Mikhailovskaya Grove, Protected natural area in Tomsk, Russia.
Mikhailovskaya Grove is a 53.7-hectare forest park in the Oktyabrsky district of Tomsk, bounded by the Ushayka River, Komsomolsky Prospekt and the former bearing plant industrial zone. It preserves a remnant of taiga, with maple, oak, elm, linden, apple and Manchurian walnut trees planted in the time of merchant Pyotr Mikhailov. The grove contains several springs, including Klyuchevskoy (Tri Sestry) and Korolyovsky.
In 1880 the Kolivan second-guild merchant Vasily Mikhailov bought a plot of forest on Tomsk's north-eastern edge; in 1892 he sold it with all buildings to his niece Olga Malysheva, wife of his business partner Dmitry Malyshev. The partners laid out dachas, gazebos, fountains and bridle paths, and Mikhailov later opened the grove to the public. In 1984 it became a nature monument of Tomsk Oblast; the regional status was removed in 2011, and a court restored it in November 2018.
The grove keeps the name of merchant and city mayor Pyotr Mikhailov, who opened it to the public; locals call it "the Tomsk Bois de Boulogne". Since 2018 the "Soul of a Tree" action, started by resident Olga Kozulina, has people paint images over damaged bark, turning trunks into an open-air gallery that also seals wounds against rot and beetles.
The grove lies in the Oktyabrsky district, bounded by Komsomolsky Prospekt to the west and the Ushayka river to the south and southeast. A stairway descent to the Klyuchevskoy (Tri Sestry) spring, built in 2019, has benches for rest. In winter a ski track operates and in summer a lit roller-ski track, built in 2017. Paths of paving slabs near the playground were laid in 2019 with mobility-impaired visitors in mind.
The grove keeps trees planted under Pyotr Mikhailov: maple, oak, elm, linden, apple and Manchurian walnut. Since 2018 the "Soul of a Tree" campaign, started by resident Olga Kozulina, has volunteers paint images over damaged bark, protecting trunks from rot and beetles and turning the grove into an open-air gallery.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,587 contributors worldwide.