The Schizdra Arboretum gives Zhizdrinskiy District a distinct natural focus: across 1.75 hectares, preserved woody plants stand alongside small meadows and ruderal areas. The area also has the church and museum history of Schizdra, as well as a karst lake designated as a natural monument near the village of Ozyorskaya. When choosing your holiday apartment, you can first consider whether nature, local history, or both will be the focus of your stay.
Natural Monuments and Plant Diversity
The Schizdra Arboretum was designated a natural monument of regional importance in Schizdra District on January 14, 1985. Its present vegetation includes preserved Siberian larches and pines, oaks, ash trees, poplars, and other trees and shrubs planted from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. In addition to the planted trees and shrubs, there are small fragments of mesic meadows and ruderal plant communities along the roadsides. Different vegetation types thus exist side by side, rather than the site's natural value being described solely by a list of tree species.
A total of 127 vascular plant species have been recorded in the arboretum. Four of them—field maple, purging buckthorn, European spindle, and sweet violet—are listed in the Red Data Book of Kaluga Oblast. In addition, 37 species are non-native, including 13 invasive species. These figures offer two different insights into the collection: they identify both its recorded diversity and species with a special status or origin. The arboretum is therefore a distinct point of interest within the area's nature-related attractions.
Another natural monument of regional importance is Lake Bezdonnoye, a karst lake in Kaluga Oblast, in Zhizdrinskiy District near the village of Ozyorskaya. The lake adds a different natural theme to the landscape from the trees and plants of the arboretum. The two places represent different facets of the district's natural heritage, without implying a shared route or a particular itinerary.
Church Architecture and Local History
The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos in Schizdra was rebuilt in 1995 on the site of an earlier Pokrovsky Church. The earlier stone church was built in 1877 by the town community and donors; it was erected in memory of Emperor Alexander II's survival of an assassination attempt. The two dates therefore refer to different building phases: 1877 marks the predecessor church, and 1995 the newly built church.
The predecessor church had five altars. They were dedicated to the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, Venerable Mary of Egypt, Saints Cosmas and Damian, the Apostles Peter and Paul, and Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk. The present church's exterior combines elements of traditional Russian church architecture with modern architecture. This makes it possible to distinguish the history of the dedications from the description of the current building.
History at the Local History Museum
The Schizdra Local History Museum offers several different ways to explore the district's history. Its history hall covers developments from the Stone Age, early settlements in 1146, and the peasant life of Schizdra's residents. The military history hall focuses on the period from 1941 to 1945 and the 22-month occupation of Schizdra District. The historical span on display thus extends from early settlements to the history of the Second World War.
The “Present Day” hall begins with a nature corner displaying taxidermied birds and animals from the Schizdra area. Nature and history appear here as distinct museum themes: the nature corner focuses on local wildlife, while the other halls cover people's ways of life and historical periods. If you're looking for a holiday apartment in Zhizdrinskiy District, you can weigh these themes accordingly: the arboretum and karst lake represent nature, while the church and local history museum represent architectural and local history.
Discover more destinations: Oslinka, Maloyaroslavetskiy Rayon, Kaluga, Maloyaroslavetskiy District, Tarusskiy District, city of Kaluga, Peremyshlsky District, Mosalskiy District.
For the regional travel overview: Kaluga Oblast.
