Self-Guided Quest Around Nizhny Novgorod: From the Kremlin to the Volga

You've probably walked down the Chkalov Stairs. But did you know that the chairman of the city executive committee was dismissed over its construction? Or that a loop-the-loop flight was considered impossible until Nizhny Novgorod native Nesterov performed it? This quest is about stories like these: they're hidden in towers, facades and monuments right in plain sight. How it works • The bot sends you a task and hints where to go next. • You find the answer with your own eyes, not in a search engine: it's hidden in a facade, sculpture or bas-relief. • For each answer you get a short story about the place, in text and audio. If you get stuck, take a hint: it will tell you where to look but won't give away the answer. The route • Dmitrievskaya Tower: the symbol of the city right on its facade • Powder Tower: the tower that fired unlike any other • Merchant Sirotkin's House: a secret prayer room and an argument with a priest • "Nesterov's Loop": how they proved that "there is support everywhere in the air" • Rukavishnikov Estate: a palace where all styles were mixed at once • Chkalov Stairs: a construction project that cost an official his job • Red Barracks: windows bricked up during construction • Minin and Pozharsky: a copy of the Moscow monument with one difference • River Station: three heroes of the Volga Flotilla, and one who stands out • Stroganov Church: a church where one detail appears many times more than usual • "Connection of Times" Triptych: an image unthinkable for Soviet art • Abamelek-Lazarev Estate: the finale at a house with a secret treasury Sample tasks • Look at the facade of the Powder Tower. What, common for defense, is missing here in the lower part? • Some windows of the Red Barracks were bricked up during construction. What was behind the wall? • The Stroganov Church has an element of which there are as many as seven here. What is it? How difficult is it The tasks are about what's right in front of your eyes, so attentiveness matters more here than erudition. Who it's for • Visitors to Nizhny Novgorod: in one walk you'll see the Kremlin, the Volga and the old town center. • Nizhny Novgorod residents who pass these facades every day but have never looked at them up close. • Families with children aged 6 and up: searching and counting is more fun than listening to a lecture. • Groups of friends: one phone for everyone, and you can argue over who finds the answer first.