VLADIVOSTOK

SIGHTS OF INTEREST

The “spirit” of Vladivostok is its unusual landscape. The city is dispersed over the hills; there are not straight streets because they disappear between the tops that compose the city landscape. The buildings are amphitheater like placed on the slopes of the hills. You can observe half of the city from any point of the hills. Due to the irregular coastline of the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which forms numerous small bays and peninsulas, the view that will open before you is really unique.


 The main street of the city is Svetlanskaya Street. It was also the first street in Vladivostok. It was named after Svetlana frigate on board of which grand prince Alexey Alexandrovich visited Vladivostok. Today Svetlanskaya is a main tourist street. Many historical building constructed at the end of the 19th - at the beginning of 20th centuries, museums and monuments, central shops are located on the street and street adjacent to it. We tell some words here just about some of them. If you come here you’ll see how beautiful they are.

10, Svetlanskaya street houses Versailles Hotel built in 1895. One of the first city cinemas called World of Illusions occupied the ground floor of the building. An administrative building located 14, Svetlanskaya street, was earlier occupied by Modern Hotel and Medved Restaurant. You can see an ancient building with arch on the opposite side of the street, 5, Svetlanskaya street. There is an entrance to the picturesque yard keeping centenary memories under this arch. Arka (Arch) modern art gallery is located here. 13, Svetlanskaya street is a building of the oldest Vladivostok’s Hotel Zolotoy Rog (Golden Horn) constructed in 1895 – 1902. The building of Primorye Museum of Regional Studies is located 20, Svetlanskaya street. It was built from 1902 till 1906 by large entrepreneur V.P. Babintsev. There were shops and offices on the first two floors and comfortable apartments were on the third floor.

Central city square is here too in Svetlanskaya street. Its main sight is the monument of the Far Eastern Fighters for Soviet power opened in 1961. One of more remarkable buildings is in 35, Svetlanskaya street. It’s GUM (State Department Store). It was constructed in 1907 and was owned by Kunst and Albers Trading House. Building # 41 has been housed Vladivostok Post Office from 1899 when it was constructed. 46, Svetlanskaya street is Yakov Semyonov’s house, who was the first civil resident and public headman of Vladivostok. He was not only a lucky entrepreneur but also a true patriot and a person of a generous soul. The building was constructed in 1900 – 1903. The harbor and the street were named after Semenov and a monument to him were established near the cross-road of Svetlanskaya and Aleutskaya streets. There is a Public Garden on the corner of Svetlanskaya and Petra Velikogo streets. The new building of Dramatic Theater is situated in the heart of this garden. As we said above, it’s just a small part of all interesting old buildings of the street. When you come here you’ll find the former building of Siberian Flotilla (Svetlanskaya, 47) and the House of Officers of the Pacific Fleet (building 48) and a monument to I.E. Tamm, a native of Vladivostok and outstanding physicist-theorist and academician, who won a Nobel Prize in 1958, and not far from this place the former Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, N.N. Muravyov-Amursky, is buried. So as you see, there are many places to see and visit in this very street only but don’t forget please that there are many other streets in the city J.  

A part of the Admirala Fokina Street is commercial (Torgovaya ulitsa) with trade-booths selling industrial products and food. Automobile traffic is closed in this part of the street. Buildings located her were constructed mostly at the end of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th century.

 Fontannaya Street got its name because of the springs spurting from under the ground. A small Pechorskaya Street goes to the right from Prospekt Stoletiya Vladivostoka, before Stroitel Stadium. It was a camp for political prisoners since 1931. Klement Voroshilov, a famous Narkom (People’s Commissar) on military and naval affairs who visited Vladivostokin 1931, participated in his establishment. Hundreds of thousands of “enemies of the people” passed through the camp. Among those who found themselves in Vladivostok against their will were an academician, the inventor of rocket engineering Sergey Korolev, writers Varlam Shalamov and Yury Dombrovsky. A poet, Osip Mandelshtam, died in transit camp of Vladivostok soon after his arrival in December 1938.

There are several specially arranged view points in Vladivostok where one can see various aspects of the city. They are located in the Southern extremity of Shkot (Egersheld) Peninsula, on Goldobin Cape, in the area of Tikhaya Bay (where the view of the Ussuriysky Gulf opens from), and on the Orlinnoye Gnezdo (Eagle’s Nest) Hill (you’ll get the best view of the city from here, it’s the highest point of the city, just take the funicular railway to the hill) that is located a little bit higher than the upper Funicular Station. You can view Vladivostok both in the daytime and at night. Many tourists prefer to do it later in the evening when the evening lights of the city look mysterious and awaken your fantasy and imagination. 

If you are interested in historic buildings, Russian culture, military history or nature, Vladivostok is the right place to visit. The architecture in Vladivostok, an international center until the Great October Revolution, is a mix of different styles. Downtown of Vladivostok and its suburbs are of great contrast. As for the center of the city, there are no skyscrapers or large bridges spanning the bays. Historic downtown of the city reflects the charm of the old world before the Revolution. There are many unusual buildings that were built between 1880 and 1900. Various architectural styles and traditions reflect both Western and Oriental cultures. Splendid buildings of Versailles Hotel, Pushkin Theater, Vladivostok Central Post Office, Kunst & Albers Department Store and many others make Vladivostok a unique city. There is a small China town remaining in the very center of Vladivostok. Many years ago Chinese people built an interesting labyrinth of houses, yards, passageways and staircases. There are many boutiques and small restaurants in this district today. Citizens and guests of the city like to sit on comfortable benches looking at the fountains with seawater on the main street of China town. As for the outskirts, Goldobin Peninsula, the districts of Neibuta, Balyaeva, Rabochaya and Vtoraya Rechka are built with the monotonous 5-, 9-, and 12-story residential houses of Soviet Architecture.

There are churches of different denominations in Vladivostok: the Blessed - Nikolas Cathedral (Russian Orthodox Church), Intercession Church and Convent, Catholic and Lutheran Churches, some modern churches built recently. 

The Blessed Nicholas Cathedral is the main temple of the Vladivostok and Primorye Diocese. It’s located in the repeatedly rearranged historical building of a church-school, built in 1907 in memory of Russian warriors, fallen in the Russain-Japan War of 1904-1905. The bell tower and the Church of the Holly Virgin’s All Mourners’ Joys Icon is of the particular interest in this church compound.

The Assumption Church occupies a historical building located on Svetlanskaya Street. This is the former house of Assumption Cathedral ruined in 1930s.

The building of the active Holly Virgin Assumption Church has recently been augmented with the new domes and the belfry. Many guests of Vladivostok like to visit the following Orthodox Churches: the Church of John of Kronshtadt in the Pokrovsky Park, the Church of the Holly Virgin’s Kazan Icon at Egersheld, the Church of the Saints Kiril and Mephody on Borodinskaya Street. The only Orthodox Church in Primorye that has been preserved from decoy and realignments is that of the Holly Virgin’s Pokrov (Cover) in Ussuriisk. 

The well-preserved building of the Jewish Synagogue in Vladivostok was built in 1916. It has, on its south and west facades, some decor elements of featuring “Tables of Precept” and a six-pointed star. 

St. Paul Lutheran Church was built in 1909, and it was designed by architect G. Yunghendel. Its three-dimensional and spatial composition is characteristic of the North European late gothic architectural style. On September 16, 1997, the Paulus Kirche was officially returned to the evangelical-Lutheran commune of Vladivostok. The reconstruction of the Kirche is going on but the Mass is performed each Sunday here. The Holy Virgin Roman Catholic Church is available for the visitors too; the parishioners can enjoy Sunday Mass served here as the church has been also returned to the congregation. Concerts of organ music performed in the church are available to all music lovers of the city. It’s situated on 22, Volodarskogo Street. It was constructed in 1912 – 1921 in Eastern-European Gothic style of the 16th century. 

A new cultural–and-religious center and the St. George the Victorious Church are being completed in Pushkinskaya Street. This architectural ensemble designed by Grigori Susola includes the administrative part, the church with a bell tower over the front entrance and some spacious roofed galleries to perform rituals in. 

Famous Trans Siberian Railroad begins in Moscow and ends in Vladivostok. The engineering wonder recognized around the world was started in 1891 and completed in 1916. As a symbol of Russian architectural style of the 17th century Vladivostok Railway Station was modeled after the Yaroslavsky Railway Station in Moscow. The number “9 228” on the side of the old steam engine in Vladivostok terminal represents the distance between Moscow and Vladivostok in kilometers (5 771 in miles). It takes 6 and a half days to get from Vladivostok to Moscow by express train Russia. Many passenger trains go from Vladivostok to Siberia and western part of Russia. 

A shot has been fired from the cannon of the ship placed on Tigrovaya Hill from 1914 until 1940 and since 1970 at noon sharp to mark the exact time.

First-time visitors are impressed with numerous monuments throughout Vladivostok. Some of these monuments reflect the development and history of the city, others - honor Russian soldiers that perished during the World War II. 

Marine history of the city is embodied in numerous monuments scattered throughout the city and several museums such as the Museum of Frontier Guards’ History and the Pacific Fleet Museum. There is a historic vessel “Red Vympel” floating in the harbor is just below the city square. There is a unique on-land museum made of a Soviet S-56 submarine not far from it. Both vessels are open to the public. These ships are part of the Pacific Fleet’s Glory Memorial, which was built near the place on the coast where the founders of Vladivostok outpost landed in 1860. There is a monument to Admiral Makarov, an outstanding Russian Fleet Navigator and a scientist who perished in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 – 1905. The monument is located between Ekvator and Vladivostok Hotels. 

Military history is well preserved in military museums, which are open to the public. You may learn Russian military history watching parades and attending exhibitions held on the central square during some national holidays. 

There is an original monument – a Soviet tank T-34 – which was widely used during World War II. In 1987 the tank was placed on a concrete pedestal in memory of the Komsomol-members of Primorye who perished fighting this war. The monument is located at the Youth House, not far from the Acfes-seiyo Hotel. 

Many streets at Vtoraya Rechka Distric have the names of heroes of Russo-French War of 1812 such as Bagrationa street, Kutuzova street, Davydova street and Borodinskaya street. The latter in honor of the Borodinsky Field where the decisive battle between the Russian Army, under the command of Kutuzov, and Napoleon’s Units took place. There is a monument to Kutuzov in Russkaya Street in the public garden near Borodino cinema. A monument to Denis Davydov, a poet and an officer, is located in Davydova Street. A monument to Pyotr Bagration, a general of the Russian Army who died on the Borodinsky Field, is established in Bagrationa Street. 

Travel along Korabelnaya Naberezhnaya (Naval Embankment) to the Pacific Fleet Headquaters and Eternal Flame will make a miracle impression on you! Korabelnaya Naberezhnaya includes the whole memorial complex which commemorates the naval glory of Vladivostok. You'll see a concrete bowsprit symbolizing Manchur, the first Russian boat to visit Golden Horn Bay (the ship allegedly anchored in this very place). A tiny naval schooner Krasny Vympel and Submarine S-56 mentioned above is here too. Hundreds of names of Vladivostok KIA seamen are inscribed on black marble slabs near the memorial fire. 

Embankment at Sportivnaya Harbor: strolling down the new pedestrian street totally remodeled in 2003 (called by locals "Arbat" after the famous street in Moscow) you will get to the waterfront at the foot of  Tiger Hill. It attracts guests and residents of the city with the view of the Amursky Bay, Dolphinarium and Oceanarium featuring a varied collection of denizens of the deep in its great aquariums. The adjoining building which also faces the waterfront contains a set of gymnasiums, swimming pools and basketball and volleyball courts. People come here in the evenings and weekends to walk along the sea, meet with friends or just have a rest sitting in one of the cafes. 

So called Obyasneniya Rechka (River of Explanation) in the southeast of Vladivostok was so named in the 1870’s. The matter is that duels took place on its left bank in the small glen o the way to Uliss Bay. Officers of the Vladivostok’s Garrison clarified and explained their relationships with the help of guns. 

Triumphal Arch was built in 1891 in honor of the tsesarevich Nikolai, future last tsar of the Russian Empire. In about 1930 the arch was demolished like many other monuments having any connection to the tsarist regime. And only in 2003, the year of Nicholai's 135th anniversary, the arch was restored and took it's place among the most beautiful city attractions.

Who is interested in nature has many places to see and visit in Vladivostok and its suburbs. Many tree-lined roads and parks soften the hard lines of the city. Primorskii Krai is famous for its numerous caverns, fancy rocks, deep ravines and rapid rivers with crevices and waterfalls. And there are six wildlife reserves throughout the Krai. 

If you have visited many places and have seen many things there is one more where you haven’t been yet, it’s Vladivostok in partuclular and Primorye in common! Having visited this Krai once you’ll never forget this unique land of cedar, Lotus and Tiger Tracks. 
We promise you, you’ll get unforgettable impressions, just come and see!

You are welcome to Vladivostok!