Divided by the river Volga, the western Russian city is home to a secret museum of wooden architecture, an ‘exotic’ commuter cable car, lilac-scented wind and flight of stairs so long it’s almost impossible to count

In five words

Riverside tea and screeching seagulls

Sound of the city

Rattling: Nizhny Novgorod is filled with the rattling sound of passing trams. It’s the city where Russia’s first ever tram line was launched.

Smell of the city

Nizhny smells of rivers. That might sound strange, but two big rivers – the Volga and the Oka – become one here. And if you stand at Strelka – the name of the point at which the rivers meet – you’ll get swept up in a humid wind. In spring this wind smells of lilacs, in summer it smells of linden breaking through the scent of smoke and industrial gas from the factories.

Best building

Facebook Twitter Pinterest No yoking, the Kremlin is the city’s best building. Photograph: Evgenij Bogushev

The Kremlin complex has become the symbol of the city – it’s an example of Russian defensive architecture, built in the 16th century to protect residents, and thanks to it the city has been saved from numerous invasions. Now it is home to administrative buildings, a working temple and museums – it’s like a city within a city. Its ancient church is the highest point of Nizhny Novgorod.

The complex has 13 towers and each one has its own name, secret and legend. There are several stories about the Yoke Tower – they say that it was named after a girl with a yoke (a wooden pole to help carry two buckets over your shoulders), which she once used to fend off robbers who were besieging the city.

Worst building

Facebook Twitter Pinterest And it’s also the worst … Photograph: Alyona Ageeva

Ironically, the ugliest building is also in the Kremlin complex. The main administrative building is a hideous construction of glass and concrete – it’s like a thorn in the heart of the historical centre. Citizens named it the Babylon tower of Nizhny because of the extremely long time it took to construct. It took more than 10 years to build – ample time for it to cause controversy.

What does your city do better than anywhere else?

The commute: at least for some city residents, the journey to the office can be a case of jumping onto a cable car. A couple of years ago, Nizhny Novgorod got one going over the Volga river. An exotic form of transportation in Russian cities, it also solves a lot of problems with traffic jams – it has become as commonplace as buses for residents.

Best Instagram

This account is for people who love the unique architecture of the city, and the community posts their own photos of high-tech buildings alongside wooden art nouveau. It’s a view of the city from the inside.

Biggest controversy

One of the hottest subjects being discussed across Nizhny right now is the way in which the old city is vanishing. Nizhny was originally a merchants’ city, full of marvellous small wooden estates belonging to the wealthy 19th-century merchants. But wooden building are very difficult to maintain and so, instead of restoring them, the city authorities turn to demolition. Some people support the modernisation, but others feel we are losing the history of our city every day.

Street style

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A rare ray of stylish sunshine … Natalia Uryadnikova, the city’s only fashion Instablogger. Photograph: Elmira Sungatullina

Street style in Nizhny is definitely not something to write home about. Although there are plenty of cool and interesting local brands all over Russia, there are hardly any shops where you can buy non-mass market clothes in this city. Local fashionistas hunt for stylish outfits in Moscow, St Petersburg and Europe.

Most people here try not to stand out from the crowd: as it’s cold most of the year, they just wear dark coats. There are a few city personalities who try to bring colour to all the gloom, though. Natalia Uryadnikova is one of them – she posts stylish looks on a regular basis on her Instagram, as well as shots from backstage at fashion shows. She is the only fashion Instablogger in the city.

Moment in history

The all-Russia Exhibition, which was held in Nizhny in 1896, changed the face of the city. For Nizhny, it was akin to the first World Fair in Paris. It is thanks to this fair that many of the city’s most beautiful buildings and bridges were built. It also coincided with the opening of the first theatre and first tram.

Most under-rated location

Facebook Twitter Pinterest On the outskirts of the city … a wooden architecture museum. Photograph: Evgenij Bogushev

Nizhny is home to a unique museum of wooden architecture that very few people know about. It’s an open air museum and features numerous ancient wooden churches, houses and wells. You can enjoy the reconstructed interiors and imagine what it might have been like to live as Russian peasants back in the 18th and 19th centuries – you can use the spinning wheels, or get water with a bucket from a well. Another interesting part is the wooden church cupolas, built without a single nail.

The museum is located on the outskirts of the city and there is almost no advertising for it online. You can only get there with the help of locals, but once you get there you won’t regret it.

Top insider’s tip

Facebook Twitter Pinterest 1, 2, 3 … 1,071: the Chkalov stairs. Photograph: Evgenij Bogushev

If you happen to be in Nizhny, you have to walk up the Chkalov stairs, which run from the Minina Square to the lower Volga embankment. Built during the Soviet era they are the longest flight of stairs on the banks of the Volga.

And, while feasting your eyes on the river views, try and count how many steps there are – it’s something of a city joke to try and count all one-and-a-half odd thousand of them!

How green is your city?

Like in many Russian industrial cities, you rarely see separate waste collection or points of recycling. Any eco initiatives tend to be the work of small hipster groups, or even smaller groups of green activists.

Car use is also high – the city is divided by the river into two parts and as the bridges between the two are constantly being repaired, there are long traffic jams for people looking to get from one part of town to another.

Best local artist

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Art in the city … Natalia Khilova. Photograph: TM-Studia

Natalia Khilova was born in Nizhny and is now well-known across Russia and Europe. She is one of the artists who belongs to TM-Studia, founded in Nizhny Novgorod several years ago. With more than 20 artists from different cities now part of the studio, they organise projects that merge fine art with dance, cinema and theatre. Once a year they organise an international art camp deep in the forest near the city.

Five to follow

Masha Zana

Nnov.inst

Beautiful NN

Culture in the city

Gorky City

From me

Facebook Twitter Pinterest This is me … Alyona Ageeva. Photograph: Ivan Kulikov

Alyona Ageeva is an actor, theatre director and poet based in Nizhny Novgorod. She also organises creative festivals and concerts in the city and writes about culture.

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