The most ancient Russian city. The most ancient cities of Russia: list

Russia is an ancient country. And on its territory there are many cities whose age has exceeded a thousand years. The historical and cultural heritage that they have preserved is an invaluable gift from past generations to future generations.

We present to you the oldest cities in Russia.

The official date of foundation of one of the cities that now makes up the Golden Ring of Russia is considered to be 990. And the founder is Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Monomakh and Yuri Dolgoruky, the city became an important stronghold for the defense of the Rostov-Suzdal Principality. And under Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, Vladimir became the capital of the principality.

During the Tatar raids (1238 and later), the city surprisingly did not suffer much. Even the Golden Gate has survived to this day, although in a slightly different form from its original form.

On the territory of Vladimir there is the Vladimir Central prison, glorified by Mikhail Krug, built under Catherine II. It contained such famous personalities as Vasily Stalin, the son of Joseph Stalin, Mikhail Frunze and dissident Julius Daniel.

9. Bryansk -1032 years

It is not known exactly when exactly the city of Bryansk arose. The approximate date of its foundation is considered to be 985.

In 1607, the city was burned so that it would not fall to False Dmitry II. It was rebuilt and for the second time survived the siege of the troops of the “Tushinsky Thief”.

In the 17th century, Bryansk was one of the most important trading centers in Russia. And currently it is an important industrial center of the country.

8. Pskov – 1114 years

The founding date of Pskov is considered to be 903, when the city was first mentioned in the Laurentian Chronicle. Olga, the first Christian princess in Rus' and the wife of the Kyiv prince Igor Rurikovich, originally from Pskov.

For a long time, Pskov was one of the largest cities in Europe and was an impregnable barrier on the western borders of the country.

And in March 1917, while at Pskov station, the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II abdicated the throne and simply became a citizen of Romanov.

7. Smolensk - 1154 years

In September, beautiful and ancient Smolensk will celebrate its anniversary - 1155 years since its founding. It is only one year behind its closest rival in terms of mention in the chronicles (863 versus 862 for Murom).

For many centuries, this “key city” protected Moscow from attacks by a number of European countries. During the Time of Troubles, the residents of Smolensk heroically held a siege for 20 months in the fortress, which was besieged by Polish troops. Although the Poles still managed to take the city, King Sigismund III, who spent all his money on the siege, had to abandon the idea of ​​going to Moscow. And the Moscow garrison of Poles, which did not receive military assistance, surrendered to the Russian militia under the leadership of Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin.

6. Murom – 1155 years

This small city, located on the left bank of the Oka, is mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years. Its name supposedly came from the Muroma tribe, although historians do not rule out an inverse relationship. One of the main characters of the Russian epic epic, the legendary hero Ilya Muromets, comes from the city of Murom. The townspeople are proud of this and even erected a monument to the hero in the city park.

5. Rostov the Great - 1156 years

Rostov, the current center of the Yaroslavl region, traces its official chronology back to 862. After its founding, the city became one of the most important settlements in the Rostov-Suzdal land. And he got the prefix “Great” thanks to the Ipatiev Chronicle. In it, when describing the events of 1151 (the victory of Prince Izyaslav Mstislavich over Yuri Dolgoruky), Rostov was called the Great.

4. Veliky Novgorod – 1158 years

At the beginning of June 2018, Veliky Novgorod will celebrate the 1159th anniversary of its founding. According to the official version, Rurik was called to reign here. And in 1136 Novgorod became the first free republic in the history of feudal Rus'. The city escaped the fate of many Russian cities and was not affected by the Mongol invasion. Precious architectural monuments of Rus' from the pre-Mongol period have been preserved in it to this day.

3. Old Ladoga - over 1250 years old

In 2003, the village of Staraya Ladoga celebrated its 1250th anniversary. Until 1703, the settlement was called “Ladoga” and had the status of a city. The first mention of Ladoga dates back to 862 AD (the time of the calling of the Varangian Rurik to reign). There is even a version that Ladoga is the first capital of Rus', because Rurik reigned there, and not in Novgorod.

2. Derbent - over 2000 years

If you conduct a survey about which is the oldest city in Russia, most educated people will name Derbent as such. This sun-drenched city, the southernmost in Russia, located in the Republic of Dagestan, officially celebrated its 2000th anniversary in September 2015. However, many Derbent residents, as well as some scientists conducting excavations on the territory of Derbent, are confident that the city is 3000 years older.

The Caspian Gate - and this is precisely the ancient name of Derbent - was mentioned as a geographical object back in the 6th century. Don e. in the works of the ancient Greek geographer Hecataeus of Miletus. And the beginning of the modern city was laid in 438 AD. e. Then Derbent was the Persian fortress of Naryn-Kala, with two fortress walls blocking the path along the shore of the Caspian Sea. And the earliest mention of Derbent as a stone city was in 568 AD or the 37th year of the reign of Shah Khosrow I Anushirvan.

The date of 2000 years is not exact, but more of an anniversary date, and refers to the time of the appearance of the first fortifications in Caucasian Albania.

Until 2014, when the Crimean Peninsula returned to Russia, Derbent held the title of the oldest Russian city. However, in 2017, the Rambler / Saturday media reported that The Academic Council of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences recognized Kerch as the most ancient city in Russia. The ruins of the ancient Greek colony of Panticapaeum have been preserved on the territory of the city. Historically, Kerch is the heir of Panticapaeum and its age has exceeded 2600 years.

According to archaeological research, the foundation of Kerch dates back to the time range from 610 to 590 BC. e. Historical and architectural monuments belonging to different eras have been preserved on its territory. These include: burial mounds from the Bronze Age, the ruins of the city of Nymphaeum, the ancient settlement of Myrmekiy, etc.

Kerch did not immediately receive its current name, after Panticapaeum ceased to be the historical and cultural center of the Black Sea region.

• In the 8th century, the city came under the rule of the Khazar Khaganate and was renamed from Panticapaeum to Karsha or Charsha.
• In the 10th century, the Northern Black Sea region came under the control of the Rus. The Tmutarakan principality appeared, which included the city of Karsha, named Korchev. It was one of the most important sea gates of Kievan Rus.
• In the 12th century, Korchev came under Byzantine rule, and in the 14th century it became part of the Black Sea Genoese colonies, and was called Vospro, as well as Cherchio. The local inhabitants also retained the name Korchev in everyday use.
• In the 15th century, the merchant and diplomat Josaphat Barbaro, in one of the chapters of his work “Travels to Tana,” named the city Chersh (Kersh).
• In 1475, the Turks captured the Genoese colonies and Cerchio became part of the Ottoman Empire. The city began to be called Cherzeti. He repeatedly suffered from raids by Zaporozhye Cossacks.
• In the 16th century, ambassadors of the Moscow kings going to the Crimean Khan knew the city as “Kerch”.
• In 1774, Kerch (already under its final name) became part of the Russian Empire. This happened following the results of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774.

In order for Kerch to officially top the list of the oldest cities in Russia, it is necessary to obtain the approval of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian government. The management of the East Crimean Nature Reserve prepared the relevant documents last year.

The ancient cities of Russia, which have lived a long life and still exist today, make it possible to trace the history of our country, the stages of its formation and development. Having gone through the trials of centuries, they managed to survive and preserve unique historical monuments of architecture and culture to this day. The preserved earthen ramparts, fortress walls, ancient cathedrals and monasteries testify to the former power of ancient Rus' and the talent of the artisans. Traveling through these cities leaves indelible and incomparable impressions. In the north-west of the country is the “Silver Ring of Russia”, which includes the great ancient Russian cities of Veliky Novgorod and Pskov. Tourists travel thousands of kilometers to see the Kizhi Pogost and the Valaam Monastery in Karelia, the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery in the Vologda region and the pearl of the White Sea region - the Solovetsky Islands. Tourist centers of the Volga region are Nizhny Novgorod, founded at the confluence of the Volga and Oka, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan - Kazan, the hero city of Volgograd and the ancient Volga cities of Samara and Saratov.

The date of the city's establishment is usually considered to be the first mention of it in the chronicle. But archaeological excavations often push it further back into the depths of centuries. The longer a city exists, the more trials it faces. Many of them started their history “from scratch” more than once. But not all cities managed to recover. And all that remains of them is a mention in the chronicle and the remains of ancient fortifications. For example, traces of disappeared cities are preserved in the area west of Moscow.

The most ancient Russian cities are the five cities of the historical core of Russia: which had the same significance in Ancient Rus' as Kiev -, which connected the largest Russian cities of Novgorod and Kiev -, the capitals of large principalities - and, as well as Belozersk, where, according to legend, one “sat” from the Rurikovich brothers - Sineus. But the most ancient city on the territory of the Russian Federation is Derbent, founded in 438.

If we distribute all the existing cities of Russia by the time of formation, it turns out that 56 cities arose before the Mongol-Tatar yoke, and 111 cities appeared in the process of overcoming the political fragmentation of Rus' during the formation of a centralized state.

Kremlins and fortresses, cathedrals and monasteries, palaces and estates, factory buildings from the industrial heyday create a unique historical atmosphere of ancient cities. Some historic cities acquire their individuality through the predominance of one architectural style. But for all their diversity and uniqueness, they also have common features. Firstly, most ancient Russian cities were built at the spit - at the confluence of the river with its tributaries. Secondly, in the middle zone, cities were built mainly on the high bank of the river. Their layout was subject to the terrain. Temples were built on the highest places. And the core of the city - the fortress - occupied a hard-to-reach place, protected by ravines and steep river banks. The streets of ancient cities are characterized by curvature, which has certain artistic merits. Thirdly, embankments in a Russian city located on a river, as a rule, played the role of a facade, the face of the city, one might say, its calling card. Ancient Russian city planners skillfully used the features of the landscape and created beautiful cities that were in harmony with the surrounding nature.

Monasteries were of great importance for ancient cities in Rus'. They were not only places of religious worship, but also cultural and educational centers. As well as the place of residence of noble and royal persons in different periods of history. So, for example, in , which is located not far from Kostroma, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov lived for some time. It was here that he received the news of his election to the throne. Since then, the Romanov family began to honor this monastery as their family shrine. During the turbulent time of enemy raids and princely civil strife, the monasteries protected the city residents. Often settlements that arose around monasteries became cities. The cities of Cherepovets, Pechory, Pokrov, Valdai, and Kirzhach developed around the monasteries. laid the foundation for Sergiev Posad. became the ovary of the city of Istra. The city of Kirillov was formed around it.

The outstanding achievements of medieval town planning are the Kremlins, within which the most significant structures of the city were erected. preserved and decorate Moscow, Veliky Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk, Rostov the Great, Tula, Zaraysk, Tobolsk, Kazan, Astrakhan, Nizhny Novgorod. Russian architecture made a huge contribution to the glorification of Russia. Few cities in the world can boast of architectural structures that are unique in nature. There are a huge number of them in Russian cities. Temples, cathedrals, monasteries - each with its own history, its own unique beauty.

What do the cities we will discuss have in common? All of them are small, all with a rich history and its heritage, all are not far from Moscow and St. Petersburg and are accessible, if not in a day, then in a weekend, but even more than usual by Russian standards, they are not explored by tourists.

Sebezh. Corner of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

A small picturesque town in the Pskov region not far from the convergence point of the borders of Russia, Belarus and Latvia. The proximity of the latter is reminiscent of the characteristic water towers with “clusters” of tanks and the border station on the Moscow-Riga line; about Belarus - the fact that Sebezh was part of the Vitebsk province before the revolution, and fell to Russia only in 1772 after two centuries of domination of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. There is Castle Hill - a most picturesque peninsula on the lake; The castle has not been there for a long time, but the bell tower and the school building from afar can easily pass for it. There is also a 17th-century church, the oldest in Russia, although now consecrated as an Orthodox church. Or a museum with a collection of idols in the building of an old prison, and streets with a lake behind the courtyards. The main thing in Sebezh is its landscape: hilly, lake-filled, non-linear, much more reminiscent of ancient Polish-Lithuanian towns than the usual Russia.

Toropets. Merchant Baroque Reserve

Without exaggeration, one of the most interesting small towns in Russia in the very west of the Tver region, near the lakes in the upper reaches of the Western Dvina. Its history is preserved by three earthen settlements: Old Bolshoye has remained since time immemorial and, according to one version, this is the legendary Krivitesk - the homeland of the Krivichi; Maloe Vysokoye is Toropets itself, known since 1074 and in the 12th-14th centuries the former center of a strong principality; The new settlement is the place where the Toropets Kremlin was built, having recaptured the city in 1502 from Lithuania after its century and a half of domination. But Toropets is interesting not so much for its princely antiquity as for its merchant antiquity: its last heyday occurred in the 17th-18th centuries, and the merchants of one of the most western cities of Russia “held” trade with China and Japan, and the extreme eastern point was named after the local native Makar Ratmanov Russia. The rich and self-sufficient city acquired its own unique architecture: the “Toropets Baroque” existed for a good century and a half, and in a dozen dissimilar churches its images smoothly flowed into one another. Merchants built their own houses in the same style, and even the huts here are not the same as everywhere else in Russia. Toropets also has its own shrine - the Korsun Icon of the Mother of God, and its great fellow countryman - Patriarch Tikhon. And all around is a clean, quiet, sleepy wilderness and the protected Bologoe-Polotsk railway.

Novozybkov. Capital of the Old Believers

The southwestern corner of the Bryansk region, at the convergence of the borders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, is part of the historical Chernigov region, where the Old Believers moved at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, and for their help in the Northern War, Peter I gave them the right to live here freely. The second largest Old Believer denomination, the Russian Old Orthodox Church, is not for nothing called the “Novozybkovsky Concord” - the district town has become one of the strongholds of the old faith. This is reminiscent of two wooden (!) churches hanging over the city: the Transfiguration Cathedral (1911-14) and the 18th-century St. Nicholas Church of the Nativity. Also – the mansions of the “match kings” of Old Believers and Jews: a hundred years ago Novozybkov had his own economic niche in the empire. And it’s just that everything here is somehow special, original - from the appearance of ordinary streets to the wonderful public gardens built in recent years. The surrounding area is also worthy: Zlynka with magnificent wooden carvings on old houses; Old and New Ropsk with wooden churches of the Ukrainian type - five log houses with a cross and pear-shaped domes. Well, for the Chernigov past itself, it is better to go to Starodub, where an 18th-century Cossack cathedral in the Ukrainian Baroque style and a synagogue from the Pale of Settlement times have been preserved.

Dace. The best city

There is an opinion that the most beautiful small cities are north of Moscow. But meanwhile, the city of N. from the Russian classics was always located somewhere in the Black Earth Region, like the native estates of most of the classics. And there are many such small towns, the literary appearance of which is recognizable at first glance, in the southern regions, but the best of them, perhaps, is Yelets in the Lipetsk region. Of course, now it can’t be called a “small town” - and about a hundred thousand people live here, and the railway station is larger than in Lipetsk, and many of the attributes of large cities like its own “arbatics” are present.

But its historical center with an abundance of churches, with merchant and bourgeois houses, with a fire tower on a hill, with a huge and immensely provincial Ascension Cathedral above the quiet river Bystraya Sosna - is almost the same as it was a hundred years ago. Competition for the title of "best city in N." Yelets can only be compared to Bolkhov in the Oryol region, which also remains a small and quiet town.

Soligalich. Shrill wooden

In the north of the Kostroma region, a hundred kilometers from each other there are the cities of Galich and Soligalich. After all, people who left Kievan Rus for Zaleskaya Rus often “took with them” the names, hence their own Kostroma Galicia... which in the 15th century was the center of the last princely feud and the first Russian unrest. Well, Soligalich, at a dead end of the road near the very border of the Vologda region, as the name suggests, was a long-time center of salt production.

Nowadays it is one of the most beautiful, authentic and “atmospheric” Russian small towns: its quarters radiate in rings from the round main square, in the very center of which there is a small church. Nearby there are wooden shopping arcades, and the whole of Soligalich is 9/10 wooden: houses with amazing carvings, plank sidewalks, and above all this there are numerous and elegant stone churches in a northern style. The spirit of Soligalich is generally very northern - a low, gloomy sky, soul-crushing sadness, general orderliness and goodwill of people. To be fair, neighboring Galich is also good - a strong county town with high fortifications that remember Dmitry Shemyaka and Vasily the Dark, but still somehow earthly, but Soligalich is slightly out of this world.

Gorokhovets. If you cross Plyos and Suzdal...

A town in the Vladimir region, closer to Nizhny Novgorod, is bypassed by the Golden Ring only because it would be turned into the Golden Oval. Plus a simple name, behind which you wouldn’t expect to see one of the most beautiful Russian cities. In relief it resembles Plyos - the high Puzhalova Mountain above the river... not the Volga, however, but the Klyazma, over which a floating bridge is thrown in the summer. And the architecture makes one rather remember Suzdal: in direct visibility from each other there are two large churches (the Annunciation Cathedral and the Church of the Resurrection), three monasteries (Sretensky on the square, Trinity-Nikolsky on the mountain and Znamensky across the river), but most importantly - 9 merchant chambers of the border XVII-XVIII centuries, their number in Gorokhovets is second only to Moscow and Pskov. The scale, beauty and preservation are very different - from the luxurious houses of the rival merchants Ershov and Shiryaev to the modest “stone huts” under the mountain near the embankment. The architecture of later eras here is rustic... except for the luxurious wooden modernist style, one of the examples of which stands right next to the highway that runs along the edge of the city. The relief gave impetus to other tourism: there is a ski slope near the “new” (i.e. Soviet) main square.

Kasimov. Khan's town in the Ryazan region

A solid Russian county town on the high bank of the Oka, where everything is in place: shopping arcades on the main square, numerous churches of different eras, sizes and degrees of preservation, merchant mansions and shops and the Zaokskaya expanse. There is also an embankment, which rarely happens in small towns. But the uniqueness of Kasimov is that in the 15th-17th centuries it was the center of the first “national autonomy” in Russia - the Kasimov Khanate, where the Mishars lived - Tatars friendly to Russia, whose khan was actually one of the appanage princes. Since then, the Old Mosque has remained, or rather the mosque itself is younger, but its thick round minaret is from the 15th century. There are also two tekie mausoleums: Shah Ali Khan near the mosque and Avgan Sultan in distant settlements. The Tatars lived here later, as the New Mosque reminds us of, and in the entire architecture of the city there is an oriental image.

Shuya. Factories under the bell tower

Factory Ivanovshchina is a reserved region in itself, proud of its poverty away from the main roads. Only time here stopped not in princely or tsarist times, but in the not so long ago century of textile factories, proletarian strikes and strong Russian merchants. Ivanovo towns, all these Vichuga, Furmanov, Yuzha are conglomerates of ancient villages near red brick factories, with churches, people's houses, hospitals, workers' barracks, houses of specialists, estates of owners and the constant touch of constructivism of the 1920s. Shuya stands apart here: the antiquity of the factory coexists with the perfectly preserved center of the district town with all the characteristic attributes such as shopping arcades on the local Arbatics. A grandiose white bell tower of the early 19th century dominates over the factories and houses of merchants - it is 106 meters high, it leaves far behind both Ivan the Great and the belfry of the Kiev-Pechersk Larva, slightly inferior in the Orthodox architecture of the world only to the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Chkalovsk. City of one legend

And it’s worth coming here not for the sake of the district’s antiquity - there’s plenty of it in neighboring Gorodets and Balakhna. The main thing here is a touch on the legend: Valery Chkalov, this proto-Gagarin of the 1930s, was from here, and next to his hut in a special hangar you can see his planes, including the original red-winged ANT-25, on which he flew legendary flight across the pole. Near the museum is a huge House of Culture with a spire, a “palace among huts”, a gift from the Soviet authorities to the village for not saving their hero; on the second floor there is a museum of another legend - Rostislav Alekseev, the inventor of hydrofoils and ekranoplanes, which were tested here. But there is little left of the old Vasileva Sloboda, as Chkalovsk was called before - 9/10 of the historical center was flooded by the Nizhny Novgorod hydroelectric station.

Bakhchisaray. Double bottom effect

It would seem - who has not been to Bakhchisarai? The town between Simferopol and Sevastopol is one of the most popular places in Crimea. But the Khan’s Palace, Chufut-Kale and the Maryampol Gorge are by no means the whole of Bakhchisarai! And away from the main attractions, it appears the same as it was for many centuries - the capital of the Crimean Tatars, an authentic oriental town with narrow crooked streets on the mountain slopes, mosques lost among the days, Durbe mausoleums, Crimean synagogues, wells, cemeteries... Not far from the station Eski-Yurt is located - three mausoleums and a minaret (or minbar), scattered almost throughout the courtyards. In the center, on the approaches to the Khan's Palace, to the right of the main street is the Old Town itself. Several mausoleums are hidden in the courtyards behind the palace. If you go up Pushkin Street beyond the Sablu-Kaya Mountain, you will come out into the old Christian quarter, where nearby there are cemeteries - a Russian one with a chapel on the grave of victims of the Crimean War and an Armenian one with crosses carved on the boulders.

And so many famous cities have such a “double bottom”, be it Suzdal or Yalta...

Until recently, Derbent was considered the most ancient city in Russia. However, after the aggravation of relations between Ukraine and Russia in 2014, Derbent lost its status, since Kerch became the oldest city in Russia after the annexation of Crimea.

Stepping away from foreign policy, we will talk about both localities, as well as how old the oldest cities in Russia are. You may also be interested in the article about the most ancient cities in the world.

The oldest city in Russia

Derbent

Ancient Derbent is located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, not far from the place where the Samur River ends. The city was surrounded by the mountains of the Greater Caucasus on one side and the waters of the Caspian Sea on the other, and therefore had the strategic importance of a link between Eastern Europe and “Anterior Asia”, protection from numerous raids of the Scythians, Huns and Khazars. Derbent was rightly called the “crossroads of civilizations”: at this point East and West, North and South converged.

Even today, after many centuries, the defensive complex of Derbent inspires awe. Derbent fortress - two grandiose stone walls (height - from 12 to 20 meters, thickness - 3), separated from each other by 400 meters, a sea wall extending into the water for half a kilometer, and the monumental citadel of Naryn-Kala, rising on top of 300- meter steep hill.

Now in the oldest city of Russia there are many extremely interesting museum exhibitions. By and large, more than half of the city is an open-air museum-reserve. The Juma Mosque located on the territory of the fortress (translated from Arabic as “Friday mosque”, that is, the largest mosque in the city) deserves special attention. It is recognized as the oldest mosque and one of the most ancient buildings in Russia that have survived to this day - the date of construction of the Derbent Juma Mosque is 733 AD.

Kerch

Archaeologists have discovered evidence that people settled on the territory of Kerch long before the official date of the founding of the city - approximately eight thousand years BC. But there were also finds that confirmed a completely shocking figure: it turns out that this piece of the Kerch Peninsula was inhabited during the time of the Neanderthals!

Kerch experienced its first heyday during the era of the Bosporan Kingdom. The city of Panticapaeum, the oldest “ancestor” of Kerch, grew up on the shore of the strait at the end of the 7th century BC. It was he who became the starting point for the expansion of the Hellenes into the peninsula. Until the 3rd century BC. Patnikapaean culture was at its peak: gold and silver coins were minted here, local residents were familiar with the works of Hesiod and Herodotus, the city was famous for its winemakers, masters of foundry and pottery, and traded with Europe, China and the countries of Central Asia. The Yeni-Kale fortress is one of the most famous attractions of Kerch

Four hundred years later, the Slavs became the masters of Charshi, who renamed the city Korchev. The settlement that protected the strait served as the most important trade and military point of the Kyiv state. However, in the 12th century, after repeated raids by the Cumans, he returned under the wing of Byzantium. Kerch returned to Russia only at the end of the 18th century, after the sixth Russian-Turkish War.
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Small towns in Russia are keepers of ancient memories. Modest, unspoiled by crowds of tourists, unlike their European counterparts. And at the same time majestic in its simplicity. What treasures they reveal to a caring eye, how many stories and legends they keep! We are together with Ekaterina We invite you to go on a short trip to ancient Russian cities.

Alexandrov

Very close to Moscow is the city of Alexandrov, which in the 16th century became the main arena of terrible events that took place in Rus'. Previously, on the site of Alexandrov there was a Great Sloboda, and in the 14th century it began to be called Alexandrovskaya Sloboda. In 1564, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible moved here along with all his entourage. It seems to the Tsar that he is surrounded by traitors and enemies in Moscow, and he leaves the capital. For seventeen years, Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda remained the residence of Ivan the Terrible. Here the tsar issues a decree on the oprichnina, marries Marya Sobakina and immediately, in a fit of anger, kills his son.

After this tragedy, the king leaves the settlement and never returns here. Now the main attraction of Alexandrov is the Kremlin. Palace buildings appeared under Vasily III, and the Trinity Cathedral was built at the same time. After the sack of Novgorod, Ivan IV removed the gates from the St. Sophia Cathedral and installed them at the entrance to the Trinity Cathedral. In 1654, a convent was founded in the settlement. On the territory of the Kremlin, the Intercession Church, the Crucifixion Church-belltower, Marfin's Chambers and the Assumption Church have also been preserved. The Church of the Intercession was built at the beginning of the 16th century and is the first stone tented church in Rus'.

Kashin

Kashin is an ancient city in the Tver region. Nature itself has distinguished Kashin from other cities - the Kashinka River flows through it, which with its loops forms the shape of a heart. There are wooden bridges across the river. The fact that they still remain wooden is also a tribute to tradition and history.

There are many churches in Kashin, which are several centuries old. The Resurrection Cathedral, for example, was built in 1382 and witnessed the confrontation between two principalities - Moscow and Tver. If you climb the bell tower of the cathedral, you will have a view of the entire city. Unfortunately, not all churches have survived. But those that have survived: Frolo-Lavrovskaya, Ilyinsko-Preobrazhenskaya, Petropavlovskaya, Entrance to Jerusalem and others - create a unique atmosphere in Kashin. Kashin is also a resort town, the only one in the Tver region. There is a source of medicinal and table mineral water here.

Kalyazin

Kalyazin is another city in the Tver region. The first mentions of it date back to the 12th century. Ironically, the city became famous not because of its cultural monuments, but precisely because they were destroyed. In 1940, the historical part of the old city was flooded due to the construction of the Uglich hydroelectric power station. Only the bell tower of St. Nicholas Cathedral survived, becoming one of the symbols of Russia. Now this bell tower stands alone in the middle of the water, causing both admiration and sadness, mixed with bewilderment. Why was it necessary to destroy such beauty?

Myshkin

If you want to see what a merchant town looked like in Russia at the end of the 19th century, come to Myshkin. The architecture of this city, the smallest in the Yaroslavl region, has been preserved as it was 100-150 years ago. The city's coat of arms depicts a mouse. This animal is a symbol of Myshkin. According to legend, one of the princes fell asleep on the banks of the Volga, and a mouse warned him about a creeping snake. Despite its modest size, Myshkin boasts a large number of attractions.

The museums here are unusual, and the locals are very proud of them. For example, there is the world's only Mouse Museum, which displays a huge number of mouse exhibits from all over the world. There is also a museum of unique technology in Myshkin, where you can look at old cars and motorcycles and even ride them. And in Myshkin there is a flax museum, a felt boot museum and many others. When you've had your fill of museums, climb the bell tower of the five-domed Assumption Cathedral to enjoy a beautiful panorama.

Chukhloma

The city with such an interesting name (it’s correct to say it with the emphasis on the first syllable) is located in the Kostroma region. It is located on the shores of the picturesque Chukhloma Lake, where residents have been fishing for centuries. There is still debate about the origin of the name. There is a version that it came from the word “chud” - the collective name of all the Finno-Ugric tribes that inhabited the north of Russia.

Chukhloma was first mentioned in chronicles from 1381. The city repelled many attacks by Tatars and Poles. However, only the earthen ramparts have survived from the fortifications. The city acquired its modern appearance in the 18th century. The main attraction of Chukhloma is the Avraamiev Gorodets Monastery, founded in the 14th century by a student of Sergei of Radonezh. Not far from the city is the Lermontov family estate. There is a local history museum in Chukhloma; the Assumption Church and the Transfiguration Cathedral, built in the first half of the 18th century, have been preserved.

Staraya Ladoga

Staraya Ladoga is the ancient capital of Rus', a place of amazing open spaces and incredible colors. What power is felt in this, not even a city, but a village! A colossal number of monuments have been preserved here. Ladoga is mentioned in chronicles from 862; there is a version that it was the first capital of Rus'. The construction of the stone Kremlin in Ladoga began in the 12th century. The walls of the fortress withstood more than one attack by the Swedes. In 1704, Peter I founded Novaya Ladoga, and Staraya Ladoga lost its city status.

Over time, the Ladoga fortress turned into almost ruins. But from the middle of the 20th century, work began on its restoration. Reconstruction continues to this day. There is a very interesting local history museum on the territory of the fortress. In Staraya Ladoga there is an amazingly beautiful ancient temple of St. George. It was erected in the 12th century. To the north of the Ladoga fortress stands the Assumption Cathedral, also built in the 12th century. True, it was rebuilt in the 17th century.

Kronstadt

The construction of Kronstadt began in 1703, when Peter I founded Fort Kronshlot (Crown Castle). The purpose of this construction was to close the water passage for enemy ships and thereby protect the new capital from attacks. After 20 years, construction began on the main fortress, called Kronstadt (Crown City). Peter I commissioned the most talented craftsmen to work on the architecture of the fortress. Therefore, Kronstadt is a unique port city. Its center is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of the most famous attractions of Kronstadt is the Naval St. Nicholas Cathedral. It was built in 1913, in the neo-Byzantine style. Now it is considered the main temple of the Russian Navy. On the square in front of the cathedral there is a monument to Admiral Makarov, who died in the Russian-Japanese War. Another famous building in Kronstadt is the Italian Palace. It was built for the favorite of Peter I - the first governor of Kronstadt, A. D. Menshikov. The greatest impression in Kronstadt remains after a walk along the embankment among the mighty ships.

Belozersk

They say that the Kremlin in Belozersk has a special attractive force that makes you fall in love forever. And this despite the fact that all that remains of the Kremlin here are earthen ramparts with a moat and the Transfiguration Cathedral. But it seems that all the magnetism is in these shafts. They appeared in the 15th century under Ivan III. In those days, their height reached 30 m. Now they have settled a little, but they still look impressive and impressive. And Belozersk itself is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It is mentioned in chronicles as early as 862. It is believed that the city was ruled by Rurik’s brother, Sineus. The city is located on the shores of Lake Belye.

This is where the name “Belozersk” came from. In 1352, a plague epidemic occurred in Belozersk, which killed almost the entire population of the city. After this tragedy, Belozersk was moved 17 km to the west, where it is now located. In 1612, Belozersk was besieged and ravaged by the Poles. Gradually the city is falling into decay. It seems that civilization is completely bypassing him. But maybe this is for the better? Wooden buildings have been preserved in the city center; two-story merchant mansions from the 1st half of the 19th century still stand on Voskresensky Prospekt. The oldest surviving temple here is the Church of the Assumption, built in 1553.

Totma

Totma (emphasis on the first syllable) is a very small town in the Vologda region. But what majestic architecture is here! The temples resemble beautiful ships soaring upward. The first mention of Totma dates back to 1137. In the 13th century, salt was found here, which made Totma the richest city. In the 18th-19th centuries, local merchants organized fur-trading expeditions to the Aleutian Islands and the shores of Russian America. This was the time of the city's greatest prosperity. Returning from their campaigns, rich merchants built churches.

How beautiful these temples are! Their style is unique. It seems to be baroque, but not ordinary. The walls of the temples are decorated with cartouches - intricate patterns, like on nautical maps, and the windows in some places are round and look like ship portholes. This unique style made it possible to distinguish the “Totem Baroque” into a separate school. Previously, there were 19 such churches in Totma, now only 4 remain. The most famous of them are the Church of the Entrance to Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity.

Tobolsk

Tobolsk stands at the confluence of the Tobol River and the Irtysh. It was founded in 1587 and was the first in Siberia to receive city status. Tobolsk is called the spiritual center of Siberia. There are more than 200 historical sites here, including the only stone Kremlin in Siberia. Tobolsk was a city of exile. Archpriest Avvakuam, A.N., was sent into exile here. Radishcheva, P.A. Sumarokov, Decembrists. Here in 1917, the family of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II spent nine months.

It is interesting that not only people were exiled to Tobolsk. In 1593, a bell was banished here from Uglich because its ringing announced the death of Tsarevich Dmitry and thereby caused trouble. When going on an excursion to the Tobolsk Kremlin, visit the rentery (storage of the state fur treasury), Gostiny Dvor, and bell tower. It’s nice to just stroll around Tobolsk, go into Ermak’s garden, and admire the facades of the buildings.