Yaroslavl

Yaroslavl

The city of Yaroslavl, founded in 1010, is located just 250 kilometers from Moscow, and any tourist who decides to travel to the ancient cities of the north-east of the European territory of the Russian Federation should definitely visit Yaroslavl, the capital of the Golden Ring of Russia.
There are many legends about how this beautiful city came to be, but one is most often passed down from generation to generation and told to guests. In 1010, Yaroslav the Wise decided to annex the lands of the Bear Corner, the confluence of two rivers – the Volga and Kotorosli. The reason was the frequent attacks of local tribes on traders rafting on the Volga. Trade routes needed to be secured, and the prince arrived here to resolve the issue forever.
But here he had to face the resistance of the pagan locals, who worshipped the bear– the symbol of these tribes. According to legend, this bear possessed great strength and kept the whole neighborhood in fear. In a one-on-one battle, Yaroslav defeated the bear, and the inhabitants of the pagan tribes, having learned what power was given to the winner, bowed their heads before him. A new settlement was founded at this place, which is still called Strelka. This is where the Yaroslavl lands began, and the symbol of the city is the same bear with an axe.
Strelka is the most famous place in the city, which is rightfully considered its beginning. It was here that Prince Yaroslav's battle with the pagan bear took place. This is a cape that was formed at the confluence of the Kotorosl River with the Volga. It is an equilateral triangle. Today, there is a park with picturesque views, where both tourists and locals like to go.
Volzhskaya Embankment is the face of Yaroslavl and the main place for walking. Now it is a three-tiered boardwalk, framed by the oldest trees with their dense crowns and countless benches along the alleys. You can walk or bike here, and young people rollerblade.
Once upon a time, this place was so neglected that Alexander I himself, having visited it, allocated a lot of money for its improvement. It was in the 19th century, the work lasted 10 years, but a lot was done. The slopes on the right bank were reinforced, a walking area was equipped, bridges were installed to cross the ravines, and a beautiful avenue of lime trees was created. Asphalt appeared here in 1944.
Now new modern attractions have appeared on the embankment, including musical fountains with lighting effects that "give concerts" from Friday to Sunday and on holidays until midnight.
Here you can visit museums, get acquainted with the architecture and history of the city. And romantics also have their own corner – a picturesque round gazebo at Myakushkinsky descent – a meeting place for lovers and photo shoots of newlyweds. This special spot has rightfully become the hallmark of the Volga Embankment.
The Assumption Cathedral is the first stone structure built in the courtyard of the Rostov prince. It was the territory of the wooden Kremlin or the Chopped City, as it was called in the 13th century. The fate of the cathedral is tragic – it was set on fire and rebuilt several times, and in 1937 the temple was completely demolished. Before that, there was a labor exchange, a sewing workshop, and even a grain storage facility. After the demolition of the historic building, a recreation park was built in its place. Only many years later, in 2010, it was restored.
This church can accommodate 4,000 people, it is quite high – up to the cross 50 m, and its area is 2000 sq.m. There are also plans to build a bell tower here, since the bells are still located on the belfry next to the cathedral. Where the altar of the demolished building was, there is now a sculpture of the Trinity.
The Metropolitan chambers were the residence of Metropolitan Jonah Sysoevich. They were built in the 17th century in the form of an ordinary manor house of those times – two floors, two wings, outbuildings and a house church. In the 19th century, someone wanted to transform them a little, as a result of which they completed the third floor and removed some elements from the outside. But in the 1920s they suffered a lot and required restoration. The building has become two-storied again, and even its original appearance has returned to it.
Now the museum of ancient Russian art is located here, which can rightfully be proud of its collection, especially the pre-Mongol icon "Savior Almighty". It is notable for the fact that there are only a few icons from the time of the Savior's creation all over the world, and each one is cherished as the apple of their eye.
The Governor's House was built on the instructions of Alexander I during the construction of the Embankment. High-ranking officials stayed here and governors lived. For all time, there were 17 ranks who ruled the city and lived in the manor.
All this lasted exactly until the revolution. At that time, the house was quickly reclassified into a People's House, where meetings of City Council workers and soldiers' deputies were held. In 1923, the Higher Party School was organized here, in 1960 – the Institute of Technology, and only in 1969 the Governor's House became the property of the Yaroslavl Art Museum and became its main building.
The Transfiguration Cathedral. There are two variants of the structure's appearance. According to the first, in the 12th century, the monastery of the same name was first founded, which later replaced the cathedral. According to other sources, in the 13th century, the Constantine Church with a monastery was originally built, but later it burned to the ground, and in its place they wanted to erect the existing architectural monument. With the help of Moscow architects, it was possible to do this and build a small Entrance church of Jerusalem on the south-eastern corner, which has not survived to the present day.
Now it is the Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve – the territory of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery – and the cathedral is its oldest attraction. It belongs to the unique frescoed and architectural monuments of Russian temple culture and is under state protection.
The monument to Yaroslav the Wise is a symbol of the city, installed on Bogoyavlenskaya Square. Thousands of tourists, despite the hustle and bustle in this place, come here to see firsthand and take pictures near the figure of the founder of Yaroslavl. By the way, the image of the monument to Yaroslav the Wise is printed on a banknote of one thousand rubles.
On the highest bank of the embankment is the Volga Tower, which at one time was the main tower of the Kremlin and defended Yaroslavl from the Volga River. This is the only part of the fortification of the Chopped City that has survived to this day.
The N.A. Nekrasov Museum-Reserve "Karabikha" is a popular place located in the suburbs of Yaroslavl. There is still no exact interpretation of the origin of the name – Karabikha, but it is known that the first estate was built there by Prince Golitsyn in the 1740s. In the 19th century, Nekrasov bought it and gave its management to his brother. The family kept it and even received income from it, but at the beginning of the 20th century a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients and the state farm "Burlaki" settled here, then they were replaced by an orphanage. Everyone who lived in the manor used the belongings of the former owners, and only after the Great Patriotic War did they decide to recreate the museum in the manor, restore the culture and history of this place, the great families who lived here. Now the museum is more than 70 years old and it is functioning well.
Tolga Monastery. The St. Vvedensky Convent was founded in 1413 by Bishop Prokhor of Rostov on the left bank of the Volga River. The story goes that, either in a dream or in reality, it was at this place that the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the bishop at night, and in the morning an icon was discovered there. According to the place of appearance of the image of the Virgin, the icon was named Tolgskaya.
The news of the miraculous find immediately spread to the surrounding villages, and by late evening, a church had already been cut down and consecrated at the site of the icon's discovery, and a Tolga convent was built at the temple.
The grandeur of the white stone walls and temples, domes and crosses attracts the eyes of everyone who happens to be nearby. And for those who travel along the river, it's a sin not to look at its territory on the way. Peace and quiet is what the novices were looking for here. Its doors are open to guests who wish to get acquainted with the decoration of the ancient premises and historical architecture.
The Church of Elijah the Prophet. Six–tiered iconostases and frescoes from ceiling to floor are definitely something that everyone who travels around the Golden Ring needs to see. What can we say about the temple itself, the uniqueness of which is that it has preserved its original appearance from the seventeenth century to the present. The unique architecture with bell towers built in the tent style is also a great attraction.
The fact is that after the church reform of the mid-seventeenth century, which was carried out by Patriarch Nikon, the tent-tent Byzantine style of church construction was banned as "not conforming to the order." From now on, according to the order of the Russian Patriarch, all churches were to be built in the Greek tradition of the "consecrated pentagon."
Vlasyevskaya Tower and Znamenskaya Church - this military structure in the south of Volkov Square impresses with its power and inaccessibility. In the 17th century, taxes were collected here on the instructions of Peter the Great, and entry and exit from the city were controlled.
The walls are 17 meters high with narrow loopholes, the eastern wall of the tower is decorated with a fresco of the Sign of the Mother of God, all this was recreated after the devastating wars and the equally destructive regime of the Soviet Union. It was only in 2015 that the Church returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, and the ancient tower continues to serve people.
So, we talked about the reasons why it is worth visiting the capital of the Golden Ring, Yaroslavl, a city with a thousand-year history. Here you will not only see with your own eyes how the history of Russia was born, you will be able to feel the spirit of the country's history from its inception to the present day. Moreover, it will not be difficult to get to Yaroslavl.
And fans of very ancient history can take a weekend tour of the Golden Paleontological Ring of Russia, in which, in addition to the man-made sights of Yaroslavl and its surroundings, you can independently find and even take home the most magnificent ammonites (fossilized mollusks) that inhabited these places during the Jurassic period.