Zavrazh’e village

There is an old Zavrazh’e village in Kadyjsky district of the Kostroma region. It is located on left bank of the Volga River, in a place where two rivers – Nyomda and Unzha – flow together, just opposite Yurievets.

Zavrazh’e became a village in 1713 when the church in honour of the Nativity of the Most Pure Mother of God has been constructed there.

Zavrazh’e village is astonishingly picturesque nature corner: a pine forest, a tree nursery, and a spring, vast open space of Volga – all these attracts tourists from different places of Russia all the year round.

In Zavrazh’e village names of an outstanding philosopher, theologian, and scientist Paul Florensky and ingenious film-director Andrey Tarkovsky wonderfully combined.

A.A.Tarkovsky was born on April, 4th, 1932 in the part of Zavrazh’e village that is flooded now (at that time the village was a part of Yurievets district of the Ivanovo region) in an apartment of the local hospital doctor N.M. Petrov, stepfather of M.I.Tarkovskaya, Andrei’s mother.

In the churches of Zavrazh’e and the next village - Borisoglebsk – the ancestors of Paul Florensky celebrated masses for more than two centuries. Great-grandfather of Paul Florensky Andrei Matveevich was the sexton in the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Borisoglebskoe village of Kadyjsky district.

In October, 30th, 2004 in Zavrazh’e village the Museum of History and Art was opened (in a status of the municipal establishment of culture). Its expositions are devoted to Andrei Tarkovsky’s creativity and Paul Florensky’s intellectual and philosophical heritage. Tarkovsky’s sister M.A.Tarkovskaya and a hegumen Andronik - a grandson of Paul Florensky directed a lot of efforts to creating expositions of the museum and its further development. The museum in Zavrazh’e was one more step on a long way to understanding Florensky and Tarkovsky – the way in search of spiritual help, moral values, and memory of the ancestors.

The museum was placed in the restored house in which Andrei Tarkovsky was born.

In 2007 on the I International Film Festival named after Andrei Tarkovsky “Zerkalo” a nice tradition started - visiting of Zavrazh’e village by guests and participants of a film festival.