Nevyansk Icon Museum
Nevyansk is a small town in the Sverdlovsk region, known as the base of the Demidovs, a family of powerful industrialists. It’s famous for two things: the leaning bell tower of the local church (constructed in the style of the Leaning Tower of Pisa) and Nevyansk icons. Produced by Old Believers, an ancient branch of Russian Orthodoxy, Nevyansk icons are famous for their level of detail. One of the largest collections belongs to local politician and current mayor Yevgeny Roizman. If you consider yourself a connoisseur of Orthodox religious art, it’s a must-see. If you don’t, give it a miss as there’s hardly any signage or explanations in Russian — and none in English.
OPEN daily 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
TICKETS 150 rubles
Ulitsa Engelsa, 15 ekaterinburg.guide
The Church on the Blood
The Church on the Blood (Khram na Krovi), also known as the Church of All Saints, is built on the site of the execution of the Romanov imperial family, including Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and all of their children. The execution took place on the night of July 16, 1918 in the basement of Ipatiev House, so called because before the revolution it belonged to an engineer by the name of Ipatiev. Ipatiev House was ironically turned into a museum during Soviet times, but was demolished in 1977 by Boris Yeltsin, to avoid making it a site for monarchist pilgrimages. The church was built on the site in the early 2000s, and is a Byzantine-style five-domed church, which commemorates the sainthood of the Romanov family. There is also a museum dedicated to the family on the site, which is full of artifacts relating to Ipatiev House and the royal family. The bright blue Ascension Church (Voznesenskaya tserkov) is nearby and also worth a look. Built in the late 18th century, it is the oldest church in the city.
OPEN daily 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
TICKETS Free admission
Ulitsa Tsarskaya, 10 hram-na-krovi.cerkov.ru