Ugra - a river in the Kaluga region. Ugra River, Russia Left tributary of the Ugra
The Ugra River is located on the territory of the Smolensk and Kaluga regions of Russia. The Ugra belongs to the Volga basin and flows into the Oka, being its left tributary. Ugra is known primarily due to the historical event of 1480 called: "Standing on the Ugra River." This "standing" put an end to the Mongol-Tatar yoke and made the Muscovite state completely independent.
River length: 399 kilometers.
Drainage basin area: 15,700 km. sq.
Where it flows: The source of the river is located in the southeastern part of the Smolensk region on the Smolensk Upland. Almost throughout its course, the Ugra is surrounded by high banks overgrown with forests. In some places there are still treeless places. In the lower reaches, sandy beaches are quite common. The Ugra flows into the Oka, 15 km above Kaluga.
Inhabitants, fishing on the Ugra: the fish in the river are mostly the same as in the Oka. These are such commercial species: burbot, bream, pike, podust, roach, chub. In the lower reaches you can meet pike perch, sterlet, catfish.
Video: Cool place. River Ugra fishing.
Food: the river has a mixed type of food. Melt water accounts for 60% of its nutrition, 30% of its nutrition comes from groundwater, and approximately 5% from rainwater. Due to the feeding habits, with the predominance of melt water, the river regime is characterized by a high spring flood. Summer low water can be interrupted by rain floods. Winter low water is more stable and low.
The width of the river bed is 70-80 m. The depth at low water on the riffles is 0.4-0.6 and on the reaches up to 4 meters.
Now briefly about the so-called "standing on the river Ugra". This event took place in 1480, as a result of the war between the Moscow prince Ivan III and the khan of the Great Horde Akhmat. Ivan III refused to pay tribute to the Horde in 1476 and was forced to fight.
Akhmat's attempts to cross the Oka were unsuccessful. Therefore, he made an attempt to go from the flank. To do this, enlisting the support of the Polish-Lithuanian king Casimir IV. Casimir himself was unable to provide military assistance, as he was distracted by Moscow's ally, the Crimean Tatars. In addition, Ivan III, taking advantage of the fact that Akhmat gathered all his forces on the Ugra, sent a sabotage group to the Khan's possessions in order to make a devastating raid and, possibly, capture and plunder the capital of the Horde - Saray.
Both troops stood on the river for almost a month without entering into a decisive battle. In the end, on October 28, 1480, Ivan III began to withdraw troops to Kremenets and then concentrated at Borovsk in order to meet the Tatars here in a favorable environment if they decide to force the river, but Akhmat did not dare and on November 11 began returning to the Horde. The Ugra River after these events was called the "Belt of the Virgin".
If you like historical reenactments, you can visit the festival of historical reenactment and fencing: "Standing on the Ugra River".
Here is a video from the festival:
In history, it gained fame in connection with the confrontation between the troops of the Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat and the Grand Duke Ivan III in the fall of 1480 (“Standing on the Ugra”). During the war of 1812, the partisans of Denis Davydov and the Yukhnov militia operated in the river basin, preventing the French from occupying this territory. During the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. The Ugra became one of the natural defense lines of Moscow.
The river originates on the Smolensk-Moscow Upland; flows into the Oka 12 km above Kaluga. The length of the river is 399 km, the basin area is 15.7 thousand km 2 - the 4th tributary of the Oka River in terms of basin area and length. The largest tributaries: Resa (right); Vorya, Shania, Sukhodrev (left). There are 213 lakes and reservoirs in the Ugra basin with a total area of 4.76 km2.
The upper part of the basin (heights up to 250–300 m) has a dense network of ravines and gullies. In the lower reaches of the Ugra, it flows through a slightly and medium hilly plain, composed of loams and sandy loams. The climate of the basin is temperate continental. The average annual air temperature is +4.0°С…+4.5°С. The average temperature in January is -10°С, in July - +17°С. On average, 600–650 mm of precipitation falls annually (most of it in the form of summer rains). The river basin is located in the zone of mixed forests. Forests occupy about 63% of the basin area.
In the upper reaches, the slopes of the valley are moderately steep, 4–15 m high; in the lower reaches, the steepness of the slopes increases, and the depth of the valley incision reaches 30–40 m. Ravine erosion is developed on the slopes of the valley. The width of the valley in the lower reaches of the river is 3.5 km. The width of the floodplain varies from 1–2 to 3.5 km. In the lower reaches, the width of the channel is 70–80 m. The banks are steep, steep, 3–5 m high, composed of sand and sandy loam, easily washed out. The channel of the Ugra is moderately winding, unbranched. The depth of the channel in low water on the riffles is 0.4–0.6 m, on the stretches 4 m. The flow velocity is 0.4–0.6 m/s. Channel deposits: sand, gravel.
The average long-term water consumption in the lower reaches of the river is 89.0 m 3 /s (flow volume is 2.809 km 3 /year). The river is fed mainly by snow. Eastern European type of water regime. The spring flood begins at the end of March and ends in the first decade of May. The maximum water consumption is 3460 m 3 / s. The river is characterized by relatively stable summer-autumn low water. The minimum water flow for the open channel period is 13.8 m 3 /s. In winter, it decreases to 10.3 m3/s. The river freezes in November - early January. The ice cover is destroyed in late March - early April.
The mineralization of water in summer low water is 260–360 mg/l, in winter it increases to 400–500 mg/l. According to its chemical composition, water belongs to the hydrocarbonate class and the calcium group, and in terms of quality it corresponds to conditionally pure water.
Ugra is an attractive object for water tourists. Since 1997, the Ugra National Park has been operating in the river basin. This river remains one of the cleanest and richest in fish rivers in the far suburbs. Pike, perch, roach, bream, asp, burbot, podust, chub, pike perch, catfish, sterlet, etc. are found in it. The city of Yukhnov and many villages are located on the river bank.
N.I. Alekseevsky, K.F. Reteum
The highlight of the Ugra River is that (like the Moscow River and the Klyazma) for centuries it was a contact zone of different tribes and peoples, and later the principalities of Russia. As a result, traces of ancient outposts and battles attract more and more archaeologists to the Ugrian bends. Another brand is the preservation of its original hydrological appearance. Reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations have never been built on the river. This is a "preserve".
general description
The Ugra River stretches for 399 kilometers, flowing from the Smolensk Upland to the expanses of the Central Russian Plain. On her way - and then the region. Namely - Elninsky, Dorogobuzhsky, Ugransky, Polnyshevsky, Temkinsky districts of the first, as well as Yukhnovsky and Dzerzhinsky - the second. The waterway ends on the territory of the urban district of Kaluga. The general direction is east. The nature of the course is too tortuous (you have to bypass small hills - a "step" to the Smolensk Upland). The pool is 15,700 sq. km. The greatest width is at the point where the museum-reserve "Great Standing on the Ugra" is located (130 meters). The average depth is 2 meters. The predominant food is groundwater and melt water. Water consumption - 89 cubic meters per second. There are 44 tributaries, 2 large ones (these are Vorya and Ressa). The "body" is composed of sand and pebbles.
Speaking of geology, the Ugra River was "born" at the stage of formation of the entire Smolensk-Moscow Upland, from which it cuts off the southeastern corner. It happened in the era of domination of the Earth by dinosaurs. At the beginning of historical times, the reservoir served as a border between the ancestors of the Balto-Slavic peoples (northwest) and the disappeared offshoot of the most ancient Finno-Ugric community (southeast). In honor of her, the reservoir got its name. Since the 6th century, the water stream has been separating the Krivichi from the golyad (Balts-Galinds). The first description of the Ugra River was left for us by one of the ancient Russian chronicles of 1147. She mentions that the Polovtsians often rule on its southeastern coast, and the Lithuanians often rule on its northwestern coast. The water "artery" was stained with blood for hundreds of years. In the "high" Middle Ages, the Ugra River was in a zone of conflict with another Turkic population - the Golden Horde. However, in the last third of the 15th century, the disintegrated quasi-state entity weakened so much that Muscovite Russia decided to withdraw from its subordination. In 1480, she demonstrates her strength by setting up thousands of warriors just on the banks of the Ugra - against the horsemen of the Khan of the Great Horde Akhmat (the point of military deployment will be discussed in the section on attractions). During the Patriotic War of 1812, Pougorye was guarded by Davydov's partisans and Yukhnov's militias.
Napoleon's army did not succeed in occupying Yukhnovsky district. During the Second World War, the famous 33rd Army of General Efremov, who was surrounded near the city of Vyazma, died here. At the same time, the Nazis were never able to capture the Pavlovsky bridgehead. The "sparing" economic use of the Ugra River began in the post-war era. Several channels were led from it to the fields. The Soviet government did not build reservoirs, preserving the ecology of the river. In 1997, a national park was formed on one of the sections of the valley.
Source and mouth of the river Ugra
The source of the Ugra River lies on the southwestern outskirts of the Babich farmstead of the Elninsky district of the Smolensk region. At an altitude of about 200 meters above sea level. (meaning a barely noticeable hill, which is the edge of the forest). The source of the Ugra River is a stream up to a meter wide, moving from a hill to the east, and then to the north, past a tiny village, baptized with the word Babich. The mouth of the Ugra River is located on the Oka, in one of the suburbs of the urban district of Kaluga. On the map, he is listed as Spas. The mouth of the Ugra River is a branch 120 meters wide, “sandwiched” from the north by the SNT “Puteets”, and from the south by the village just indicated. In the same settlement there is the Church of the Savior on the Ugra.
Ugra river basin
In the Elninsky district of the Smolensk region, the Ugra river bypasses Babichy from the west, passes a short alder-aspen forest and forms a pond. Further, it moves to the north with large bends - through much larger aspen and alder forests, forming more elongated extensions. Only in this area there are minor swamps. Behind the last extension of Uvarovo (about it in the next section). After passing through a dozen fragments of the agrarian plain, the river absorbs the same number of minor tributaries. In the endless natural arboretums of the Ugransky region, the reservoir is gaining a width of up to 40 meters. A stable eastern vector appears in this area. The water of the pool is replenished by the first any noticeable river - Demina. The settlements on the sides are very small. The shores begin to rise a little. Closer to the village of shoots they are decorated with birch groves. The height of the descent to the water still does not exceed a meter. But at the Ascension there are ravines with pines - up to 3 meters high.
This is the beginning of the Yukhnov forest, the outskirts of Yukhnov itself (which grew up around the Kazan male monastery), and a couple of kilometers later - the Ugra National Park (that is, the Kaluga region).
Behind Znamenka there are high coastal terraces, "dressed" in pine forests. One bank is very steep, the other is lower, but has a noticeable rise. The water flow often takes to the north. In the Temkinsky district, the course of the Ugra River smoothly rises to the southeast azimuth. "Arteriya" bypasses the first intersection with the Varshavskoe highway - at Kolykhmanovo. The forest is increasingly beginning to break into open spaces. The towns are getting bigger. In this state, the Ugra river basin crosses the border between Yukhnovsky and Dzerzhinsky districts. Sometimes approaches here are complicated by bushes or 8-meter slopes. The tops of huge pines on both sides resemble a hopeless emerald vault. At some points, the channel is simply overgrown with algae or water lilies. There is a very rich herbage on the edge. However, there are plenty of places to hang out. At the beginning of the Kaluga agglomeration, the course of the Ugra River touches the spaces that are memorable for the Russian people, which will be discussed below. Before the Blue Lakes and the intersection with the noisy highway M-3, the water flow passes the embankment of the village of Dvortsy, the village of Staroskakovskoye, Ugorskoye Lake and the village of Kolyshevo. Width up to 100 meters. There is a good sandy beach in the area of the garden partnership "Ugra". Behind the village of the same name, the Ugra river basin passes under a bridge overgrown with willows. It belongs to the road leading to Vorotynsk. Even at the beginning of the Dzerzhinsky region, the banks finally lost their forest cover and half of their height. At the very end, along the left bank, there are trails to another popular lake. Rezvansky. On the final stretch, the course of the Ugra River administratively still belongs to the urban district of Kaluga.
Sights of the Ugra River
Boldino
It is at its northeastern end that the Ugra River “starts”. The recreation is glorified not by Pushkin's cycle of poems (they are dedicated to Bolshoi Boldino), but by the hunting farm of the same name, where, they say, you can still find elk.
Settlement
The Ugra River, 30 kilometers north of its source, comes to this bright place. The facility is located 300 meters from the village of Mitishkovo, Dorogobuzh district, Smolensk region. He himself is already in the Yelninsky district - that is, on the other side. It is a burial mound. Maybe here was the city of Mstislavets, which disappeared in the wars.
Assumption Church in Velikopolie and the Church of the Savior in Uvarov
Rafting on the river Ugra (its upper reaches) you will decorate with a visit to this picturesque location. There is an excellent space for a bivouac, and beautiful landscapes, and the village named after the line above. In it, the traveler will find a monument of Russian architecture, named after the Assumption. In Uvarov, there is a similar building, but in addition, on the bank of a huge pond that “drinks” the river.
Rafting starting point under Varshavskoe shosse
In the middle section, the Ugra River is located in a flat belt. And best of all it is noticeable in this tract. Therefore, the water is calm and wide, and without rifts. Here you can go on a kayak and a baby. But more about boats later. Here we emphasize the recreational potential of Piglet. And on it fishing, and parking with a tent, and a picnic with swimming are possible. And the best part is that it's easy to get to. Varshavka comes from Podolsk itself.
Art park and archaeological complex in the estate of Nikola-Lenivets
The Ugra River will sooner or later lead you to this point. And here, in addition to the excavation site of early medieval settlements, you will find an exhibition of artistic sculptures in the avant-garde style - made of stone, wood and even iron. You will be amazed either by scaly towers with turntables to determine the strength of the wind, or by a heap of metal rings assembled into some kind of arbitrary composition, or by a futuristic 2-headed eagle and delightful fragments of landscape design. They are either touchingly classic or defiantly futuristic. In the midst of all this - the same kind of hotels and restaurants, children's towns and venues for progressive festivals. So watch for the signs!
Ugra National Park
On the lower fragment from the confluence with the Kanava to the village of Rezvan, the Ugra River represents a zone of special responsibility for the water traveler. The fact is that this is a natural park of federal significance, named after the river. The territory in the west still has time to capture a piece of the Smolensk-Moscow uplift, while in other parts it already lies strictly on the plain. Away from the river, the relief even has insignificant swampy lowlands. The array will please the tourist with small lakes, the largest tributaries of the Ugra (Vorei, Ressa and Zhizdra), several oxbow lakes divided into picturesque ponds. There are pine forests (most of them are on the sand dunes of the Zhizdra valley), spruce-birch-alder thickets, oak forests and aspen-ash forests (the latter are the least). 37% of the area is occupied by meadows and meadows, of which the main part is still dry meadows. Excursion objects of the natural park are located on them. We have already mentioned about recreation centers and Nikola-Lenivets. But in this area there are still rich flower meadows, the remains of Kozelsky and Przemyslsky notches (associated with the famous Standing on the Ugra, the continuation of which was defense activities organized by the local Vorotynsky dynasty). A fragment of an old road passes here - the Gzhatsky tract. In Peter's time, it connected the largest Russian cities with the piers of the same name. The front line of the defensive period of the Second World War passed along Zhizdra. Traces of dugouts exist. In total, there are 38 archaeological sites on the territory, which include the remains of settlements, settlements, monastery courtyards and estates of the local nobility. To visit all these points, 8 memorial eco-trails are marked. "Rusinovsky Bereg", "Pavlovsky Bridgehead", "Front Command". And also "Vicinities of the Ancient Opakov", "Expansion", "Joy" - "Borovoe" and "Fortification - Nikola-Lenivets". Among the unnamed tracts are the Galkinsky Forest, Kromino, the Kellaga Manor, the Devil's Settlement, the Lazy Lake and the Obolensky Estate. As a result, we can say that the NP managed to maintain the cultural landscape.
Museum "Great Standing on the Ugra"
To the south, we will come across another cultural and historical zone - the Palace-Zavidos floodplain. It was from here that the use of the Ugra River began as a line of defense of the Muscovite state from the scattered remnants of the Horde, thanks to which Russia was liberated. The complex is located in the embankment of the large village of Palaces (Dzerzhinsky district of the 40th region). The village got its name in honor of the headquarters of the son of Ivan III - Ivan the Young. He set up the towers… The museum itself is located just 20 kilometers from the center of Kaluga, surrounded by archaeological monuments Vladimir Skit and Vladimir Church. Includes three rooms and a yard. In this space, a monument to Grand Duke Ivan the Third and an exposition are found, the main part of which is a diorama, designed classically, but with the help of “fresh” 3D presentation methods. It colorfully depicts both banks - Russian troops and the militia, as well as the army of Khan Akhmat. Among the items of storage are small finds from the local excavations. Entrance - 150 rubles. Shooting is allowed. No age restrictions. Non-Christianly dressed women will have to put on a skirt or headscarf (they are already waiting for them at the entrance). The first hall is decorated with works by local battle painter Pavel Ryzhenko and icons. It remains to add: at the moment, the Palace-Zavidovskaya floodplain is preparing to become a “scene” for a global historical reconstruction on the topic just described. And clubs prepare props.
Ugor lake
We are talking about a reservoir stretched for 2.5 kilometers, part of the coast of which is occupied by a sand pit (Mostovskoy). For obvious reasons, it was chosen as the “main” beach by the inhabitants of small summer cottages on the northern coast. It is in this reservation that the camps on the Ugra River are more interesting. The width of the water bowl reaches 750 meters. Almost in the center of the mirror is a convenient dam with "asphalt". The nearest forest approaches from the west, from the side of the paid branch M-3. On the side of the road is a monument to Standing on the Ugra. It's about a long pine forest. In honor of him, a cottage settlement under construction and a gas station were christened. In the neighboring, mixed forests, they like to pick berries and mushrooms. Fishermen-athletes often hold the Autumn Predator competition on the lake surface. The water of the quarry (as well as the described river) was recognized by biologists as clean. That's why there are always picnics. Unless there is a gentle entry. The edge is at least a meter high. This reservoir is connected to the river by a barely noticeable erik.
Tourism and recreation on the river Ugra
The Ugra River is located mainly in the forest and only partially in the agrarian zone. It does not cross any cities, and even at the “finish line” it passes only through the suburbs. Most often, there are not even villages on its banks, but villages and farms, which increases its environmental significance. The water flow is crossed and "accompanied" by the following highways - Vorotynsk-M-3, M-3 Paid, Varshavskoe highway and Kaluga-Vyazma. All other roads are little visited, "internal". The position of the river is very quiet…
The Ugra River is very suitable for hiking and cycling tours. In fact, throughout its entire length. Do not expect any other extreme from its floodplain - there are no caves, no associated flight stations (balloon, parachute, etc.). Only recreation centers - "Joy", "Ugra", "At the spring", "Iceberg Ugra", "Houses on the Ugra". Hikers approve of 4 dense recreations where parking is arranged on the Ugra River - Ugorskoye Lake, Ugra National Park, Yukhnovsky Forest, as well as mixed thickets of the Ugransky district of the Smolensk region (they, by the way, are the largest). Plenty of firewood and not flooded shore.
Horse riding on the Ugra River is also available. Such trips are organized in Kaluga. As a rule, cavalry outings are perfectly combined with agro-tourism destinations. Many Kaluga farmers willingly demonstrate to the townspeople who live well in Russia, showing forges, cowsheds, pigsties, as well as haymaking and lush grazing.
A beach holiday on the Ugra River is also a common thing. Proven “baths” are a shallow near the Kaluga-Vorotynsk bridge, a bridge with Lake Ugorsky, forest backwaters in the Yukhnovsky district, a water edge in the villages of Tovarkovo and Tuchnevo in the Dzerzhinsky district, a sandy cape near the Smolensk village of Markhotkino. These are pure sandy entries.
Cultural and historical recreation on the Ugra River is fully indicated in the chapter on sights. And it remains to add about the pilgrimage. Believers come with pleasure to all the temples listed in Chapter 4, take pictures of them. The Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage enjoys special honor (it is on its territory that the museum-diorama "Great Standing on the Ugra" is located). Everything here is for pilgrims.
Rafting on the Ugra River promises many quite safe adventures. It quickly gains width, it has a low current speed, and the banks are high and wooded (from the village of Gorodok they approach the water itself, forming a vault). And this is just the most optimal. Wetlands are not found. Considering all this, rafting on the Ugra River cannot be called extreme. There are rifts where the Ugra is still a stream - in any case, no one will put a kayak there. It is more convenient to start a water trip from the Baskakovka station. But here you can get stuck among the floodplains, snags and annoying algae. Ordinary people choose the border of the central and lower sections - the bridge on the Warsaw highway. Beyond Znamenka and all the way to Yukhnov, you won't want to turn off your camera.
Fishing and hunting on the river Ugra
And lovers of fishing rods can satisfy the river Ugra. They associate fishing with many representatives of the aquatic ichthyofauna - pike, perch, ruff, crucian carp, pike perch, silver bream, bream, carp, top-melting, ide and even catfish. Do you like spending time at fishing bases? And on this basis, the Ugra River will suit you. Fishing will take place quietly on the embankments of several recreation centers. And also where there are few people. After all, 85% of its route is dense, deserted forests. As a result, the river Ugra is famous for a very good, memorable cool. Fishing, they say, brings good luck in places where there is depth, solid reeds and snags. They are loved by pike, catfish and carp. Knowledgeable people praise the village of Belyaevo, the village of Palaces, the outskirts of Tuchnevo, Znamenka.
Talking about what the Ugra River is, the natives do not put fishing in the first place. Know that there is also hunting on the edge of the floodplain. True, mainly for swamp and meadow game. The fact is that in the 67th region they still cannot restore the normative number of populations of various animals. For hundreds of years, the region has been a haven for noble pastimes of the nobility of several states, and also a place of hundreds of military skirmishes, which led (along with fires) to the almost total extermination of game animals.
Protection of the Ugra River
The protection of the Ugra River is mostly carried out by the inspectors of the Ministry of Natural Resources and employees of the NP "Ugra". Every day there are raids in places of rest, including in fishing backwaters. People are fined for illegal forms of fishing, violating the water protection zone (access by car to the water itself), for kindling fires in protected areas and for leaving household waste. The protection of the Ugra River within its upper reaches is entirely the responsibility of activists from the Smolensk region, who draw the attention of the authorities to the fact of illegal construction of dams and the need for dredging. In the lower reaches, the protection of the Ugra River is the concern of youth organizations from the central quarters and suburbs of the Kaluga Okrug, which bring hundreds of volunteers to the riverside subbotniks. So the local population rids the wonderful tracts of toxic and other debris, returning the water's edge to its original appearance.
We hope that the description of the Ugra River, if not delighted, then at least made you think about how much you can find near its beautiful floodplain.