The small city Tula is 200 kilometers to the south of Moscow. In the center of the city you should look around the Tula Kremlin, visit the Arms Museum, see the cathedrals in Lenin Square and the Museum of Tula Samovars. You may also make a trip to Yasnaya Polyana, the estate of Lev Tolstoy, and visit the museums on the Kulikovo Field where the battle between the troops of Prince Dmitry Donskoy and Khan Mamai took place in 1380.
Tula was founded in the 12th century when these lands were owned by Ryazan princes. But for several centuries it was a small settlement. The life of the city significantly changed at the very beginning of the 16th century. At those times these lands were taken by Moscow princes who then finished the consolidation of Russian lands.
It was then necessary for them to secure the southern borders of Moscow and they began the construction of the kremlin at Tula in 1507. So, Tula became one of the most important defensive outposts of the country. The stone kremlin was finished by 1521.
There were always a lot of skillful of armorers in Tula. Before the 18th Moscow armorers offered them some competition, but after the arms plant was built at Tula in 1712 the city was finally given the status of the armory center of Russia.
The Tula Kremlin is a mandatory place to visit for all tourists. At the Kremlin you should visit the Assumption Cathedral with a bell tower, as well as the Epiphany Cathedral. Earlier, the Epiphany Cathedral was occupied by the famous Tula Arms Museum. But in 2012 the main museum expositions were moved to a spacious building on the bank of the Upa River. But the exposition «The Arms of the East of 17-19 Centuries» remained at the Epiphany Cathedral. The big «Museum of the Tula Kremlin» is also at the Kremlin.
A classic style building with columns is in front of the Tower of Odoyevsky gate. It is the Museum of Tula Samovar. A curious architectural ensemble is in the nearby Lenin Square: a large administrative building, Lenin monument, a trading center and two cathedrals.
There are very interesting sights in the Tula Region. The estate of Lev Tolstoy, Yasnaya Polyana, is in the immediate vicinity of Tula. Nearly everything was preserved there as it was during the lifetime of this great Russian writer.
The Battle of Kulikovo Field is only 120 kilometers to the south-east of Tula. Museums and expositions devoted to the Battle of Kulikovo have long been created at the village Monastyrschino, as well as on the Red Hill. And in 2015 a new modern museum was opened right in the Battle of Kulikovo Field.
