Transfiguration Church in Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha. Photo by Damas @ E1.RU

Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha situated near the road to Irbit, 15 kilometers (about 8 miles) from the town of Alapayevsk. The population is about six hundred people.

Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha was founded in 1680.

This village boasts a unique collection of Ural house painting and wooden architecture.

Peasant house. Photo by zlyd @ E1.RU

Interestingly, all the exhibitions were collected and restored by one person, a local resident Ivan Samoilov. He collected antiques and was engaged in the reconstruction of Transfiguration Church (Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Tserkov). The exhibits were collected from 270 peasant houses in eight neighborhoods of Sverdlovsk oblast. The oldest exhibit dates back to 1869 and presents a unique example of Ural-style house painting.

Transfiguration Church was built in 1794. The height of this baroque building is 64 meters (about 210 ft). There you will find a collection of wooden paintings.

In the national open-air museum of Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha replicas of peasant houses of XVII-XIX centuries are presented.

Russian sledge. Photo by zlyd @ E1.RU

The exhibits include painted doors, wall partitions, walls and ceilings of peasant houses, articles of furniture, and housewares. Altogether, there are 24 exhibits of antique wooden architecture.

Peasant house's interior design. Photo by NY5 @ E1.RU

Here are Savvaty (Sabbatius) Solovetsky and Zosima Solovetsky Chapel, Ascension Chapel, Prophet Elijah Chapel and St. Alexander Nevsky chapel, a 35-meters-high watchtower (roughly 115 ft), a smithy, a fire station with the observation tower, a Russian-style well ("zhuravel"), and a windmill. Buildings were made by the Ural craftsmen in the XVIII century. Among the exhibits are three peasant farms of XVII-XIX centuries.

The museum of ancient wood carving is in St. Alexander Nevsky chapel. The exhibition of carpets made by a craftswoman Khristina Chuprakova is in the Ascension Chapel. Savvaty (Sabbatius) Solovetsky and Zosima Solovetsky Chapel has become an exhibition hall for the local painter Anna Trofimova.

Chapel in Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha. Photo by Uraltravel.ru

Manuscripts and books published in Russia in the XVII-XVIII centuries, icons painted by locals, ancient church utensils, collections of trays made in the town of Nizhny Tagil, ancient coins and handbells are represented in the museum. Among other exhibits are rare peasant belongings, such as hand-painted distaffs, boxes made of birch bark, embroidered towels, laces, copper tableware, carved frames, and painted furniture.

There is also a part of a peasant house in the museum — “belaya gornitsa” (white room) — which was brought here from another village in 1910.

Nearly all the museum exhibits were gathered from remote Ural villages and were later restored by local craftspeople.

How to get to Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha:

By car: Serovsky highway (270 km from Ekaterinburg ) till you see the road sign “Verkhoturye” (Верхотурье). Then follow the road sign "Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha" (Нижняя Синячиха). it is about 45 km from there;
Or: Rezhevskoy highway to Alapaevsk direction (180 km north-east of Ekaterinburg) through Berezovsky city and Alalpaevsk, then follow the road sign "Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha" (Нижняя Синячиха);
By bus: any bus to Alapaevsk city from the North Bus Terminal and then by taxi to Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha;
Or: any bus to Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha from the North Bus Terminal. Daily buses to Nizhnyaya Sinyachikha: 10:35, 14:00, 15:45, 18:30, 18:45 and 19:30 (local time).