Irkutsk travel guide

Irkutsk residents call their city the capital of Eastern Siberia and simply «the middle of the earth». It is equally far from the Northern and southern oceans, to the Western and Eastern capitals. However, there is absolutely no provincial dullness and grayness. On the contrary, it is a bright, joyful and very Sunny city.

Vtorov’s mansion

Luxirious four-story brownstone in the city center of Irkutsk was built by one of the richest Siberian merchants Andrey Vtorov. He was lucky and smart man who made his fortune on trading. You can always recognize Vtorov’s buildings by their decorative brick-work design, which became known as “merchant’s style” (pseudo-Russian style). The are rumors among local people about hidden underground tunnels and treasures of this mansion. Enthusiasts of mystical stories/science tell that Vtorov’s ghost vigilantly protects his wealth and walk around his house at night.

Kazan Church

Building of Kazan Church is pompously decorated in Russian-byzantine style. The church is defied the imagination and is rightly considered as the most interesting church from the architectural point of view. The Kazan church had been erected by the best carvers, silversmiths and Icon painters for 7 years and was finished on the at Easter in 1892.