The Nizhniy Novgorod region

Balakhna is the birthplace of the great patriot of Russian land - Kuzma Minin - the organizer of home guarding in 1612, liberating Moscow from Polish invaders. The national holiday – “Day of People's Unity” - became one of the symbols of national idea of unity of Russia. Balakhna is also one of the prettiest cities of Nizhegorodsky region. Close location to Nizhny Novgorod together with the combination of beautiful natural landscape, the oldest monuments of historico-cultural ancestry promotes internal and external tourism.

The oldest of the monuments of Nizhegorodsky region - Nickolsky Cathedral -is in Balakhna. It was built in 1552 to order by the mother of Ivan the Terrible Elena Glinskaya to commemorate the victory over Kazan khanate. For many centuries Balakhna has been a powerful centre of orthodoxy. True believers can kiss miracle relics of locally respected saint Pafnuty Balakhninsky - the founder of a Pokrovsky male monastery. The city is decorated with a unique cathedral of Jesus Christ's Birth built in 1675 with a beautifully kept iconostasis of the 17th century.

In the 17th century Balakhna was a large saline centre of Russia which can be seen from saline wells located on the bank of the Volga River, in the 18th century it was the centre of shipbuilding, and the 19th century was the time when the city flourished. During that period more than 50 handicrafts were developed. The main of them were: making of tiles (Balakhninsky tiles are used in St.Basil's Cathedral in Moscow), smith's, pottery, leather, glass, bells, brick industries, shipbuilding and of course famous Balakhninsky lace which were exported into Europe.

Balakhna is known for its unique and unusual architecture which can be seen from merchants' mansions of Latukhin, Plotnikov, Charyshnikov still preserved from those times. There is an exhibition hall of local history museum in a mansion of merchant Khudyakov which is an example of an urban estate of the 19th century.

There is a monument to Kuzma Minin in Balakhna being the place of the first stopover of Nizhegorodsky home guard in 1612 on its way to liberate Moscow.

To celebrate the 400 anniversary of the heroism of Nizhegorodsky home guard of 1612 the administration of Balakninnsky district has a project for building a museum-tourist complex under the open sky called "Balkhninskaya Sloboda". The complex includes "Mininskaya" hut as the only museum of Kuzma Minin in Russia, huts where exhibits will be placed commemorating the era of "dark times", "salt museum", museum-workshop of Balakhninsky lace, a monument to shipbuilders. On the territory of the complex it is planned to build mini-hotels and a cafe.

The cost of building and equipment of a museum complex is USD 2 million. Total cost of the project - approximately USD 3 million. Project-estimate documentation is at an assimilation stage. Draft project is enclosed. Co-financing is necessary: from the budget funds - for the building of a museum, development of engineer, transport and cruise infrastructure and private funds - for building of a restaurant a souvenir shop and mini-hotel.