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When does the Battle of Borodino take place? On the Borodino field everything is ready for battle! things to do on the Borodino field

Borodino Field, 120 km west of Moscow, is the site of the most famous battle of the Patriotic War of 1812. “The Battle of the Giants,” as Napoleon called it, lasted 12 hours. This was the bloodiest battle of the 19th century, in which about 300 thousand people and more than 1,200 artillery pieces took part on both sides.

The exposition of the Borodino Field Museum-Reserve is dedicated to the events and heroes of the battles of 1812 and 1941.

In the anniversary year of 1912, some fortifications were reconstructed on the Borodino field and memorial obelisks were installed to military units that distinguished themselves in the battle. In October 1941, the Moscow defense line passed through the Borodino field, as is reminded of by reinforced concrete pillboxes and a T-34 tank mounted on a pedestal. On the first Sunday of September, when the military-historical reconstruction of the famous battle takes place, gunpowder smoke again billows over the Borodino field and artillery salvoes thunder.

How to get to Borodino Field

The most convenient and fastest way to get to Borodino is by car along the Minsk highway and then along the Mozhaisk highway. The museum-reserve is located approximately 120 km from Moscow in a westerly direction. There are no direct public transport routes from the capital, only trains and buses to Mozhaisk and the railway station. "Borodino", from where you then need to transfer to commuter buses to the place.

More information about how to get to Borodino is described on this page.

How to get around

The Borodino field occupies a fairly large area; those who rely only on their own feet are unlikely to be able to explore it entirely in one day. Those who try to do this on a bicycle have a better chance, but they will have to bring it with them. You can use bus No. 23, which runs from the bus station in Mozhaisk to the Borodino railway station via Borodino Field and makes several stops on it. The ideal mode of transportation is a car. Moreover, free parking is available near all significant places. As an alternative, you can take a taxi in Mozhaisk with an hourly rate. The asking price is 800-2000 RUB per hour.

Where to stay

Looking for a hotel in Borodino is a useless task - the closest of them are in Mozhaisk. There is no need to focus on the number of “stars” due to the complete absence of them. The room rate (2000-2500 RUB) includes breakfast. Almost all hotels have free parking and Wi-Fi.

An interesting option for fans of ecotourism is the Borodinsky Khutor equestrian base (website) near the village of Gorki. The program of stay at the base is designed for two days and one night. It includes accommodation, a visit to the bathhouse and two two-hour horse rides, including along the Borodino field. Cost 3500 RUB per person.

Souvenirs

There are several souvenir kiosks open on the territory of the museum-reserve - in the Borodino visitor center and the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery. There you can buy souvenirs related not only to the Patriotic War of 1812, but also to the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. For example, rare posters and sets of postcards, miniature copies of artillery pieces. Miniature figurines of soldiers of the Russian and French armies are especially popular among boys and collectors. Souvenir medals, badges and coins are also sold here.

Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery

Where to eat on Borodino Field

There are no restaurants or the ubiquitous McDonald's on Borodino Field. But next to the building of the Borodino Museum there is an ART cafe “Borodino” (open from 12:00 to 17:00, except Mondays) with a restrained interior, traditional Russian cuisine, a rather limited choice of dishes and slightly inflated prices for this place (business lunch - from 220 RUB). In summer, there is an open-air café next to the museum ticket office.

You can have lunch at the Rendezvous cafe at the entrance to the village of Borodino. The unpretentious interior is compensated by a large selection of dishes, impressive portions, fast service and reasonable prices (a set lunch will cost 300 RUB).

Near the village of Gorki, on the territory of the Borodino Farm equestrian club, there is a dining room with long common tables, wooden benches and walls lined with light wood. The cost of salads is 50 RUB, first courses - from 90 RUB, second courses - from 120 RUB.

In addition, there are many beautiful places on the Borodino field, intended by nature for a picnic. It is better to take food from home or buy it in neighboring villages, where there are a couple of small shops with a basic assortment of food.

Entertainment and attractions

Over the 200-odd years that have passed since the battle, the landscape of the Borodino field has changed. But the discreet beauty of the Russian landscape and the epic grandeur of these places remained. A granite obelisk with a bronze eagle to the right of the Mozhaisk highway marks the place where Field Marshal M. I. Kutuzov’s headquarters was located during the battle. Further, in front of the bridge over the Koloch River, on both sides of the road there are monuments to three chasseur regiments, which in the early morning of August 26 were the first to receive the attack of French troops. On the opposite bank of the river is the village of Borodino with the white-stone Nativity Church, witness to heated battles. On its bell tower there was an observation post of the Russian army.

For the 200th anniversary of the battle, the wooden Imperial Palace was recreated next to the church, where the royal family stayed when visiting the memorial.

From the village the road turns left to Borodino Field. From here you can clearly see the memorial obelisks placed in those places where one or another military unit distinguished itself on the day of the battle. In the center of the positions of the Russian troops on Kurgan Heights, to the left of the road, there was a battery of General Raevsky with 18 artillery pieces, which received the nickname “the grave of the French cavalry” from the French. At the battery position there is the main monument to the heroes of the Battle of Borodino - a tall stele with a golden dome and a cross. General Bagration, who died from his wounds, is buried at its foot. On the opposite side of the road is the building of the Borodino Museum with a model of the battle in one of the halls.

1.5 km south of Raevsky’s battery were Bagration’s flashes - fortifications of the left flank of the Russian army. This was one of the most terrible and bloody places of the battle. During the attack on the flashes, Bagration, who personally led the counter-offensive of the Russian infantry, was mortally wounded. Near the flushes, where the French directed the main attack, there are especially many memorial monuments to the Russian guards regiments.

Here, at the site of the most fierce battles, the low walls of the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery rise. The first temple of the Savior Not Made by Hands was built by the widow of General Alexander Tuchkov, Margarita Tuchkova, after unsuccessful attempts to find the remains of her husband, who fell in the Bagration flushes. In the monastery there is a regimental icon of the “Savior Not Made by Hands” of the Revel Infantry Regiment, commanded by General Tuchkov. Over time, a small community of widows of Russian soldiers who died at Borodino formed around the temple. In 1838 it was transformed into a convent, of which Margarita Tuchkova became abbess.

The Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery is shared by a museum and a women's monastic community.

Before the battle, 2 km west of the Bagration flushes, the Shevardinsky redoubt was erected, covering the main Russian positions. At the site of the battles for him, a monument to the 12th battery company was erected. A little to the side, on the site of Napoleon’s command post, stands the only monument to French troops on the Borodino field with the laconic inscription “To the Dead of the Great Army.”

3 things to do on the Borodino field

  1. Remember at least a few lines from Lermontov’s poem “Borodino”.
  2. Listen to the church choir at the Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery.
  3. At the Raevsky battery, try to imagine Pierre Bezukhov in the thick of the battle, as Leo Tolstoy described it.

Borodino for children

Try pickles from a real Russian oven, storm a snow fortress, try on a uniform from 1812, cook soldier’s porridge over a fire - you never know what else you can do in the interactive museum “Military-Historical Settlement of Doronino” (website). Behind the striped guardhouse with a barrier is a log Russian hut and a large farm with a barn, a stable and a whole brood of cackling geese - in other words, everything that recreates the life of peasants and soldiers of the Russian army stationed.

On Maslenitsa they burn an effigy of winter and bake pancakes, harvest in the fall, sleep in the hay under a soldier's overcoat in the summer, and welcome guests all year round, but only by prior arrangement.

Opening hours and entrance

The Borodino Field Museum-Reserve is open from May to October from 10:00 to 18:00 (ticket office until 17:00), from November to April from 9:00 to 16:30 (ticket office until 15:30), except Mondays and the last Friday of each month. Phone/fax for inquiries: (496-38) 6-32-23. Excursion department: (496-38) 5-15-22; 5-15-46. Web site .

When planning an excursion to Borodino, you should set aside the whole day to visit all the objects and the field itself - the territory here is vast, you can walk for a long time. Group bus excursions from Moscow usually take about 12 hours.

You can explore the Borodino field for free, the cost of visiting the main exhibition without a guide: adults - 350 RUB, students - 250 RUB, children, schoolchildren and privileged categories of citizens - 150 RUB. However, it is much more interesting to walk around these places with a guide, since it is quite difficult to navigate on your own, and the guide will tell you about the movement of the batteries, the mistakes of the commanders and the glorious exploits of the Russian army. The cost of the excursion depends on the number of tourists and duration. Book an excursion no later than three days in advance.

Walking routes are very different: from sightseeing to pilgrimage with the opportunity to order a prayer service at the Raevsky battery. The literary and interactive walk “The Battle of Borodino and M. Yu. Lermontov’s poem “Borodino”” is popular among schoolchildren.

Events in Borodino

For many years in a row, on the Borodino field, every first Sunday of September, a military-historical holiday-reconstruction “Borodin Day” is held, dedicated to the anniversary of the great battle. Tourists, schoolchildren, students and historians watch with bated breath as two armies - Russian and French - converge on the field again. In full military uniform from the early 19th century, they act out the movement of the batteries and the outcome of the battle.

September 8 is the Day of Military Glory of Russia. Another important date in the Borodino calendar is May 9, when modern and retro equipment enters the field, concerts, parades, and fireworks are organized. On this day, entrance to the museum-reserve is traditionally free. Another military-historical holiday dedicated to the Great Patriotic War takes place on the second Sunday of October - “Moscow is behind us. 1941."

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    In early September, when the military-historical reconstruction of the battle takes place on the Borodino field, the weather is usually good.

    From September 4 to 8, the all-Russian military-historical festival “Borodin Day”, dedicated to the 193rd anniversary of the greatest battle of the Patriotic War of 1812, will be held on the territory of the Borodino Field state museum-reserve.
    Military-historical holidays have been held on the field of Russian military glory since 1839. It was then that maneuvers of a 150,000-strong corps under the command of Emperor Nicholas I took place here. In the year of the celebration of the centenary of victory in the Patriotic War, maneuvers also took place, some of the participants wearing military uniforms from 1812. This was how the tradition of holding a military-historical holiday in Borodino was started. Since 1962, Borodin Day has been held annually on the first Sunday of September; ten years ago it received the status of an All-Russian Military History Festival. “Borodin Day” is on a par with the “Battle of Three Emperors” at Austerlitz in the Czech Republic, the “Battle of the Nations” near Leipzig and the “Battle of Waterloo” in Belgium, which are celebrated annually in Europe.
    The main and most spectacular part of the festival is the reconstruction of episodes of the battle at the museum parade ground. Its main characters are members of military history clubs, uniting military history lovers. Most of them are young people who are enthusiastically recreating, based on museum samples and documentary sources, the uniforms and ammunition of units of the Russian and French armies during the Patriotic War of 1912.
    Most clubs are located in Moscow, the Moscow region and St. Petersburg, although there are many of them in other cities of Russia. The club movement is developing very actively in Tula, Simbirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Yelets, Voronezh, Samara, Krasnoyarsk, and Ufa. A love of military history unites citizens of many former republics of the Union: clubs from Kyiv, Minsk, Slonim, Vilnius, Kaunas, Riga, and even Almaty come to Borodino. The “battle” takes a little more than forty minutes, but they prepare for it in advance. The “Russian troops” and the “Great Army” of Emperor Napoleon are located near the field in two separate tent camps. At the bivouacs of the Grand Army clubs, French speech is heard, thereby giving a colorful authenticity to what is happening. Among the “French” today there are increasingly real natives of France, as well as Germans and Poles, fascinated by the era of the Napoleonic wars. English and American reenactors who regularly attend the Borodino festival are also on their side.
    The main church and public celebrations will take place on September 8 - the day of the celebration of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, through prayers before which our ancestors more than once got rid of enemy invasions. It was on this day that the Battle of Borodino took place, which was of fateful significance for the salvation of our Fatherland from the Napoleonic hordes. In the Vladimir Cathedral of the Spaso-Borodinsky Convent, founded on the battlefield by Margarita Tuchkova, the widow of the Russian general killed in this battle, the Divine Liturgy will be celebrated. The religious procession will proceed to the monument standing on the site of Raevsky’s battery. A funeral litany will be served for the Russian soldiers who fell on the Borodino field, a military salute will sound in their honor and a parade of units of the Moscow Military District will take place.
    Portal-Slovo.Ru

    On the first weekend of September 2019, the Military-Historical Festival “Borodin Day” will take place in the Moscow region.

    The event will take place on the Borodino field in the Mozhaisk district, 125 kilometers west of Moscow.

    The main event will be a large-scale reenactment of an episode of the Battle of Borodino. The battle will be attended by lancers, hussars, dragoons, grenadiers, cuirassiers, infantrymen and artillerymen - reenactors from military history clubs.

    You can watch the military-historical reconstruction for free from the natural amphitheater near the parade ground and for a fee - from the stands.

    While there is no official schedule yet, in past years it was like this:

    Borodin Day festival program

    Thursday and Friday

    Arrival of reenactors.

    11.00-17.00 — Interactive program “Military-historical bivouac of 1812” on the site behind the visitor center of the Borodino Museum

    Saturday

    11.00–15.00 — Interactive program “Military-historical bivouac of 1812” on the site behind the visitor center of the Borodino Museum

    16.00-18.00 - Rehearsal of reconstruction of episodes of the Battle of Borodino at the Parade Theater near the village of Borodino

    Sunday

    10.30-11.00 — Ceremony at the monument at Napoleon’s command post near the village of Shevardino:

    • laying flowers at the monument to the "Dead of the Great Army"

    12.00-13.00 — Ceremony at the Main Monument to the Russian Warrior Heroes of Borodin at the Raevsky Battery:

    • ceremonial formation of reenactment clubs
    • speeches by the guests of honor
    • commemoration of fallen soldiers (litiya)
    • giving military honors

    14.00-15.30 - Reconstruction of episodes of the Battle of Borodino at the Parade Theater near the village of Borodino

    What you can see on the field

    1. Raevsky Battery, Main Monument, Bagration's Grave, Borodino Museum.
    2. Shevardinsky redoubt - a fortification of the Russian army near the village of Shevardino, the French monument to the Fallen of the Great Army.
    3. Gorki - Kutuzov’s command post was here.
    4. Height Roubaud near the village of Semenovskoye is the place from which the battle painter Franz Roubaud made sketches for the Borodino panorama. From here there is an excellent overview of the entire field. There is a memorial sign and signs at the height.
    5. Spaso-Borodinsky Monastery. There are four museum exhibitions on the territory of the monastery. Nearby are Bagration's flushes.

    How to get to Borodino Field

    By public transport

    From Belorussky railway station by train (Mozhaisk, Borodino, Gagarin, Vyazma) to Mozhaisk station, then by regular bus to the village of Borodino. Or by electric train (Borodino, Gagarin, Vyazma) to Borodino station, then about 3 km on foot. Perhaps the last option is the best, since on the way to the Parade Theater you can see many monuments and monuments located on the field.

    Another option is the Moscow-Mozhaisk minibus No. 457, which departs from the Park Pobedy metro station (exit to the right, onto Barclay Street). Then, as in the case of the train, take a regular bus to Borodino Field.

    By car

    From Moscow - along the Minsk Highway (M1 highway). At the 96th (near the Yak-3 Airplane monument), 102nd or 108th kilometer, turn right off the highway towards Mozhaisk. In Mozhaisk, take the Mozhaisk highway and drive another 10 km towards the village of Borodino. You can also get there from Moscow along the Mozhaiskoye Highway.

    On September 2 at 14:00 on the Borodino field near Moscow, hussars, dragoons, rangers, cavalry guards, the guards of Alexander I and Napoleon, volleys of cannons, and pyrotechnic effects are waiting for everyone. You will be able to hug Kutuzov, take a photo with Napoleon, flirt with sutlers and shake hands with Bagration. Welcome to the grand celebration - the international military-historical festival at the Borodino Museum-Reserve! Our columnist Elena Seredina shares his personal experience and useful information. Is it possible to watch a large-scale action for free? What's in the program? How to get there and what to take with you? You will find answers to these questions in our material.

    Napoleon is always alone, just like Kutuzov

    Every year on the first Sunday in September, the Russian battlefield invites guests from all over the world to a large-scale reconstruction of episodes from the general battle of the Patriotic War of 1812, called by Napoleon “the battle of the giants.” By the way, reconstructions on the Borodino field have been taking place for almost 30 years. Before the revolution, Nicholas I was fond of reconstruction. For the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, 200,000 soldiers took to the field. Nowadays, the number of participants in the reconstruction is several times smaller, but the whole action is no less colorful, interesting and spectacular.

    This year, more than 2,000 people from military history clubs in Russia, Belarus, France, the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, and England will take part in the reconstruction. All the action follows a clearly defined script, with painstaking preparation going on throughout the year. A few days before X-hour there is always a dress rehearsal. And now the Russian army meets the French, which, like two centuries ago, has a numerical advantage.

    Foreign participants bring props with them (swords, guns, uniforms), and Russian clubs provide them with horses. Members of historical clubs from near and far abroad who participate in reconstruction are required to be issued special permits in order to avoid problems at customs.

    Participants in the reconstruction may be dragoons one year, and serve in Napoleon's guards another year. But Kutuzov is always alone - this is Pavel Timofeev from Veliky Novgorod, like Napoleon - American Mark Schneider, actor and history teacher at New York University. By the way, Mark looks very similar to the French emperor. Last year, Kutuzov fell ill, so Napoleon did not come, and the armies acted without their commanders.

    Newcomers who come to historical clubs are not accepted as participants in the reconstruction. First, you need to complete a probationary period of one year. If a participant has proven himself and is liked by the team, then he is hired as a private. You still have to grow up to become an officer and achieve the rank. Secondly, we need the uniform of those times. And if there are sponsors in foreign clubs, then Russian participants sew it mainly at their own expense (and it is expensive - from 30,000 rubles to 50,000 rubles). By the way, there are no gender discrepancies in historical clubs. Women can also join the ranks on an equal basis with men, become musicians and grenadiers. Or be sutlers (traders, following the troops, fighting friends).

    Are there any losers?

    Let's remember what happened 206 years ago. Then from 70,000 to 100,000 people died... Until now, no one knows the exact number of deaths. Battle of Borodino. In France it is called Bataille de la Moskova - the battle on the Moscow River. The bloodiest and most terrible battle of the entire 19th century. September 1812. 125 kilometers from Moscow. Napoleon Bonaparte has 135,000 men, 560 guns. Mikhail Kutuzov had 620 guns and 120,000 men. The French are superior to the Russian army in heavy cavalry and in infantry, where battle-hardened soldiers serve. Kutuzov, a student of Suvorov, decides to give a general battle.

    Mikhail Kutuzov. Photo: youtube.com

    And now fortifications have already been erected, artillery batteries are ready. And on September 7 (August 26, old style) a battle began that lasted 12 hours. In the evening the armies returned to their original positions. The next day, the Russian army retreated, opening the way for the French to Moscow. Retelling the progress of the battle is a thankless task. Books, textbooks, films, memoirs – there are many sources of information. But everyone needs to visit the Borodino field at least once, see at least one of the 33 monuments dedicated to the events of 1812 and the defenders of Moscow in 1941! This is our story.

    Both the Russians and the French believe that they won at Borodino. Emperor Alexander I declared victory at the Battle of Borodino. Prince Kutuzov was promoted to field marshal and was given a “reward” of 100,000 rubles. The emperor granted five rubles each to all lower ranks who were in the battle.

    Napoleon also declared his victory. In the ability to create a numerical superiority and in maneuverability, the French commander surpassed all the Russian generals led by Kutuzov, constantly imposing his own conditions of battle.

    But then there was the burning of Moscow, frosts, monstrous hunger, hatred of soldiers, nobles, and peasants. The proud emperor was forced to ask Alexander I for peace: “If Your Majesty retains at least the remnants of your former feelings for me, you will react favorably to my letter.” But the Russian autocrat never responded to this letter. And Napoleon explained his defeat by the barbarity of the Russians and frosts.

    The holiday on September 2 will open with solemn ceremonies at the main monument on the Raevsky battery and at Napoleon’s command post near the village of Shevardino. The culmination will be a military-historical reconstruction of episodes of the Battle of Borodino on the parade ground west of the village of Borodino, where the events that took place on the right flank of the Russian army on August 26 (September 7), 1812 are recreated: the actions of the Beauharnais battery, the battle for the village of Borodino and the famous raid of the Cossacks of Platov and Uvarov's cavalry.

    10.30 – 11.00, village Shevardino

    Ceremony at the monument at Napoleon's command post:

    – laying flowers at the monument to the “Dead of the Great Army”.

    11.30 – 12.00, Raevsky battery

    Ceremony at the Main Monument to Russian Soldiers - Heroes of Borodino:

    – commemoration of fallen soldiers (litiya);

    – ceremonial formation of military-historical reconstruction clubs;

    – speeches by the guests of honor of the holiday;

    – military honors and laying of flowers.

    14.00 – 15.30, parade ground near the village of Borodino

    Military-historical reconstruction of combat episodes of the Battle of Borodino.

    Advice! Take with you sandwiches, tea (in the fresh air you just get really hungry), a television camera (without it it’s difficult to take close-up shots), binoculars, a blanket or “foam” so that you can sit on the grass and not catch a cold. Take your children and friends with you - it will be interesting for everyone! Participants in the reenactment willingly take photographs with spectators.

    What to see?

    • The main exhibition of the museum “Borodino – Battle of the Giants” is located in the center of the Borodino field, in the pavilion near the Raevsky battery. Uniforms, weapons of soldiers of the Russian and French armies, standards, banners, awards, maps, documents, personal belongings of soldiers and officers - all this can be seen with your own eyes.
    • In the monastery hotel, where Leo Tolstoy lived when he was looking for material for his great book, an exhibition dedicated to the heroes of “War and Peace” has been opened. Half a century later, on September 26 and 27, Tolstoy explored the area where more than a hundred thousand people had died, taking notes and drawing a battle plan. In Moscow, Tolstoy said to his wife: “I will write a Battle of Borodino that has never happened before.” And he wrote.

    • A 19th-century village has been recreated in the military-historical settlement of Doronino. Here you can see how peasants and officers lived during the War of 1812, try soldiers’ porridge, and pies from a Russian oven. Extraordinary deliciousness! Everyone has a cracking sound behind their ears, especially men. The only negative: only organized groups of tourists are fed soldiers’ porridge.
    • The Borodino field itself is no less large, with more than 30 monuments of military glory. The field is specially seeded with grass to make it comfortable to walk on.

    You can move around the museum by car; parking is provided.

    How much?

    Tickets for the stands for the reconstruction itself can be purchased at the ticket office of the museum-reserve.
    Cost: a seat on a “bench” seat - 1000 rubles, a seat on a “chair” seat – 1500 rubles.

    But it's better not to buy! Places in the field are free. This is where the above-mentioned “foams” or chairs, binoculars, tea with sandwiches and a good mood come in handy.

    Attention! As we were informed at the museum, it will not be possible to buy an excursion with the services of a guide on September 2. But by purchasing entrance tickets to the museum itself, you can visit the exhibitions on your own.

    By the way, free tickets are provided for visiting all expositions and exhibitions (without the services of a guide) to children under 16 years of age, as well as members of large families.

    How to get there?

    You can get to the museum-reserve from Moscow from the Belorussky railway station by train to Mozhaisk, take a regular bus to the Borodino museum or to Borodino station, from which the museum is about three kilometers away (by taxi or on foot). But it’s still better to go by car. Along the Minsk highway (up to the 96th km, 102nd km or 108th km, then turn right to Mozhaisk) or along the Mozhaisk highway.

    Main photo: vse-dni.ru