Kulikovo Field and the Museum of the Battle of Kulikovo
Kulikovo Field is a historical area in the Tula region, where the legendary battle between the troops of Prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow and the hordes of the Golden Horde Khan Mamai took place. A small section of the Don steppe, where the myth about the invincibility of the Mongol-Tatar army was first dispelled on September 8, 1380, is located in the Kimovsky district, at the confluence of the Nepryadva and Don rivers. Today the area has the status of a state museum-reserve, which includes several historical monuments, as well as a modern exposition complex. In honor of the great events of the past on the Kulikovo Field annually arranged military reconstructions, organized entertainment events and medieval tournaments.










Video: Aerial excursion to the Kulikovo Field
Contents- Russian explorers in search of Kulikovo Field
- Significant sites of the museum- Reserve
- Activities
- Lodging and meals
- How to get there
Russian explorers in search of Kulikovo Field

As it turned out later, the legendary battle took place on the right bank of the Nepryadva, but since in those immemorial times the river’s vicinity was covered with forests, the troops could fight only in a small forestless area. Already in the beginning of 2000th years the official map of Kulikovo field was redrawn, having transferred a place of action on the glade squeezed between ravines in length about 2 km and width in some hundred meters. The correctness of the new scheme was confirmed by the archaeological works organized on this site. Powerful metal detectors found a lot of forged fragments, which were once part of military equipment, and the subsequent analysis of the finds showed that their real age just corresponds to the XIV century.
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Significant places of the museum-reserve
Going on an excursion to the museum complex of the Kulikovo battle, you will have to prepare for the fact that it will take a couple or three days to see the local sights. Despite the fact that the legendary field itself occupies a ridiculous, by modern standards, the territory of 2-3 km², the reserve includes a lot of other objects worthy of attention.
.Red Hill


Monastyrshchino Village
The village is located at the confluence of Nepryadva and Don and is directly connected with the events of Mamaev’s Battle. According to rumors, on the site of the modern settlement was camped Dmitry Donskoy, and it was in the land of Monastyrshchino found its last shelter warriors who fell during the battle. 500 years later the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was erected here, which, thanks to timely restoration, today is in excellent condition. You can visit the church either on your own or with an excursion group, but the second option is preferable, as it gives you the right to get additional “bonuses” like climbing the bell tower, taking pictures in ancient armor and shooting from a crossbow.
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At a distance of about 1 km from the temple is the very place where Nepryadva flows into the Don. This phenomenon is not ahti what outstanding, so that come here more often to just relax and watch from the shore for a leisurely river flow.
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There is in Monastyrshchino and a monument to the main hero of the battle – Dmitry Donskoy. No historical value of this novelty, installed here in 1980, does not bear, so visit it mainly “for a tick”. The way to the monument passes through the Alley of Memory and Unity – a small, paved with paving tiles and framed with commemorative plaques, a path.
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But it is worth going to the Green Dubrava, and not only to breathe clean air and admire the steppe expanses. Once in this forest stood the Reserve Regiment of the Russian druzhina, waiting for the conditional sign to join the battle and predetermine its outcome. Just do not expect to see in the grove the same oaks that stood here under Dmitry Donskoy – the years of active agricultural activity have affected the array not in the best way. However, thanks to the efforts of the Reserve’s staff, the area is gradually taking its true historical shape. Tree saplings are planted on the territory of the former oak forest, and the steppe areas are sown with grassland crops, just like those that grew here during the Golden Horde yoke.
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For those who came on an excursion with children, the museum offers a special exposition “One is not a warrior in the field”, where the younger generation will play archaeologists and unusual ancient finds will be demonstrated.
.Museum excursions in winter time are held daily (except Tuesday) from 10 to 16 hours. In the summer time from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday through Thursday) and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Friday through Sunday).
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Where else to visit if you have time left:
- to the village of Epifan, where there is a museum of merchant life;
- to the Well of Forgiveness, at which, according to legend, Dmitry Donskoy washed his wounds after the battle. The source is equipped with a small font and is located 12 km from the Red Hill. The water from it is recognized as curative;
- to the village of Sebino – the small homeland of the holy old woman Matrona of Moscow. Here is also a popular with Orthodox pilgrims Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. .


Events
Trying to reconstruct the entire course of the battle, looking only at the desolate expanse of Kulikovo Field – an occupation, to put it mildly, not the most exciting, so if the usual excursions on the steppe seem to you a boring waste of time, try to come to the reserve in the third week of September, when the annual festival of military-historical reconstruction spreads its tents on the field. To date, this is the largest of all similar events held in Russia. And by the “concentration” of severe bearded men in ringlets and romantic minstrels per square kilometer the festival has no equal at all! Only here you can take part in the reconstruction of the Kulikovo battle in the morning, at lunch go on medieval shopping at the fair of craftsmen, and at night join the slender ranks of Russian bogatyrs, feasting in the open air. In addition, on Shrovetide and Christmas Day, folk festivals with performances of folklore groups, hot pancakes and contests are held on the Kulikovo Field.
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Lodging and food
There are three options for accommodation in the museum-reserve: a hotel in Monastyrshchino, guest houses in the ethnographic village of Mokhovoye and a mini-hotel in the village of Epifan. The accommodation looks attractive and colorful, as they are small mansions of ancient construction, which are newly plastered and painted. For example, in the same Epifani you will settle in a merchant or bourgeois house with interiors in the style of the first half of the XX century, will provide at your complete disposal a real Russian bath and quite modern parking, and if necessary, and samovar supply.
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But in terms of food tourists will have to make their own way. And if in Epifani still finds a couple of modest cafes, then in Monastyrshchino, except for a small buffet at the museum, there are no other points of catering. The same situation, however, in a slightly lighter version, in Mokhovy: there are no restaurants here, but local guest houses are equipped with excellent kitchens, where the tourist can cook his own lunch.
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If you don’t feel like standing at the stove, you can pop into the cafe opposite the Red Hill, where tourists who came to the museum as part of excursion groups usually have lunch. The cuisine here is not fancy, but the dishes are fresh and hearty. Well, gourmets will have to make a mini-voyage to Bogoroditsk, where the service is of higher quality and there are full-fledged restaurants. For products it is better to drive to Ivanovka village: the assortment in local stores is not rich, but semi-finished products and groceries will always be found here.
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How to get there
The museum-reserve “Kulikovo Field” is located 320 km from Moscow on the M-4 “Don” highway. Since the complex itself covers the territory of three districts of Tula, it is not easy to build a single tourist route to it. Usually the starting point is the town of Bogoroditsk, and its end points are either Ivanovka, where the Red Hill is located, or Monastyrshchino.
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The optimal transportation option for the trip is your own car, because only on it you can go around all the sights of Kulikov Field, scattered over an area of almost 8 hectares. It is better to start acquaintance with the reserve with the museum of Russian merchants in Epifani, after which you can turn to Monastyrshchino to look at the battlefield, the temple and the museum, and there and hand in hand to the Forgiveness well.
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If you still venture out by public transportation, you can leave Tula by bus “Tula – Kimovsk”. From Kimovsk there are several daily flights to Epifani and Monastyrshchino.
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