When thinking of Russia, the first places come to mind are: Moscow Kremlin, St. Petersburg’s Hermitage and Siberia’s Lake Baikal. But, there is an incredible village, that is less known even among the Russians.
Village of Nikola-Lenivets is located just about 140 miles away from Moscow, in Dzerzhinsky district, Kaluga region, to be exact. The village is a park, an open air art exhibition and a camping site. Beautiful area of over 1600 acres is home to more than 30 art objects, that are integrated into the landscape as much as possible. They are evenly distributed throughout the territory, so exploring the area easily takes a whole day or two.
At a first glance, it may seem like an exhibition of eccentric wooden structures in the open air. In fact, each of these pieces is a bridge to another world. It just needs a little open mind and thinking out of the box to see, that these bizarre structures were designed for people to connect with their real self and with surrounding nature. The exhibition pieces constantly change. Anyone can come with a project and if it fits into the concept, it will be installed in the park.
Besides the art exhibit, there is a wonderful campsite with all the amenities. Visitors can bring their own tent or rent already installed one, or stay in one of the wooden houses on the site.
The park is open round the clock and all year round, but it is better to visit it during the warmer months, since it gets very cold in late fall and winter.
Address: Nikola-Lenivets village, Dzerzhinsky District, Kaluga Oblast, Russia
Coordinates: 54.749341, 35.600260