Chelyabinsk: Meteorite Fragment and Kirovka

A 505-kilogram fragment of the Chelyabinsk meteorite makes Chelyabinsk a starting point for a special exploration of the city’s history and culture. The meteorite exploded over the city on February 15, 2013. The State Historical Museum of the Southern Urals displays the largest fragment in its permanent exhibition. Check the current presentation before your trip.

Museums and Architectural History

The Museum of the Peoples and Technologies of the Urals (“Narody i tekhnologii Urala”) is located in the main building of South Ural State University at 76 Lenin Avenue. Its exhibition covers regional history from the Paleolithic period, around 300,000 years ago, to the beginning of the 20th century. The Chelyabinsk Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography offers a different perspective on the past. It is located in the Chelyabinsk State University building at 129 Bratyev Kashirinykh Street. Its archaeological collection spans the Eneolithic, Bronze Age and Early Iron Age through the Middle Ages; its ethnographic collection includes everyday objects from various peoples.

Different historical layers can also be read in the city’s buildings. The wooden church on Simeon Hill was built in the first half of the 19th century; construction of a stone church began there in 1873. Pokrovsky House, also known as the House of the Public Assembly, dates from the 1850s and is part of the State Historical Museum of the Southern Urals exhibition. It houses the “History of Merchant Trade in the Urals” exhibition. Check whether this exhibition is currently available before visiting.

Kirovka and City Life

Kirovka pedestrian street is a section of Kirov Street in central Chelyabinsk. Historic buildings and numerous sculptures shape the streetscape. At the edge of the pedestrian zone stands the monument to the city’s founders: around a four-sided, tower-shaped obelisk with a clock, a Russian peasant, a Bashkir, a Cossack and an officer look out in the four cardinal directions. The Chelyabinsk State Academic Glinka Opera and Ballet Theatre building also borders Kirovka.

Music and the performing arts are among the city’s other cultural attractions. Symphony, folk and chamber orchestras from Russia and abroad perform at the Chelyabinsk Concert Hall, which also hosts festivals and competitions. The building is a historical and cultural monument. The State Puppet Theatre hosts the international puppet theatre festival for adults, “Solomenny Zhavoronok,” every year. The open-air classical music festival “Kurchatov Fest” takes place every year in midsummer at the monument to the renowned nuclear scientist. Russian stars perform alongside the Chelyabinsk Symphony Orchestra. Check event dates and programs before your trip.

Lake, Park and Routes Through the City

Lake Smolino is in the Leninsky District; its landscaped promenade offers views of the water. The lake is considered a remnant of prehistoric times. Yuri Gagarin Park of Culture and Recreation is a natural part of the Chelyabinsk forest. For those interested in active ways to explore the city, there are also two options: cycling infrastructure is developing, and group bike rides are a popular activity. Trams, trolleybuses, buses and taxis connect attractions across Chelyabinsk.

A local food story is also part of the city’s character: a recipe for Ural pelmeni developed in Chelyabinsk won a gold medal at the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy in 1968. The filling is made with minced pork and beef and a piece of butter; the edge of the dough is folded in a distinctive sofa-like shape.

Discover more destinations: Kyshtym, Kaslinsky District, Krasnoarmeysky District, Zlatoust, Magnitogorsk, Miass, Yuzhnouralsk, Satkinsky District.

For the regional travel overview: Chelyabinsk Oblast.