Nikola Lenivets Art Park is one of the most interesting attractions of the Ugra National Park and the entire Kaluga Region. It is located 70 km north of Kaluga and 220 km southwest of Moscow. Here you will see beautiful natural landscapes on the banks of the Ugra River, as well as more than a hundred interesting art objects. They are installed by Russian and foreign architects at the annual Arkhstanding festivals.
By installing art objects in the forest and fields, creative people do everything to make them in harmony with the nature of the national park. The famous Lighthouse art object at the foot of the hill in the village of Nikola-Lenivets has become a symbol of the art park. The Ugra River makes a beautiful bend here and the Lighthouse greatly decorates the surroundings. On the high bank near the church in 2009, the Nikolino Ear art object was installed. Artists say that you can "listen to silence" in it.
The history of the creation of the Nikola Lenivets Art Park
The village of Nikola-Lenivets is located on the top of the hill, where the Trinity Church was built in 1802. It was closed in 1930. In Soviet times, one of the dairy farm workshops was located in the church. In the 1980s, the village was abandoned by people. The old people lived out their lives in their native village, milk production in the former church stopped.
In the 1990s, summer cottages appeared on the site of abandoned houses. However, the revival of the village was hampered by the lack of good roads and "remoteness from civilization". In the early 2000s, the remoteness from civilization attracted artists Nikolai Polissky and Vasily Shchetinin to this place. Other artists came here to visit them.
Since 2006, the village of Nikola-Lenivets has become the venue for the festival of creative people Arkhstanding. This is a festival of land art and landscape art objects. A huge territory of several hundred hectares has turned into the largest Russian art park Nikola-Lenivets. The festival is held at the end of July.
Art objects of Nikola-Lenivets Park
In a large area around the village from 2006 to 2023, architects and artists installed more than 100 art objects. Nikolai Polissky created many art objects in Nikola-Lenivets Park, but three of them must be seen. In addition to the Lighthouse on the bank of the Ugra River, see Beaubourg and the Universal Mind. Beaubourg looks like ventilation pipes. The Universal Mind resembles the human brain. You have to go to it on the field among wooden columns resembling rockets.
Various architects from Russia and other countries have created dozens of other art objects in the Nikola-Lenivets Art Park: the Rotunda, the Pavilion of Cones, the Gilded Taurus, the Bernarsconi Arch, the White Gate, Ugruan, the Mausoleum of Dreams and many others.
It is impossible to see all the art objects of Nikola-Lenivets Park in 1-2 days, and visitors do not set such a goal. People come here to relax, to communicate with colleagues, to exchange experiences. Many art objects are located in fields, near campsites.
The campsites of the Nikola-Lenivets Art Park are located near a small pond located near the village of Koltsovo. 500 meters to the south is the village of Nikola-Lenivets. The need to create campsites appeared with the development of the Arkhstanding festival. The first festival in 2006 was attended by about 500 people, and in 2022 more than 10 thousand visitors came to it.
