Park of Siberian Cats

The Siberian Cats Park is located in the city center. It`s one of the most extraordinary parks in Tyumen.

The park is a small, cozy, green and shady place to relax in the summer time. It contains 12 cast iron sculptures of cats and kittens, each covered with special golden paint. The inspiration for the park came from a period of the Second World War when there were almost no cats left in the besieged city of Leningrad. Because of the lack of cats, a lot of rats bred in the city. As soon as the Siege of Leningrad ended, there was an effort of cat mobilization. Countless cats from all over Siberia were gathered together and sent to Leningrad in order to protect the priceless possessions of the Hermitage museum as well as many other palaces and museums. Tyumen alone sent about 238 cats aged from six months to 5 years to Leningrad. Five thousand cats from Omsk, Tyumen and Irkutsk were sent to Leningrad in total, and the cats honorably accomplished their mission. It is one of Tyumen’s citizens’ favorite parks.