Staraya Ladoga (Старая Ладога)

Image of Staraya Ladoga

 

Location: 8 km (5 mi) North of Volkhov, Leningrad oblast   Map

Constructed: 753

Alternative names: Norse- Aldeigjuborg, Finnish- Vanha Laatokka

 

Description of Staraya Ladoga

Staraya Ladoga is located 8 km (5 mi) North of Volkhov in Leningrad Oblast in Russia. The castle was found in 753. This multiethnic settlement was a major trading post between North Europe with the Caspian basin via Volga river and Byzantium. The latter route became known as Track Route from the Varangians to the Greeks. It is not surprising that coins from different regions were found including oldest Arab coin in Europe.

 

Travel Destinations in Staraya Ladoga

1 Old Ladoga Fortress. in summer Mon–Sun 10:00–18:00, in winter one hour shorter, check the website for details. a single ticket for all expositions 200 rubles. The fortress is located on a cape at the confluence of the Elena (Ladozhka) river into the Volkhov.
2  Church of St. George  Wikidata element, on the territory of the fortress. Church of the 12th century. The main attraction of St. George's Church is the frescoes of the 12th century preserved inside, with a total area of up to 100 sq.m. To be able to see them, you should come in warm, dry, clear weather. The preservation of frescoes requires maintaining a strict regime of temperature and humidity in the room; even in the event of a short rain, the church can be closed for inspection and you will have to wait for the opening for several hours, sometimes unsuccessfully. If you are lucky, you can see on the altar wall of the temple a unique example of the ancient Byzantine version of the Miracle of George. St. George is depicted without a spear, calm and beautiful, and the snake tamed by the power of prayer obediently walks on a leash after the saved daughter of the king. In later versions, a spear aimed at a snake appears in the hands of George, and the calm face of the saint and the pointedly thin shaft of the spear reflect the spiritual aspect of victory over evil.
3 Church of Demetrius of Thessalonica, on the territory of the fortress. Wooden church of the 17th century
4  Earth settlement.
5  Monument to Oleg and Rurik, st. Varangian.
6 Assumption Monastery, Uspensky Lane, 1-17. Free admission.
7 Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God, on the territory of the Assumption Monastery.
8 Nikolsky Monastery, Nikolskaya street, 16.
9  Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist on Malysheva Hill , Pozemskaya Street, 37.
12 Church of Alexy the Man of God, in the city cemetery (Mebelny Lane).

North of the village
10  Tomb of Prophetic Oleg.
11 Tanechkinka cave.

 

History

The Neolithic site on the territory of the village dates back to the 3rd millennium BC.

After drilling in Zemlyanoy gorodishche, under a four-meter-thick cultural layer, a thin peat bog and deposits of the Ladoga transgression were revealed. About 2000 years ago, the water level in Volkhov dropped below ten meters of absolute height. The territory of the future Staraya Ladoga became suitable for settlement after a further decrease in the water level no earlier than the middle of the 1st millennium.

Under the Zemlyanoy settlement, the surface was plowed at excavation 4 no later than or somewhat earlier than the 6th century, and at excavation 3 - starting from the second half of the 7th century - the first half of the 8th century. The agriculture of the first Ladoga residents is confirmed by the finds of grains of wheat, rye, barley, millet and hemp. Presumably, the crest of the Merovingian era, found in Staraya Ladoga in 2013, dates back to the 7th century. A rudimentary Slavic settlement could have arisen at Zemlyanoy settlement around the year 700 or even earlier. Stucco profiled ceramics of the “Ladoga type” with a clearly defined fracture, often a rib in the upper third of the vessel, initially appeared from the middle of the 8th century.

In the first half of the 750s, in the lower reaches of the Volkhov, 2 km south of the Lyubsha fortress, founded by representatives of the original West Slavic culture of Central European origin, a Scandinavian (according to E. A. Ryabinin - Gotlandic) settlement appeared. At Zemlyanoy Gorodishte, three dwellings of a frame-and-pillar structure (the so-called “big houses”) with a hearth in the center have analogies in Northern Europe. The oldest dendrodata is 753 (tier I).

In the 760s (II tier), the life of the Scandinavian colony ends. The settlement is occupied by those who came from the more southern regions of Eastern Europe (the Dnieper Left Bank or the Dniester region, the Danube region, the upper reaches of the Dnieper, the Western Dvina or the Volga) representatives of the early Slavic culture, similar to the Prague, Penkovsky or Kolochinsky cultures. The lack of continuity between the first inhabitants of Ladoga and the subsequent population, which had other cultural traditions, was noted - the settlement of the Slavs was built up with log houses. In Ladoga, as well as in other places in the north-west of Rus' (Izborsk, Kamno, Ryug, Pskov), in the 8th-9th centuries, limestone casting molds became widespread as a result of the revival of fashion for such decorations, developed in the Prague culture of the early Slavs at the turn of the 6th —VII centuries. The first archaic early city settlement was located around the harbor formed by several river branches of Ladozhka-Helena (now disappeared) and had no fortifications from the middle of the 8th century to the middle of the 9th century. Characteristics of the materials of the lower tiers of the Earthen settlement shows that Ladoga in the first decades of its existence was not and could not be a large specialized trade and craft center. The area of the Staraya Ladoga settlement at that time did not exceed 2-4 hectares. Judging by the data obtained during the excavations of the Zemlyanoy settlement (I and II tiers), the emergence of the tradition of making jewelry from tin alloys is associated with the Slavic colonization of the north of the forest zone of Eastern Europe in the middle - third quarter of the 8th century. During excavations, a whole industrial complex was discovered in the layers of the 8th century. During this period, the settlement is already trading with local tribes. Wheat grains were found in a burnt-out barn from the layers of the 8th century: 80% is two-grain wheat (spelt), 20% is soft wheat. Spelled was never grown in Scandinavia, besides, the Old Ladoga spelled differs sharply from the European one, but is morphologically close to the Volga spelled.

Since the 780s, beads have been brewed in Ladoga using Arab low-temperature technology. "Eyes", that is, eye beads. For them, the Varangians bought furs, which they then exported along the Volga route to Baghdad [a] and sold for silver dirhams. The oldest hoard of dirhams found in Ladoga dates back to 786, and some coins were minted in 738-739. An Arab traveler of the 10th century claimed that one glass "peephole" could buy a slave or a slave. In the second half of the 8th - early 9th centuries, the population of Ladoga ranged from a few dozen to 100 people. The population, who in the 8th-9th centuries built small buildings with a stove-heater on U-shaped furnaces in the corner, was related to the bearers of the culture of the Smolensk-Polotsk long barrows. The glass workshop, which operated from the 780s to the end of the 830s, is associated with a “small” log house with a stove-heater in the corner.

Judging by the available data on the diversity and scope of ties, Ladoga was on a par with such trade and craft centers in Scandinavia and the Baltic as Hedeby and Ribe in Jutland, Kaupang in southern Norway, Paviken in Gotland, Birka in Sweden, Ralsvik on the island of Rügen ( Germany), Wolin in Poland and others in the south of the Baltic.

As archaeological evidence shows, the majority of Ladoga residents were engaged not in trade, but in agriculture and crafts.

The lower part of the XI tier is assigned in the summary chronological table of S. L. Kuzmin to the E3 / 1 horizon (about 810 - about 840). In Ladoga, in the horizon of 810–840, rounded plate pendants with a stamped decoration were found, the parallels of which are known in the burial ground of the Smolensk long barrows culture in Elenovo, in the Upper and Middle Dnieper region, in the Pastyrsky settlement and in the burial ground of the Merovingian time in Straubing (Bavaria). This settlement existed until the end of the 830s and was captured by the Vikings.

From horizon E2 (ca. 840-ca. 865[30]) a casting mold of a two-horned pendant in the form of a pelt (840-855) is known. Similar ornaments originate from Great Moravia and have also been found in Chernigov, on the Prince's Hill near Kiev, in Galicia, in Slovakia and Bulgaria. In horizon E2 (second quarter of the 9th century), a lunar temporal ring of the Arefin type was discovered. In Staraya Ladoga, a mold for casting lead-tin jewelry with negatives of early trapeziums with a wide base from the collection of random finds (no. KP 7834/A-5989), rosettes, a round convex plaque, a strokes along the edge. From horizon E2 (No. L-1843) there is a mold with images of a three-horned lunar with imitation of clusters of granules at the ends, found in the construction tier V (840s-860s).

Around 840, the settlement suffered a catastrophe as a result of an enemy invasion, it perishes in a fire. In the period around 840 - around 865, a significant part of the settlement turns into a wasteland. The other part is rebuilt in the Scandinavian traditions of the northern European halle. The Norman population brings their own traditions (Thor's hammers, etc.). Glass production is not being restored. In the northern part of the excavation by V. I. Ravdonikas, a “large” house of a frame-pillar structure with a hearth on the central axis appears, with which the find of a stick with a runic text is associated. Two large houses are also being built, combining Northern and Eastern European traditions in their design and interior. These houses are associated with "small" log houses with a stove-heater in the corner. Buildings on the fifth tier are characterized by finds of objects of the male subculture: checkers, fragments of the lining of a playing board, cult objects, and a large number of wooden toy swords.

After a total fire recorded at the junction of the Ladoga horizons E2-E1, which occurred around 860, for about a decade, the flow of silver to the island of Gotland and Sweden was interrupted. Stages VII–X were attributed by S.L. Kuzmin to horizon E1 (circa 865–920s). Between 863 and 871 years (about 865) the settlement is completely destroyed. Among the finds of this period (865-890) there are both things from the northern European circle of antiquities of the Viking Age, and objects from the circle of antiquities of the forest zone of Eastern Europe. It can be confidently stated that at that time different ethno-cultural groups lived in Ladoga, among which the Scandinavians clearly stand out.

Approximately in the 870s, in Staraya Ladoga, at the confluence of the Ladoga River with the Volkhov, according to the assumption of A. N. Kirpichnikov, the first wooden fortress was built. The remains of a bronze casting workshop were found in the layers of the last quarter of the 9th century. According to dendrochronology, in 881 the so-called “big house” (merchant’s hotel) was built, this house (like a number of other similar houses) is not a “big house” in the northern European and Scandinavian sense, it’s just a manor larger than all the others, which is one one of the first such buildings, typical of the entire ancient Novgorod land.

From the beginning of the 870s, the flow of silver from Eastern Europe to Scandinavia was steady and uniform, while until the end of the 10th century there was no information about Scandinavian attacks on Ladoga.

The building density of the Earthen settlement at the level of the VIth tier (about 865–890) and the VIIth (890–920) tier is significantly lower than in previous decades.

Cast belt plaques, temporal rings, and trapezoid pendants carved from a thin sheet of metal were found in the layers of the Zemlyanoy settlement of the early 870s - late 890s, which suggests a long-term presence in Ladoga in the second half of the 1st millennium of Slavs from the forest and forest-steppe zones of Eastern Europe. Around the year 894, a large-sized, possibly two-story structure was erected on the site of E. A. Ryabinin's raspop. The “house of 894” was replaced by a mansion complex, located at an angle to ordinary buildings, grouped into “nests” of 3-4 “small” dwellings and two or three outbuildings-cages.

The cultural layer of the site, which is located on the western outskirts of the settlement, opposite the Zemlyanoy Gorodishche, dates back to the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th century.

At the turn of the 9th-10th centuries, when the Lyubsha fortress was no longer functioning, a stone fortress was erected in Ladoga instead of wooden fortifications, similar to the Western European defensive structures of that time. The walls of the fortress were built without the use of lime mortar. The entrance to the original fortress was from the side of the river near the Rolling Tower. In the first half of the 10th century, a limestone defensive wall with vertical wooden supports was built along the edge of the cape. The entrance to the fortress was located from the side of the river in the XII century. The total size of the Old Russian settlement in the 10th century was no more than 6-8 hectares.

The calling of the Varangians
In some lists of The Tale of Bygone Years (in particular, in the Ipatiev of the 15th century), it is Ladoga, and not Novgorod, that is named the place where the Varangian Rurik was called to reign in 862:
... and having come to the first word · and cut down the city of Ladoga and the elder Rurik in Ladoz ...

Although in other versions of the story it is said that he sat down to reign in Novgorod. From here came the version that Ladoga was the first capital of Rus' (more precisely, the place of Rurik's reign from 862 to 864). Archaeological research conducted in Staraya Ladoga (headed by A. N. Kirpichnikov) proves close contacts between the Ilmen Slovenes, Finno-Ugric tribes and Normans (Urmans) in this area in the 9th-10th centuries.

On Varyazhskaya Street, in the layers of the first quarter of the 10th century, fragments of ceramics with chandelier painting were found, belonging to the earliest (Mesopotamian (Samarr)) stage of the production of this Middle Eastern dishware.

In the layers of the 10th century, a birch bark scroll depicting a boat was discovered.

Pottery appeared in Ladoga in the second quarter of the 10th century. In the 920s, the entire site of Zemlyanoy Gorodishche (VIII tier) was quickly built up, the buildings on Varyazhskaya Street became denser, ceramics made on the potter's wheel appeared and rapidly spread. The decisive stage in the formation of Old Russian culture in Ladoga was reflected in the materials of the VIII-XI tiers (horizon D) of the Earthen settlement and in the synchronous layers of Varyazhskaya Street (920-990). Around the year 950, a fire broke out in Ladoga, which destroyed the buildings of the VIII tier. It covered both a section of Zemlyanoy Gorodishche and part of Varyazhskaya Street. Perhaps the fire is connected with the campaign of Princess Olga. There are no cardinal changes in the building after the fire.

According to the Novgorod Chronicle, the tomb of the Prophetic Oleg is located in Ladoga (according to the Kievan version, his grave is located in Kyiv on Mount Schekavitse).

In 997, Eirik, the future Norwegian ruler, attacked Ladoga. The first Ladoga stone fortress, which had existed for over 100 years, was destroyed.

Ladoga was an important point on the so-called route "from the Varangians to the Greeks."

There is a mention in the sagas that when the daughter of the Swedish king Olaf Schötkonung, Princess Ingigerda, married the Novgorod prince Yaroslav the Wise in 1019, she received the city of Aldeygyuborg (Staraya Ladoga) with the adjacent lands, which have since received the name Ingermanlandia, as a dowry (veno). (the lands of Ingegerda), and Rögnvald Ulvsson, the jarl of Västergötland (Ingegerda's relative on the maternal side) was appointed posadnik (jarl) of Ladoga (The Saga of Eymund). Ulf (Uleb) and Eiliv are the sons of Rognvald. According to Scandinavian sources, Eiliv became a jarl (posadnik) in Ladoga after the death of his father, and Uleb is mentioned in the annals under 1032 as a Novgorod governor.

 

Burials

Early burials of the 9th-10th centuries in the Plakun tract, located on the opposite bank of the Volkhov, opposite the Ladoga settlement, consist only of cremations. Only one craniological series from Plakun from the 11th century cemetery is known, which can be attributed to the Germans. In Ladoga, the only collection of skeletons of the early Middle Ages available for morphological and genetic research was excavated in 1938-1939 by V. I. Ravdonikas and G. P. Grozdilov at the Zemlyanoy settlement. All burials in the cemetery were made in graves without burial mounds in accordance with Christian tradition. The skeletons lay on their backs with their heads to the west. According to the stratigraphy, Ravdonikas proposed two periods of the cemetery functioning - XI-XII and XVII-XVIII centuries. Several burials from the lower horizon have been radiocarbon dated to 880-1188. According to the analysis for the content of strontium, the burials differ from the local fauna. The collection of skeletons from the early graves of Staraya Ladoga, stored in the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after Peter I (Kunstkamera), has 65 people. Craniometric studies show that the skulls of people from the southern part of the cemetery are morphologically close to the Viking Age series from Scandinavia, while the northern part of the cemetery possibly belongs to a mixed Slavic, Finnish and Scandinavian population. According to craniometric features, anthropologists have revealed a morphological similarity of the Ladoga residents with material from 5 Liv burial grounds located in the basins of the Gauja and Daugava rivers and from the Siksali burial ground in southeastern Estonia. The supposed similarity of those buried at the Zemlyanoy settlement and in the Shestovits mounds is not confirmed by the Student's t-test. The ethnic affiliation of medieval population groups cannot be determined by anthropological methods. The craniological series of the 11th-12th centuries, including 47 skulls, was called "Staraya Ladoga". It was studied by V. V. Sedov in the 1950s. T. I. Alekseeva (1969, 1973) found analogies in this group in the Iron Age series from the Scandinavian countries, which distinguishes it from all East Slavic series. Among the inhabitants of Staraya Ladoga of the 10th-12th centuries, paleogeneticists identified Y-chromosome haplogroups I (n=1), I1 (n=4), I1a1 (n=1), I1a1b1 (n=2), T1a1a-L208/Page2 (n= 1), R1a1a1b1a3a-Z284>R1a-YP1370>R1a-Y69949 (n=1, sample VK18, coverage 0.773×, mito: H1b1), R1b1a1b1a1a2c (n=1) and mitochondrial haplogroups H1b1, H5, H5a1, H6c, J1c, J1c1a, J1b1a1, J2b1a, K1d, T2b, T2b6a, U4a1a, U5a2a1b, X2b4. Analysis of the values of strontium isotopes in tooth enamel showed that at least five of the buried were not local. A similar isotopic composition was recorded in the region of Lake Mälaren on the east coast of Sweden.

 

Old Ladoga fortress

In 1116, the Ladoga posadnik Pavel laid a stone fortress:
In summer 6624
[…]
The same summer, Pavel, the mayor of Ladosky, lay the city of stone in Ladoga

The Staraya Ladoga Fortress, which has become the "heart" of today's Staraya Ladoga, stands at the confluence of the Elena (Ladozhka) River into the Volkhov. It was a strategically important place, because it was the only possible harbor where sea vessels could stop, unable to sail along the rapids of the Volkhov.

In 1142, "the prince of Svea and Biskup came in 60 augers" - the Swedes attacked Ladoga. In 1164, there was a new attack by the Swedes on Ladoga. After an unsuccessful siege that lasted several days, the Swedes retreated and were utterly defeated by the Novgorodians in the battle on the Voronezhka River.

As a result of a change in the system of urban land use, planning work and the construction of the stone Cathedral of St. Clement in 1153, in the 11th-12th centuries, the frequency of fires in Ladoga significantly decreased and the area of ruderal habitats (weeds) decreased.

From the 13th century
In 1228, the Finnish tribe Em attacked Ladoga, but was defeated by the Novgorodians, Izhors and Korels.

In 1283, the Swedes besiege Ladoga, exterminate Novgorod merchants who are heading to Obonezhie.

In 1499, Ladoga, according to the scribe book of the Vodskaya Pyatina, consisted of a fortress and a settlement, which, like Novgorod, was divided into ends: Nikolsky, Bogoroditsky, Semyonovsky, Klimyatsky and Spassky.

In 1568, according to the Vodskaya Pyatina scribe book of 1568/1569, three ends were recorded: Bogoroditsky, Voskresensky and Nikolsky (Scribal book. Separate settlements appear: Yamskaya, Streletskaya, Pushkarskaya, Cossack, Podmonastyrskaya and Nikolskaya. The total urban area could reach 16-18 ha.

After the end of the Russian-Swedish war of 1590-1595, according to the Tyavzinsky peace, Ladoga was recognized as belonging to Russia.

In 1610, Ladoga was captured by the French mercenaries of Pierre Delaville, who were in Swedish service, but a year later was released by the governor I. M. Saltykov. According to the Stolbovsky peace, which ended the Russian-Swedish war of 1613-1617, the Swedish Empire renounced its claims to Ladoga.

New and modern times
In 1704, Peter I founded Novaya Ladoga at the mouth of the Volkhov and renamed Ladoga into "Staraya Ladoga", depriving it of the status of a city and the right to have its own coat of arms, and ordered many Ladoga residents to move to Novaya Ladoga to live. Prior to this event, Ladoga was the center of the Ladoga district of the Vodskaya Pyatina of the Novgorod Land.

In 1718, the first wife of Peter I, Evdokia Lopukhina, was transferred from Suzdal to the Staraya Ladoga Dormition Monastery.

In 1719, Staraya Ladoga became part of the Novgorod province (it was formed as part of the St. Petersburg province).

In 1727, the Staraya Ladoga district of the Novgorod province was included in the new Novgorod province.

In 1770, the Staraya Ladoga district was abolished.

In the 19th century, the village administratively belonged to the Mikhailovskaya volost of the 1st camp of the Novoladozhsky district of the St. Petersburg province, at the beginning of the 20th century - the 2nd camp.

From 1917 to 1919, the village of Staraya Ladoga was part of the Staroladoga village council of the Mikhailovskaya volost of the Novoladozhsky district.

Since April 1919, part of the Oktyabrskaya volost of the Volkhov district. Since November 1919, the village of Staraya Ladoga was taken into account by the regional administrative data as the village of Staraya Ladoga.

Since 1927 - in the Volkhov region.

According to the data of 1933, the village of Staraya Ladoga was the administrative center of the Staraya Ladoga village council of the Volkhov district, which included 17 settlements, the villages: Akhmatova Gora, Valeshi, Zelenaya Dolina, Ivanovka, Kamenka, Kinderevo, Knyashchina, Lytkino, Mestovka, Makinkina, Mezhumoshie, Nevazhi, Okulovo, Podol, Podmonastyrskaya Sloboda, Staraya Ladoga, Trusovo, with a total population of 2312 people.

According to the data of 1936, the Staraya Ladoga village council with the center in the village of Staraya Ladoga included 15 settlements, 410 farms and 13 collective farms.

In 1961, the population of Staraya Ladoga was 1059 people.

According to the administrative data of 1973, the central estate of the Volkhovsky state farm was located in the village.

According to 1990 data, 2155 people lived in the village, the village was the administrative center of the Staraya Ladoga village council, which included 27 settlements, with a total population of 3891 people.

In 1997, 2457 people lived in the village, in 2002 - 2182 people (Russians - 95%).

In 2003, the celebration of the 1250th anniversary of Staraya Ladoga as the "ancient capital of Northern Rus'" was widely held, which was covered by the press and attracted the attention of the authorities. Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree on the preparation and holding of the anniversary and visited Staraya Ladoga twice.

 


Transportation

Get in

By train
The closest station is in Volkhov (Volkhovstroy-1). From Saint Petersburg, you can get there by train, express train or by elektrichka (suburban train) from Ladogsky Station. Some elektrichkas (not express ones) also start for Volkhovstroy from Moskovsky station.

Sitting or obshchiy seats in passazhirskiy train class will be best by price/comfort combination, however you may not have such luck, because there just may not be trains with such seats. As of 2011, there were no trains with sitting/obshchiy seats to Volkhov at all. Platzkart seats, while comfortable, are above 400 rubles in passazhirskiy trains and above 600 rubles in firmenniy trains while suburban train will cost you only 200 rubles. Be aware however of possible discounts for some trains when kupe may be cheaper than platzkart, even on firmenniy trains. Both Ladogsky station and Volkhovstroy-1 station have computer terminals with extensive information on timetables, available seats and prices, however probably in Russian only. Volkovstroy-1 station have two different terminals for long distance and suburban trains, each in the corresponding booking office hall. Consult timetable online as well. Trains reach Volkhovstroy-1 in 2 hours.

Timetable is also tricky: there's only 5 daily trains, the only morning train being firmenniy "Arktika" Moskva - Murmansk train (one of cosiest econom-class firmenniy trains in Russia), start 08:59, arrive 11:18. Other trains are either summer, or run on days only. In general, train is more convenient, if you plan to stay overnight in Volkhov or Staraya Ladoga.

Trip by elektrichka will take about 2.5 hours. Express trains are a bit confusing: they are simple elektrichkas, reaching Volkhovstroy-1 making no (Sankt-Peterburg - Babaevo, start 14:33, arrive 16:49, Fridays and Sundays only) or 1 stop (Sankt-Peterburg - Svir', start 18:42, arrive 20:42, daily, not marked as express). There's same somewhat unsightly plastic seats as in other suburban trains in Sankt-Peterburg region. However, express trains are good variant, if you want to take a look at the Volkhov GES - first GES of the GOELRO plan - from the train bridge across Volkhov river. Just took the trains off on Volkhovstroy-2 station (next after Volkhovstroy-1), and look right when crossing the river.

You can also reach Volkhovstroy-1 station directly from Moscow by either "Arktika" or "Kareliya" Moskva-Petrozavodsk (also cosy econom-class firmenniy train), and unlike Moscow - Sankt-Petersburg overnights, you may even get a nice sleep. "Kareliya", however, arrives to Volkhov early at 4:49AM, you may find #23 bus soon after and enjoy dawn over calmly moving Volkhov river in Staraya Ladoga before the services will start to work.

A couple of trains from Murmansk to Moscow or other destinations may also stop on Volhovstroy-2 station, though mainly summer (and rather than or) on days and usually at night.

By bus
From the Volkhovstroy-1 station in Volkhov, catch the bus #23, marshrutka (actually also bus, but with fixed price for the ride) #K-23, or bus #23A, which will get you there in about 50 minutes, costing about 25 rubles (2009). The bus tends to be well synced with the arrival times of the elektrichka from Saint Petersburg (you can find synced buses in the timetable site, referenced below). It's not terribly easy to tell when you have arrived in Staraya Ladoga if you haven't been there before, so it's best to ask a local to tell you when you have arrived: не подскажете мне, пожалуйста, когда мы доедем до Старой Ладоги (nyeh pod-SKAH-zhe-tyeh mnyeh, puh-ZHAHL-uh-stuh, kahg-DAH myh dо-ye-DEM dah STAH-ruy LAH-duh-gee). You can also look in window for Staraya Ladoga kremlin on the right side, on the way from Volkhov, it will be in the middle of the village, the right stop will be right after it.

 

From the Volkhovstroy-2 station you'll have to walk from the station and cross the Volkhov river to catch on the #23 bus, as it doesn't cross the river. You can catch it on either "Il'inskiy park" stop (right beside the park after the bridge, 20 min on foot, the stop is on the further side of road from side-shows), or "Raiispolkom" (if you go by local #2 bus, first stop after the bridge, the stop to Staraya Ladoga will be on the other side of the street). You'd better find the time-table for the bus before trying this route though, because the schedule is sparse with intervals up to 2 hours, especially late in the evening, and may be not available on the stops. You might also want to hitch ride on the bus with a hand, especially if you see the bus or even better marshrutka outside the stop. Alternatively just take #2 bus to Volkhovstroy-1 station where schedule is available (you may also take any seldom other is this direction, however be aware, that bus #3 from Volkhovstroy-2 takes a side root up the Volkhov river, passing the GES, which is sightly, and #5 takes side root to Murmanskie Vorota, which is not sightly and a bit long). Or ask locals when will be the bus: Когда пойдёт 23-й автобус в Старую Ладогу? (kagh-DAH poi-DYOT dvad-tsat-TRE-tiy av-TO-bus v STAH-ru-yu LAH-duh-gu?)

You may try to go by bus from Sankt-Peterburg, though it may not be as convinient. There are no direct buses to Staraya Ladoga; though some schemes may be confusing, #877 bus to Boksitogorsk does not pass the village, but go along right side of the Volkhov river via Babino. Some buses reach Volkhov, but even there are more of them to the stop "Yushkovo", which is on the cross of M18 and A115, which is passed by #23 bus as well. The trip is slightly more than 2 hours to Yushkovo, the bus may be crowdy and the road a bit bumpy after crossing Neva. It's tricky to find where the #23 bus stop in Yushkovo in the direction to Staraya Ladoga is, the stop is usually inside the ring around the "Turist" kafe, closer to river, and might be right the same, where you get out from the bus from Sankt-Peterburg, but it might change. Look for signs - they may be present, or ask locals Где останавливается 23й автобус в Старую Ладогу (Hdeh ohs-tah-NAV-lee-vah-yeh-tsya dvad-tsat-TRE-tiy av-TO-bus v STAH-ru-yu LAH-duh-guh?)

There used to be #800 bus Velikiy Novgorod - Petrozavodsk, which passed Staraya Ladoga, but it has been cancelled. Last timetable was once a week, on Sundays from Novgorod and on Saturdays from Petrozavodsk. The trip was about 6 hours from Novgorod and about 7 hours from Petrozavodsk, arriving to Staraya Ladoga somewhen around 16:00-17:00.

Semiupdated bus timetable can be found here. It contains local and even town Volkhov buses, however last update was about summer 2010. However is doesn't contain timetables for Staraya Ladoga and Yushkovo stops, so, for timetable of #23 buses traveling to Volhov, look in Novaya Ladoga (New Ladoga) section, add approximately 10-15 min for Yushkovo and about 25 min for Staraya Ladoga.

By car
Staraya Ladoga is on the A-115 between Volkhov and Novaya Ladoga, which intersects with the M-18 from Saint Petersburg (120 km), 7 km north of the village. Coming from Novgorod/Moscow, take the M-10 until turning right on the A-115. From Vologda, take the A-114 to the M-18 towards Saint Petersburg, eventually making a left on A-115.

By thumb
A115 is good for hitch-hiking, with transit traffic from M10 to M18 to the north, though relatively empty at night. Try hitching buses off duty - may be a good choice.

From Volkhov a good lighted position is right under the new automobile bridge. From Yushkovo a position is good in daylight, but somewhat limited in light at night.

 

Get around

Staraya Ladoga is a small village and is easily covered on foot via leisurely stroll. Locals often opt for bicycles, but there are no rentals available.

Bus #23 actually makes three stops in the village. First from Volkhov is not far from Nikolsky Monastery, second, after Kremlin, in the small central square, the third right near Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist (and greatest sight of Volkhov river).

 

Hotels, motels and where to sleep

There are only 2 hotels in the village, and both are non-premium. You can also stay in hotels in the neighboring cities of Volkhov and Novaya Ladoga.

1 Hotel "Ladya", Sovetskaya st., 3. ☎ +7 (81363) 49555. Mini-hotel with 5 rooms, each with a bathroom, TV.
2  Staraya Ladoga Hotel, 6 Sovetskaya st. expensive. It occupies part of a five-story residential building. There are rooms with private facilities in the block and separate apartments (in the hotel they are classified as two-room suites). There are a lot of complaints about cleanliness and non-compliance with sanitary and hygienic standards, however in 2015 the staff was completely replaced - there are hopes that the situation will improve. It is possible to order breakfast/food from the cafe "Drevnyaya Ladoga".

In the country
3  Abyrvalg hotel, Issad village, Staroselskaya st., 1A. Double from 1500 rubles. Very small rooms in wooden houses. There is a sauna, a cafe.

 

Restaurant, taverns and where to eat

1   Cafe "Ancient Ladoga", Volkhovsky pr., 24. ☎ +7 (952) 364-888-3. Main dishes 100-200 rubles. It is located in a wooden, slightly shabby house of the 19th century with an interior in the old Russian style. For groups and on weekends they kindle a fireplace, turn on folk music. Delicious homemade food, but without any culinary delights, small portions. In any case, this is the best that can be found in Staraya Ladoga.
2  Knyaz Rurik Restaurant, Volkhovsky pr. Hot dishes: 200-400 rubles Prices are higher than in other establishments in the area. Spacious room with a pleasant interior and a varied menu. Food is an amateur: something is good, something is worse. The main drawback is the service: employees are trying in every possible way to evade work, running away and hiding in utility rooms and smoking rooms, but if you managed to catch someone, you can immediately regret it, because they are very harsh in communication.
3 “Lyubava” shop-cafeteria, Volkhovsky avenue. Whatever the name of the establishment says, it looks both outside and inside like a rural bar. This is probably called a store, because you can go in from the street to buy mineral water and chocolates. Tourist groups often dine here, in between them you can order food for the rest of the mortals. According to reviews, sometimes they serve delicious food, but the appearance of the institution makes you doubt it.

 

Research

In 1708, the first archaeological excavations in Russia by Wilhelm Tolle took place here, who unearthed several pagan graves and burial mounds. In 1820, archaeologist Adam Charnotsky was excavating a mound called "the tomb of Oleg the Prophet". The most significant contribution in the 1880s was made by the archaeologist and historian N. E. Brandenburg and V. V. Suslov, who unearthed a number of Ladoga hills and destroyed temples. N. I. Repnikov was engaged in further systematic excavations on Staraya Ladoga in 1909-1913 in the area of the Zemlyanoy settlement.

During the Soviet period, excavations were resumed in 1938 by the expedition of the IIMK of the USSR Academy of Sciences led by V. I. Ravdonikas. Archaeological research with his participation continued until 1959. Since 1972, the expedition of the LOIA of the USSR Academy of Sciences under the leadership of A. N. Kirpichnikov began work in Staraya Ladoga. In 1998, a Byzantine lead seal of Leontius, Metropolitan of Laodicea, was discovered at the Zemlyanoy settlement of Ladoga. In addition, Scandinavian jewelry of the 8th century and Arab dirhams of the 10th century were found.

In 2015, the expedition of the Institute of the History of Material Culture (IIMK) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, led by Vladimir Anatolyevich Lapshin, discovered a treasure of 116 silver coins from the reign of Boris Godunov on the territory of the Staraya Ladoga fortress.

 

Culture and art

The first image of Staraya Ladoga was an engraving by Adam Olearius, who visited the city in 1634 as secretary of the embassy of Frederick III to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Russian artists of the 19th-20th centuries were attracted by Staraya Ladoga with its romantic views of the banks of the ancient Volkhov, churches, monasteries and majestic burial mounds. Not far from the village was the estate "Uspenskoe" by Alexei Tomilov, which in the 19th century was a local center of culture. Artists I. K. Aivazovsky, O. A. Kiprensky, A. O. Orlovsky, A. G. Venetsianov, I. A. Ivanov and others have been here. In 1844, in the village of Lopino, located opposite the fortress on the other side of the Volkhov, V. M. Maksimov, a future academician of painting and an itinerant artist, who painted pictures from the life and life of peasants, was born into a peasant family. Here in 1911 he was buried.

In the summer of 1899, Nicholas Roerich painted sketches from nature in Staraya Ladoga. “We climb a hillock,” Roerich wrote about his impressions, “and before us is one of the best Russian landscapes.” V. A. Serov, K. A. Korovin, B. M. Kustodiev have been here. In 1924-1926, A. N. Samokhvalov repeatedly visited Staraya Ladoga, participating in the preparatory work for the restoration of St. George's Cathedral. According to the artist, this experience taught him a lot, helped him understand how the compositional fusion of images of monumental painting and architectural forms "created the pathos of the polyphonic sound of the whole complex of influencing elements." These trips also resulted in the landscape Staraya Ladoga (1924) and the painting Fisherman's Family (1926, Russian Museum).

In February 1945, by decision of the Leningrad Executive Committee, the Rest House in Staraya Ladoga (the former Shakhovsky estate, named after the last owner, Prince Nikolai Ivanovich Shakhovsky (1851-1937), Privy Councilor, member of the State Bank of Russia and his son, Vsevolod Nikolayevich (1874-1954), real state councilor, the last minister of trade and industry (1915-1917) of tsarist Russia, who emigrated to France in 1919). In 1946, repair and construction work began, which stretched for 15 years.

Already from the mid-1940s, Leningrad artists began to come to Staraya Ladoga. For S. I. Osipov, G. A. Savinov, N. E. Timkov, A. N. Semyonov and other masters, these places became a source of inspiration for many years. The idea of inheriting the values of labor and culture will clearly sound in their work, for which "the national past is not separated from the present, but is an important part of it."

In the early 1960s, after the renovation of the buildings of the old estate in the village of Chernavino was completed, the Staraya Ladoga House of Artists began to work constantly, becoming an important center of artistic life for thirty years. Artists E. E. Moiseenko, A. N. Samokhvalov, V. F. Zagonek, N. N. Baskakov, V. I. Ovchinnikov, V. V. Vatenin, I. I. Godlevsky, V. P. Kranz , B. V. Korneev, M. A. Kozlovskaya, L. S. Yazgur, D. V. Belyaev, V. A. Bazhenov, D. P. Buchkin, E. P. Zhukova, S. E. Zakharov, A M. Semenov, T. K. Afonina, Z. N. Byzova, V. I. Borisov, I. M. Dobryakova, N. N. Brandt, B. S. Ugarov, P. T. Fomin, V. I Reikhet, L. I. Vaishlya, V. I. Vikulov, V. S. Saxon, D. I. Maevsky and many other Leningrad painters and graphic artists, as well as artists from other regions of Russia. In 1970-1980, the Staraya Ladoga House of Artists' Creativity expanded, new buildings were built, which made it possible to use the creative base in Staraya Ladoga year-round. The expenses for accommodation, food, travel of artists were paid by the Art Fund. Works written in Staraya Ladoga or based on materials collected here were exhibited at the largest art exhibitions of the 1960-1980s, replenished the collections of museums. In particular, they became the basis of an extensive fund of paintings, drawings and sculptures of the museum of the Staraya Ladoga reserve.

In the early 1990s, after the liquidation of the Art Fund and due to lack of funds for the maintenance of the House of Artists "Staraya Ladoga" first stopped accepting artists, and then ceased to exist.