from 1 360 р.
from 1 400 р.
from 1 500 р.
from 2 100 р.
from 2 300 р.
from 3 700 р.
from 4 000 р.
You will visit:

    Day 1

  • Old-Tatar Sloboda , one of the famous sights of the city. It was built by Ivan the Terrible after the siege of Kazan in 1552. The first people living here were tatars who took part in the siege
  • Lake Kaban where the chest with innumerous treasures is situated. The legend says that the chest was hidden on the bottom of the lake during the siege of Kazan
  • The central streets of the city of Kazan that were visited by Pushkin, Gorky, Tolstoy and other outstanding people of culture and art
  • The Exaltation of the Cross Church with the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, one of the most revered shrines in Russia. In 2004 Vatican returned the Kazan Icon to Patriarch Alexy II and since that time thousands of pilgrims and tourists come here to touch the miraculous icon
  • National complex “Tugan Avylym” that means “Native Village” in the Tatar language. Here you can find a restaurant with the traditional tatar cuisine, a pancake café with the Russian stove and guest houses decorated in the Tatar style, you can attend different master-classes and interactive programs
  • The Kazan Kremlin is the chief sight of the Republic of Tatarstan, now it is the object of the UNESCO heritage. The whole territory of the Kremlin is the museum-reserve where a lot of museums, Kul Sharif Mosque, Suyumbike Tower and other historical places are found
  • Day 2

  • Museum of Bulgarian civilization, where more than 1600 exhibits are found. The museum combines the real exhibits and multimedia means, that helps to create the full picture of the cultural heritage. The architecture of the building goes together with the still existing ancient Bulgarian buildings
  • The Bolgar hillfort, surrounded by the earth hill and the ditch 5 km long. This is a very precious architectural object represented by a number of stone and brick public and religious buildings dated back to the 13th-14th centuries
  • The Cathedral Mosque, the main building in the centre of Bolgar of 13th-14th centuries. At the beginning of the 14th century the mosque was reconstructed and rebuilt inside. In the forties of the 14th century corner towers were added to the main building, there were made windows and doors in the side walls, tambours, external decorative niches appeared, the surrounding area was landscaped
  • The White Mosque — Tatarstan Taj Mahal. It is situated in front of the old settlement and it’s like a symbol of the resurrection of the great Khanate. This architecture monument is rather new but it contains the traits of the great ancient Bulgarian Khanate, that managed to win the Golden Horde
  • The Eastern Mausoleum (“The Church of St. Nicholas”) and the Northern Mausoleum. This is the example of the Muslim architecture and it represents a tent-type tomb. This is the only monument of ancient Bolgar that is almost fully preserved till our days. It is included in the central ensemble of architecture of the city
  • The Khan’s Shrine, that was built of white limestone in the early XIV century. Later on it was reconstructed to become a complex of four tombs, mentioned in historical sources since the XVIII century. There were found 8 tombs with the boxes in the shrine. Some of them were placed under the brick tombstones. In one part of the mausoleum there was an oven and the floor heating channels
  • The museum of bread (optional visit), represented by a complex of wooden buildings in the traditional style. Here you can see a windmill with carts loaded with sacks of flour. There is a storage house full of grain, a barn with reaps, a forge, a handicraft market and a pond with geese and ducks and a water wheel
Included in the price:
  • Bus rent for 2 days
  • The excursion program
  • Entrance ticket for the Kazan Kremlin+ excursion
  • Entrance ticket for the Bolgar Museum of History and Architecture+ excursion
  • Lunch in Kazan, lunch in Bolgar
  • Guide assistance for 2 days
  • Support for 2 days
  • Insurance
  • For extra fee accommodation in the hotel
  • For extra fee excursion program «Night lights of Kazan»
The cost of the tour
The cost of the tour for 1 person
The size of the group Transport company The transport of the customer
40 people 2 200 р. 1 450 р.
30 people 2 550 р. 1 500 р.
18 people 3 000 р. 1 700 р.
7 people 5 600 р. 2 350 р.
3 people 11 500 р. 3 800 р.
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