Transport: Standard class
Guide: English-/French-/German-/Spanish-speaking
Period: 10 May – 15 Sep
Duration: 5 hours
Included: Professional guide, comfortable vehicle for transfers to/from pier, private boat hire for 4 hours, entrance fee

Description: Sviyazhsk is located at the confluence of the Volga and Sviyaga Rivers. The distance from Kazan is just over 30 km up to the Volga. It takes about 1 hour to reach the Island by the private boat. Sviyazhsk was founded in 1551 as a fortress which was built within 4 weeks. It became a military base of ther Russian army during the siege of Kazan in 1552. Now it's historical and cultural gem of the Republic of Tatartan. The complex of city buildings includes the works of Ivan Shiryaj and Postnik Yakovlev, who is well known as one of the builders of Saint Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow. Picturesque nature, surrounding shallow, waters of bays attracted people since the ancient times. Somebody said that Sviyazhsk became a prototype of the mysterious Buyan island-city mentioned in the Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan written by Alexander Pushkin.