Bryansk.

History

The nominal founding date is 985, and archaeologists have indeed found traces of a late 10th-century settlement, while the chronicle first names the town, as Debryansk, under 1146. After the Mongol raids of the 13th century it moved to Pokrovskaya Hill. In the 14th and 15th centuries Bryansk was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and around 1500 it passed to the Russian state. Under Peter the Great a shipyard was set up on the Desna, and an arsenal was founded in 1783. During the war the town was occupied from October 1941 to September 1943, and tens of thousands of partisans fought in the surrounding forests.

Culture & traditions

The city has a drama theatre and several museums, and the Trinity Cathedral and the Peresvet bell tower rise above the Desna. The old Svensky Monastery stands on the outskirts. The Bryansk region is the birthplace of the poet Fyodor Tyutchev, after whom the regional library is named. Bryansk is also linked with the sculptor Naum Gabo, the cosmonaut Viktor Afanasyev and the chess grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Sport

The city's main football club is Dynamo Bryansk. Bryansk is also the home town of chess grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Practical information

Bryansk is a major rail junction with two stations, Bryansk-Orlovsky and Bryansk-Lgovsky, and trains link it with Moscow and Smolensk. The M3 federal highway passes nearby. Air travellers usually come via Moscow and continue by train. The climate is temperate continental, so May to September is the best time to explore the city and the forests.

What to see

• Svensky Monastery — an old monastery on the edge of the city
• Peresvet bell tower and Trinity Cathedral — landmarks above the Desna
• Bryansk forests — the famous woodlands around the city
• Drama Theatre — the city's main stage
• Chashin Kurgan — an archaeological site of early Bryansk