Look for the ghost of the old man. The site of the murder of Grigory Rasputin hit the top destinations of "dark tourism". The list of 50 attractions was compiled by the thematic portal Atlas Obscura. The famous Yusupov Palace in St. Petersburg was on the 29th line. Details are with Lilia Ponomareva.
Experts introduced the concept of "dark tourism" 10 years ago. So it is customary to call visits to places where mysterious deaths or tragedies occurred. The house on the Moika or the Yusupov Palace is recommended for visiting because of the events of a century ago. There was killed "the tsar's friend" - "elder Gregory": at first they tried unsuccessfully to poison him, then shoot him, and this happened only on the second attempt. Excursion groups to the palace are taken by all self-respecting travel agencies of St. Petersburg, it costs from 500 rubles. up to 1 thousand rubles per person. In general, the Russian northern capital can be called a key city for "dark tourism". Many excursions are organized around the mysterious and ominous places of the city. Moreover, Petersburgers themselves are actively interested in them, and the trips are really atmospheric,said the executive director of the excursion center "Capital Lights" Daria Gorshkova.
“There are interesting moments, especially in the Mikhailovsky Castle: absolutely real ghosts live there. Also, for example, the always closed door in Pel's pharmacy during our excursions opens in an incredible way, and we show the Tower of the Griffins. One of the most popular excursions is Freemasonry and Freemasonry. Mysterious stories are generally the specificity of St. Petersburg, which is used by all travel agencies,”she said.
Moscow, despite the fact that it was not included in the rating of "dark tourism", also has something to offer. Excursions for small groups - families or couples - are gaining popularity here. Themed tours cost the same as standard ones, about 10 thousand rubles. for a group of five. Georgy Makeev, director of the excursion bureau "Smartex", told about what you can learn about while walking around Moscow.
“There is an excursion“Moscow - the territory of ghosts”. We take a walk at the walls of the Ivanovo women's monastery and tell tourists about the merchant Saltychikha, who tortured many peasant women. In the House on the Embankment, the conversation is about the ghost of the commander's daughter, who was imprisoned there. At the Novodevichy Convent, we talk about the ghosts of Princess Sophia and the archers. There are also other mystical excursions. For example, "The Mystery of the Romanov Family," in which we talk about the curse that hung over the dynasty, "he explained.
Interest in places with a dark past is quite normal, psychologist Alexander Asmolov is sure. And, according to him, such tours can often become effective psychotherapy.
“I want to remind you of Dostoevsky’s words that Raskolnikov’s irrepressible force was constantly drawn to the place where he killed the old woman. We are drawn to those places where we can play the trauma in our imagination with a sufficient degree of safety in order to avoid it in ourselves,”she said.
By the way, the exhibition "The Murder of Rasputin" brought a place in the ranking to the Yusupov Palace. It can be visited separately from the main exhibition. The authors of the list themselves on the Atlas Obscura portal jokingly explain that it is easy for a foreigner to find an exhibition: just walk along the corridors of the palace and repeat the word "Rasputin". Someone from the museum staff will certainly come to the rescue.
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The rating of "dark tourism" also included the Rainbow Mountain in Peru, the abandoned scenery of the planet Tatooine from "Star Wars" in Tunisia and the Olympic Village, erected for the 1936 Games in Nazi Germany.
