Kaluga, the springboard for space exploration and historic army stronghold, is located only 175 km southwest of Moscow and well worth at least a day-trip visit.

While the first mention of Kaluga in manuscripts dates back to the year of 1371, it was in the 17th and 18th centuries that Kaluga developed into a center of trade and craftsmanship, and the town's architectural image was formed. In the second half of the 18th century, the famous architects Pyotr Nikitin and Ivan Yasnygin supervised Kaluga's town planning and construction. The city's historical center, featuring old, classical-style buildings, is located on the steep and picturesque banks of the Oka River.

During the French invasion of 1812, Kaluga was the Russian Army's stronghold, and during World War II the city was the site of heavy fighting with the Nazis. Unfortunately, many historical memorials were destroyed in these battles.

In 1892, physics teacher Konstantin Tsiolkovsky settled in Kaluga. Today, he is internationally famous as the founder of modern space-flight technology, and Kaluga is deservedly called the "cradle of space exploration." Tsiolkovsky lived in Kaluga for most of his life, wrote his fundamental works there and is buried there.

On June 13, 1961, the Soviet Union's (and the world's) first cosmonaut Yury Gagarin laid the first symbolic stone of the future Museum of the History of Space Exploration, which was opened with ceremonial pomp in 1967.

Kaluga is a mid-sized, modern city. The best starting point for a tour around the city is the stone bridge over the Berezuyevsky gully. The bridge is a quite peculiar and pretty old piece of architecture. To get to the bridge, you take trolleybus 1, 2 or 3 from the center to the Kamenny Most (Stone Bridge) stop.

"The bridge over the Berezuyevsky gully [built by architect Nikitin in 1780] is a unique memorial of architecture," wrote renowned art critic Yevgeny Nikolayev. "It's a real Roman viaduct in the center of Russia." Built more than 200 years ago for carts and coaches, it carries modern heavy vehicles today.

From the bridge, continue along Pushkin Ul. to No. 16, the famous Makarov mansion, built in 1728, and No. 14, the Zolotarev mansion, one of the most beautiful buildings in Kaluga. The latter currently accommodates the Kaluga Oblast Museum of History and Nature.

Pushkin Ul. intersects with Plekhanov Ul., and, not far away (88 Plekhanov Ul.). stands the Korobov mansion - a remarkable memorial of 17th-century architecture. Next door (86 Plekhanov Ul.), the famous Russian poet and Slavophile Ivan Aksakov lived from 1845-1847.

If you return to Pushkin Ul. and walk to its beginning, you'll see No. 4, known as "Shamil's House," where the spiritual leader of Chechnya and Dagestan Imam Shamil, who surrendered to Russian Army after a lengthy Caucasian war, lived from 1859-1868. The house was built in the 18th century and is notable for the intricate moldings decorating its Western facade.

Nearby, there is a modern building accommodating the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Museum of Space Exploration History. This is a unique piece of architecture, especially its southern facade, where the building's rectangular plane intersects with the rounded structure that houses the museum's planetarium. Beside the museum, there is a model of the Vostok spacecraft. It is a 38 meter-tall three-section rocket, standing on the edge of a precipice descending to the Yachensky water reservoir. It presents a magnificent panorama of the lake, groves and Oka wetlands.

Kaluga has two more museums we recommend visiting. The Kaluga Regional Museum of the Arts is located at 104 Lenin Ul. and was erected in 1805-1810. The museum displays an interesting collection of paintings, sculptures and crafts from the 11th-20th centuries. The second is the Military History Museum, located at 15 Boldin Ul. and dedicated to the heroic battles waged by 50th Army commanded by Gen. Boldin against the Nazis in 1941.

The best hotel in Kaluga is the Oka (41/8 Teatralnaya Ul.), while there are two other comfortable hotels: Zul, with a restaurant (2 Gogol Ul.), and Sputnik (Kaluga city park, pine grove). The latter is a favorite of naturalists: The pine grove is filled with birds and animals.

There are a lot of cafes, eateries and restaurants in Kaluga, the most popular of which are Kolos (32 Kirov Ul.) and Orion (4 Yury Gagarin Ul.).