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Pereslavl-Zalessky is an ancient Russian city
halfway between Moscow and Yaroslavl, part of the Golden Ring. Being
essentially a small town, Pereslavl is geographically quite large
and stretches along the Yaroslavl road for many kilometers. It
successfully combines the patriarchal nature of the Russian
provinces with the relative proximity to Moscow and the liveliness
that accompanies it. A traveler will be interested in the city for
the oldest pre-Mongol church in Central Russia, a completely
preserved earthen rampart, the wonderful Lake Pleshcheyevo, where
Peter I built the first Russian fleet, as well as a whole scattering
of monasteries and churches of the 16th-18th centuries. In the
vicinity of Pereslavl there is the largest and perhaps the only
museum of narrow-gauge railways in Russia. The city itself has
recently acquired a record number of museums created from scratch,
but not devoid of charm, which are dedicated to teapots, irons and
in general everything that comes along.
Pereslavl is located
in a rather unusual place for Central Russia. Firstly, on the shore
of Lake Pleshcheevo - by Central Russian standards, a large
reservoir, which has a surprisingly regular oval shape. Secondly, in
the vicinity of Pereslavl, the Klinsko-Dmitrovskaya ridge and the
Vladimir Opolye converge, so dense forests suddenly give way to
open, rugged terrain with wonderful panoramas, which will especially
be enjoyed by those who do not go to the city itself, but bypass it
along the bypass. Pereslavl is located at the confluence of the
Trubezh River into the lake. The city center is flat, the outskirts
stretch along the slopes of the hills surrounding the lake.
The ancient history of Pereslavl is poorly known. The founding date
of the city is considered to be 1152, when, according to the
chronicle, Yuri Dolgoruky ordered the construction of a fortress at
the mouth of Trubezh and even founded a stone temple in it, which
was serious at that time. In fact, the city was not created from
scratch, it was simply moved from the northern shore of Lake
Pleshcheyevo, where Alexandrova Mountain is now located (see Lake
Pleshcheyevo). That place, known in chronicles as the city of
Kleshchin (it is believed that the lake was named after it Kleshchin
or Pleshcheev), had much better natural fortifications, but due to
the shallow depth of the lake it was completely unsuitable as a
pier. Perhaps this is why the city was moved to the mouth of the
Trubezh River, where the only protection was earthen ramparts built
on level ground. However, the ramparts did not save much from the
invaders: in the Middle Ages, Pereslavl was destroyed with enviable
regularity, the last time - in the Time of Troubles.
From the
beginning of the 13th century, Pereslavl became an independent
appanage principality; in 1220, Alexander Nevsky was born here, who
began to reign in Pereslavl, but soon left for “promotion” to
Novgorod. Throughout the 13th century, the city repeatedly
participated in civil strife, and in 1304 it voluntarily joined
Moscow according to the will of a local prince who left no heirs.
Since the 14th century, Pereslavl has become one of the many towns
in the vicinity of Moscow, but even here its place was somewhat
special. Firstly, in the XIV-XVI centuries. Almost a dozen
monasteries arose in Pereslavl and its environs, of which five have
survived, and this is comparable, if not with Suzdal, then at least
with Gorokhovets: even in Central Russia there are few such cities.
Secondly, the vendace (aka freshwater whitefish) present on the city
coat of arms brought real glory to the city, since before Peter I it
was supplied to the royal table and was an important element of the
grand duke’s and later royal feasts. It is believed that in this way
the Moscow princes celebrated the voluntary annexation of Pereslavl
to Moscow, which marked the beginning of the collection of Russian
lands and the formation of the state (although, perhaps, they just
liked fresh fish).
Peter I collected completely different
lands and in a completely different way, so he considered the
tradition irrelevant, but he also glorified the city in his own way
by choosing Lake Pleshcheyevo for the construction of the first
Russian fleet. This fleet was still quite amusing, but it played its
role in history. The boat of Peter I is kept in a branch of the
Pereslavl Museum-Reserve (see Lake Pleshcheyevo).
Since the
18th century, Pereslavl has become an ordinary county town. Due to
the peculiarities of the terrain, the railway to Yaroslavl did not
pass through it. Moreover, they never tried to rebuild Pereslavl
according to a regular plan, so in the center private houses, a
chaotic layout, and even the only complete ring of the city rampart
were preserved.
Soviet times brought Pereslavl the status of
the city of the Golden Ring and the Slavich plant that produced
photographic film, which is now partially inactive and partially
engaged in the production of insulation materials and other useful
things. At the dawn of Perestroika, the Institute of Software
Systems was created near Pereslavl, and at one time the city even
had its own university, now closed. Although there are more and more
new houses, cottages and Moscow cars in Pereslavl, it retains an
ineradicable touch of provincialism, which is why it is beautiful.
Pereslavl stretches from north to south along the Yaroslavskoye
Highway, divided into five streets - Moskovskaya, Kardovskogo,
Sovetskaya, Rostovskaya and Uritskogo. Together with the adjacent
Troitskaya Sloboda, the total length of the city is almost 10 km. The
center is located on the banks of the Trubezh inside the city rampart.
Around the center there are settlements, each of which is interesting in
its own way with monasteries and temples, as well as the low-rise nature
of the buildings - there are houses higher than two floors only behind
the bridge, on the northern bank of Trubezh. The infrastructure
gravitates towards the main street, but is dispersed along it along the
entire length of the city.
From the north, Pereslavl is adjacent
to the already mentioned Trinity Settlement with the Nikitsky Monastery,
behind which begins Alexandrova Mountain - the ancient Russian
settlement of Kleshchin. In the west is the village of Veskovo with the
boat of Peter I and museums of all sorts, and in general there are many
interesting places along the shores of Lake Pleshcheevo. Plan to spend
at least a day visiting the city and its surroundings, even if you have
your own transport.
City Information and Tourist Center ,
Sovetskaya st. 21. ✉ ☎ +7 (48535) 3-18-32. 9:00–18:00
Pereslavl sights are mainly monasteries and temples. The modest and
laconic Transfiguration Cathedral is one of nine pre-Mongol churches in
Central Russia, and even outside its borders there are few ancient
Russian churches of this age. This one is better preserved than the
others.
The next stage of Pereslavl temple construction occurred
in the 16th century, when the cathedrals of Danilov and Fedorovsky
monasteries, the archaic tented church of Peter the Metropolitan,
another elegant tented church in Elizarovo near Pereslavl, as well as
almost the entire complex of the Nikitsky monastery were created, where,
by the way, real fortifications were preserved , while the walls and
towers of the remaining Pereslavl monasteries perform a purely
decorative function. After the destruction and decline of the Time of
Troubles, temple construction resumed with renewed vigor, but with a
noticeable influence of the Baroque style, which completely captured the
city in the 18th century. Temples of this period are sometimes (and,
however, somewhat loosely) classified as a special type of style,
Pereslavl Baroque, which is characterized by churches with narrow domes,
a two-story (winter-summer) structure, often turning into a refectory,
and the secular nature of the decor. The most striking monuments of the
18th century are the Assumption Cathedral of the Goritsky Monastery and
the Church of the Forty Martyrs, wonderfully located on the shore of
Lake Pleshcheevo.
The center of Pereslavl is surrounded by a ring of earthen ramparts,
which is a landmark in itself. In no other ancient Russian city have
earthen ramparts been preserved in such complete form, and usually they
are just indistinct and overgrown hills somewhere in the outskirts.
Pereslavl was built under the rampart, and even those places where the
rampart is crossed by modern streets were there from the very beginning
- there were city gates there. The total length of the shaft ring is
over 2 km, the height is 10-12 m. You need to walk along the shaft,
observing not only the sights, but also the daily life of the provincial
town. There are still grazing sheep and goats here, and off the main
street there are many private houses with vegetable gardens.
In
ancient times, wooden walls and towers stood on the rampart, which were
rebuilt more than once until they were dismantled at the end of the 18th
century. This structure was called the Pereslavl Kremlin. The very, very
center of the city was (and to some extent remains to this day) Red
Square, on which already in the middle of the 12th century the
Transfiguration Cathedral, which has survived to this day, and the
unpreserved princely palace were erected - approximately where the
monument to Alexander Nevsky is now. At the turn of the 19th and 20th
centuries. The development of Sovetskaya Street was formed, where you
can see interesting mansions and pre-revolutionary public buildings. The
side streets are occupied by modern houses and are of exclusively
ethnographic interest.
1 Savior Transfiguration Cathedral , Red
Square, 3. ☎ +7 (48535) 3-81-00. from May to September 10:00–18:00
except Mon. 80 rub. Built in 1152-57. Along with the Church of Boris and
Gleb in Kideksha, it is the oldest surviving temple in Central Russia,
and in Russia in general, after the St. Sophia Cathedral of Veliky
Novgorod. The value of the Transfiguration Cathedral is that it has
reached us practically unchanged and shows where ancient Russian
architecture began. The forms of the cathedral and its decor are
extremely laconic, and in this way it differs from the white stone
churches of Vladimir and the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl,
built in the same century, but 20-30 years later, which, despite all the
architectural similarities, look completely different. There are now
only white walls inside, but the temple was once painted, and these
pre-Mongol frescoes were even discovered in the middle of the 19th
century, but at the end of that century they were mediocrely lost - only
a small fragment remained in the Moscow Historical Museum. The temple
icon “Transfiguration” (15th century), attributed to the brush of
Theophanes the Greek, also ended up in the museum - the Tretyakov
Gallery, so now you won’t see anything special inside the cathedral,
although it’s still worth going there: like other pre-Mongol churches,
the temple is very spacious. From a distance the cathedral is not
visible, but close up there is a good view of it both from Red Square
and from the city rampart. In front of the cathedral is a monument to
Alexander Nevsky, erected in 1958. Since 2015, the walls of the
cathedral have remained without whitewash, and ancient inscriptions are
visible.
2 Church of Metropolitan Peter, Red Square. 6. The only
tented church in Pereslavl was built in 1584 in a somewhat archaic style
with a narrow tent on a wide quadrangle, also surrounded by an external
gallery. A low bell tower in the classical style was added at the
beginning of the 19th century. It is believed that the church was
erected on the site of a wooden one, which, in turn, marked either the
place where the relics of Metropolitan Peter of Moscow were found, or
the place of the trial of this metropolitan, against whom a rival Tver
hierarch wrote a denunciation at the beginning of the 14th century. The
church was restored during Soviet times, later it was transferred to the
Russian Orthodox Church and is now, in fact, abandoned. Services are
occasionally held in the empty building, long since deprived of frescoes
and any interiors at all. The rest of the time the church is closed.
3 Churches of the former Sretensky Monastery, st. Sovetskaya, 12. In
the middle of the 17th century, when Pereslavl practically lost its
political and defensive significance, a monastery was created on Red
Square. The Vladimir Cathedral and the Church of Alexander Nevsky have
been preserved from him. Both churches were built in the 1740s, have
five domes and look almost identical: only the domes of the Vladimir
Cathedral are larger. Now that the churches are also painted the same
dark red color, it is difficult to distinguish them, although this may
have been the original intention. The monastery was abolished back in
1764; only a fragment of the wall, which now houses a souvenir shop,
reminds of it. The interior of the temples was completely destroyed
during Soviet times and has not yet been restored. The inside is quite
nice; in the Church of Alexander Nevsky, the stove next to the altar is
especially nice.
4 Men’s gymnasium building, st. Sovetskaya, 3. The
three-story building (1914) is an expressive monument of brick Art
Nouveau. Even now, a hundred years later, for a city like Pereslavl it
looks unexpectedly large. Across the road are a couple of smaller
pre-revolutionary buildings, also former school buildings. In the one
that is closer to the bridge over Trubezh, at one time there was
Pereslavl University, which was closed in 2017 due to the lack of
students willing to study there.
5 Pavlova Estate, st. Sovetskaya,
5. A beautiful wooden mansion, now occupied by the administration of the
Pereslavl municipal district, once belonged to the merchant and
industrialist Sergei Petrovich Pavlov, whose weaving and dyeing factory
was located immediately behind the city rampart - where the LIT plant is
now. Along with the already mentioned building of the men's gymnasium,
this is one of the best monuments of civil architecture in Pereslavl.
The fishing settlement along the banks of Trubezh was formed almost
in ancient Russian times, and the same fishermen who supplied vendace to
the royal table lived in it (others were simply forbidden to catch it).
Historically, this area was made of wood, and to this day it is
dominated by private one-story buildings, mostly modern. Closer to the
lake shore there are luxurious houses that look more like villas.
Fishermen are also present.
6 Church of the Forty Martyrs of
Sebaste (Sorokosvyatskaya), st. Left embankment, 165. The Baroque church
built in 1755 is remarkable not so much for its architecture as for its
location at the mouth of Trubezh with a beautiful view of Lake
Pleshcheyevo. The church stands a little away from other Pereslavl
attractions; public transport does not go to it (like any other places
in Rybnaya Sloboda), but it is worth walking to it - especially if you
do not plan to travel around the outskirts of the city. In the 19th
century, opposite it, on the other side of the river, stood a second
church; together they acted as lighthouses. The bell tower offers views
of the city and lake.
7 Nikolsky Monastery (St. Nicholas Convent),
Gagarin St., 43. One of the oldest Pereslavl monasteries was founded in
the middle of the 14th century, owned lands at the mouth of Trubezh.
During the Time of Troubles it was destroyed by Polish troops, then
slowly restored. The surviving buildings date back to the middle of the
18th century - these are the five-domed Annunciation Church and the
gateway Peter and Paul Church. Both are painted yellow and attract
attention with narrow drums with tiny domes, which is a characteristic
feature of the Pereslavl Baroque. However, these churches pale in
comparison to the central church of the monastery, St. Nicholas
Cathedral, built in 1999-2003 in the traditions of Moscow churches of
the 16th century and regardless of the forms of the old St. Nicholas
Cathedral, destroyed during the years of Soviet power (in a similar
style, at about the same time and so The Assumption Cathedral in
Yaroslavl was “recreated” in a dubious way).
8 Monument to
Dostoevsky. Opened in June 2021 opposite the main entrance to the St.
Nicholas Monastery in honor of the 200th anniversary of the writer’s
birth. Although Fyodor Mikhailovich is in no way connected with
Pereslavl, the monument turned out to be impressive and forms a single
composition with a brick wall on which his main works are shown. The
writer is depicted with a candle in his hands and as if heading on a
pilgrimage to the St. Nicholas Monastery.
9 Smolensk Church (Church
of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God (Kornilievskaya)), st.
Gagarina, 27. The oldest (1705) building of Rybnaya Sloboda is located
next to the Nikolsky Monastery. The church was formerly part of the
Boris and Gleb Monastery “on the sands,” which was abolished in the 18th
century.
10 Znamenskaya Church, st. Trubezhnaya, 7a. The cheerful
and bright church (1998-2000), clearly visible from the city rampart,
was built according to a new design on the site of the Znamenskaya
(Nativity) Church “at the ships” (1788), that is, next to the city
shipyard. The church is still popularly known as the “wine store,” since
a trading establishment of this particular profile existed in its place
during Soviet times.
A kilometer from the earthen rampart, Sovetskaya Street, which by
this time had become Kardovsky Street, begins to climb a hill, turning
into Moskovskaya Street and, finally, directly into the highway to
Moscow. The area to the right of the road (to the west) has been known
since ancient times as Podgornaya Sloboda, and to the left (to the east)
as Sokolinaya or Sokolskaya, in the past the royal estate, where falcon
pomytchiks lived, who bred birds for falconry.
11 Dendrological
Garden named after. S.F. Kharitonov, per. Moscow. 9:00–18:00. 100 rub.
The Pereslavl Arboretum was created in 1960 through the efforts of
forester Sergei Fedorovich Kharitonov. Now the area of the arboretum is
58 hectares, a walk through it will take at least 1.5 hours, and for
those who do not want to walk, bicycle rental is available at the
entrance (100 rubles/hour). The territory is divided into sections by
region - the Caucasus, the Far East and even North America. In some
places there are traces of landscaping in the form of wooden floorings
and rather primitive sculptures, but further from the entrance the park
becomes wilder, so in the summer you can, for example, pick mushrooms
there. May 2018 edit
12 Fedorovsky Monastery, st. Moskovskaya,
85. This is the first monastery that travelers will encounter when
entering the city from Moscow. Founded in memory of the battle between
the troops of the Moscow and Tver princes, which took place in 1304 on
the day of Theodore Stratilates (June 8). The monastery enjoyed great
attention from the reigning persons. In 1557, Ivan the Terrible ordered
the construction of the Fedorovsky Cathedral here in honor of the birth
of his son, Tsarevich Fedor, a large five-domed temple of the Moscow
type, somewhat distorted by the galleries added in the 19th century. At
the end of the 17th century, the associates of Princess Sophia were
exiled to the monastery, and a little later the sister of Peter I
Natalya took over the monastery. The Vvedenskaya (1710) and Kazan (1714)
churches belong to this time, both small and rather inconspicuous, as
well as massive cell buildings in the spirit of ancient Russian
chambers: they are also in other Pereslavl monasteries, but here they
are the largest and most impressive, although, to Unfortunately, they
were restored only from the outside and are still abandoned from the
inside.
13 Goritsky Monastery , lane. Museum, 4. The only Pereslavl
monastery that was not destroyed during Soviet times and was maintained
in good condition as a museum-reserve. The regional museum is here now,
although the monastery is being transferred in parts to the Russian
Orthodox Church and is already inhabited by nuns. It was founded, like
some other Pereslavl monasteries, in the 14th century. The oldest
building that has reached us is the Church of All Saints (1683),
decorated with massive stone architraves, with five narrow domes. The
refectory adjacent to the church was also built at the end of the 17th
century, but has since been extensively rebuilt. Two more buildings from
the same period are the intricate entrance gates and the small church of
St. Nicholas the Wonderworker standing next to them, both are patterned
monuments, and gates built in this style are rarely found in Russian
architecture. In 1744, the monastery was closed and turned into the
residence of the Pereslavl bishop, which led to rapid construction and
even the demolition of some old churches. The Assumption Cathedral
(1750-59) and the Church of Gethsemane, which has not survived but was
not inferior in size, appeared, connecting the cathedral with the Church
of All Saints, thereby creating a huge temple complex worthy of an
episcopal residence. Both temples were made in the Baroque style. After
the abolition of the Pereslavl diocese in 1788, the reverse process
began. It was decided to demolish the Church of Gethsemane at the
beginning of the 19th century, less than 100 years after its
construction! The rest of the churches eked out a rather miserable
existence, and no one really looked after the appearance of the
monastery; only in the 18th century, in the middle of the northern wall,
an inappropriate bell tower was built in the spirit of classicism
(1770s). Now the monastery looks extremely eclectic, sometimes better
from afar than up close (the best views are from the Blue Stone, on the
opposite shore of Lake Pleshcheevo), but you should visit it for the
beautiful scenery and interesting museum.
14 Danilov Monastery, st.
Lugovaya, 17. This inconspicuous monastery stands away from the roads.
Meanwhile, it houses one of the oldest churches in Pereslavl. The
monastery was founded in 1508, in 1530-32. A single-domed Trinity
Cathedral was built, and in the second half of the 17th century a hipped
bell tower was added to it. In 1671-74. The cathedral was painted by an
artel led by Gury Nikitin, who was also involved in the decoration of
churches in Suzdal, Rostov, Yaroslavl and Kostroma. These frescoes have
been partially preserved, although it is not entirely clear how to see
them, since in winter the cathedral is completely closed, and in summer
it is open, apparently, only during services. At the very end of the
17th century, two very unusual churches were built in the monastery -
the Church of the Praise of the Virgin Mary (1695) with a huge refectory
building with a rather eclectic stone decor, and the Church of All
Saints (1687) with a large drum and an almost spherical dome resembling
a drop. The long cell building in the style of ancient Russian chambers
dates back to 1696, and the partially preserved walls and towers were
built at the beginning of the 18th century.
15 Sretenskaya Church,
st. Moskovskaya, 11. The church in the style of classicism (1775) is
clearly visible from the highway to Moscow.
16 Chapel “Cross”, 133rd
km of Yaroslavskoe highway (before the traffic police post and the
Pereslavl bypass fork, 3 km from the bus station). The small chapel at
the entrance to Pereslavl from Moscow has an ancient history. It was
erected either in the 16th or 17th centuries in honor of Theodore
Stratilates and at the site of the conception of Tsarevich Fedor. Later
the chapel fell into disrepair and in the 1880s. was restored or, more
correctly, rebuilt from old materials by the architect V.V. Suslov. The
result was a harmonious and not entirely ordinary structure,
demonstrating the connection between the pseudo-Russian style that was
dominant at the end of the 19th century and classical ancient Russian
architecture. Particularly interesting here are the tent-roofed
finishes, which are rarely found in chapels, and the very fact that the
chapel has no walls, but is, in fact, a canopy under which there used to
be a cross (hence the name).
At the beginning of Rostovskaya Street, the characteristic buildings
of a county town of the 19th century have been preserved, and in
general, on the right bank of the Trubezh there are most old buildings,
which, however, are unlikely to become the object of your close
interest.
17 Church of Simeon the Stylite , st. Rostovskaya, 16.
Built in 1771, it is considered an example of Pereslavl baroque. Pay
attention to the heads of the angels above the second-floor windows and
the general character of the decor, in which the influence of the palace
architecture of the St. Petersburg suburbs is felt.
18 Pokrovskaya
Church, st. Pleshcheevskaya, 13 (right bank of Trubezh). Another example
of Pereslavl baroque, a small single-domed church built in 1789.
19 Temerin Estate, lane. Krasny, 10 (behind the Church of Simeon the
Stylite). The Temerin family owned a linen manufactory in Pereslavl. The
main house from their estate has been preserved, which now houses the
military registration and enlistment office. This is a mansion in the
classicist style, strongly reminiscent of the end of the 18th century,
but due to the “lag” of styles characteristic of the province, it was
most likely built in the middle of the 19th. Nearby is an old utility
building, formerly a manor outbuilding, and a small grove along
Krivokolenny Lane, left over from the manor park. On its northern
border, next to Trudovaya Street, the ruins of a manufactory dating back
to the 18th century have been preserved.
20 Monument to Lenin,
People's Square. The non-canonical monument, erected in 1929, depicts
Lenin standing in front of a podium. Pay attention to the rather angry
expression on the leader’s face and the bas-relief plaques at the base
of the monument, which border closely on naive art. The monument stands
in front of the former mansion of the merchant Rastorguev, which housed
the Public Assembly and the Palace of Pioneers.
1 Pereslavl Museum-Reserve, lane. Museum, 4 (Goritsky Monastery). ☎
+7 (48535) 3-81-00. 10:00–17:00 except Mon; from May to September until
18:00 (the monastery itself is open daily). single ticket: 350 rubles,
bell tower: 100 rubles, Assumption Cathedral: 100 rubles. In terms of
size and content, this museum is far from provincial level. Its main
exhibitions are located in the Goritsky Monastery. The museum was
created in 1919, immediately after the revolution, so icons and utensils
from closed churches and even furniture from nationalized noble estates
managed to get here. The most important collections are ancient Russian
icons of the 16th-17th centuries. and wooden sculpture of the 16th-19th
centuries. Among the latter there are not only figures of saints from
closed churches, but also completely secular images that were used to
decorate houses and fences in villages (outside the walls of the museum,
in a real living environment, there apparently are no such sculptures
left). The interior of the Assumption Cathedral is remarkable, with a
huge carved iconostasis from the mid-18th century (open only from May to
September). You can also view objects of decorative and applied art,
Russian painting of the 18th-20th centuries, an exhibition dedicated to
the nature of the Zalessk region in the context of Darwin’s theory, and
climb the bell tower (from May to September), which offers a wonderful
view of Lake Pleshcheyevo. A single ticket is expensive in the capital
and only makes sense if you want to see the entire museum. The
museum-reserve also includes: the Transfiguration Cathedral, the Botik
of Peter I, the Ganshin estate and the exhibition center “On
Rostovskaya”.
2 Cultural and Exhibition Center “On Rostovskaya”, st.
Rostovskaya, 10. ☎ +7 (48535) 3-24-94. During opening hours of the main
museum. Temporary exhibitions, mainly from the funds of the
museum-reserve.
3 Radio Museum, st. Podgornaya, 40. 10:00–18:00
except Mon. 200 rub. Unlike other Pereslavl museums, here the creator of
the collection is both a curator and a guide. He repaired with his own
hands all the radios on display in the museum. Reviews from visitors are
not just good, but enthusiastic.
4 Iron Museum , st. Sovetskaya,
11. 10:00–18:00. 140 rub. The first private museum in Pereslavl
collected all possible types of old irons, providing them with funny
comments and a 10-minute tour, in which there are more jokes and fiction
than dry historical facts, but most visitors just like this style. If
you came to Pereslavl for the sake of monasteries and churches, then you
can look at the old irons another time somewhere at a flea market, but
for a wider audience with only a superficial interest in architecture,
the museum is very suitable; it is not for nothing that on the wave of
success the same authors opened the museum teapots in Veskovo (see Lake
Pleshcheyevo), after which similar museums began to grow in Pereslavl
like mushrooms.
5 Museum of cunning and ingenuity (Museum of
Crafts), st. Sovetskaya, 14b (center). 150 rub. Old devices, mechanisms
and simply household items, showing how in ancient times complex
technical problems were solved with the help of cunning and ingenuity.
It is similar in meaning to the iron museum, but is less popular with
visitors.
6 Museum of Antique Sewing Machines, st. Kardovskogo, 23.
10:00–18:00. 120-150 rub. The name of the museum speaks for itself: they
show old sewing machines and what they did with them. Cutting and sewing
courses are offered for those interested.
7 Alexander Nevsky Museum,
per. Museum, 9 (next to the Goritsky Monastery). 10:00–17:00 except Mon.
150 rub. If all the other private museums in Pereslavl are technical and
in some places resemble a junk shop, then here the creators aimed at the
sacred, or rather the saint, recreating (to the best of their
understanding) the historical situation of the 12th-13th centuries. The
museum displays a model of Pereslavl from the time of Alexander Nevsky,
armor of Russian, Mongolian and Teutonic warriors, orders and medals of
Alexander Nevsky, as well as icons with his image. There is no need to
talk about the authenticity of these items.
8 Museum of Peasant
Design “Horse in a Coat” , st. Konnaya, 17. ☎ +7 (915) 437-35-62.
10:00–18:00. 70 rub. (children), 150 rub. (adult). Private ethnographic
museum. It is apparently impossible to explore without a tour, but
visitors are satisfied with the excursions.
9 Berendey House, st. Uritskogo, 38 (at the exit from the city
towards Rostov). ☎ +7 (48535) 6-20-69. Arts and crafts center in a
stylized wooden house. They conduct master classes and various festive
events. There is also a cafe here, but judging by the reviews, it is not
very good.
10 Russian Park , st. Moskovskaya (opposite the bus
station). ☎ +7 (48535) 6-33-88. 300 rub. Lubochnaya Russian village, in
which several small museums are organized - the museum of Russian fun
“Petrushka”, a house-dacha in the Russian style with an exhibition of
noble women’s costumes, a museum of proverbs and sayings, a
museum-tasting of kvass and an exhibition “What the Russians were the
first in the world to invent”, as well as master classes, souvenir shops
and, of course, the Russian cuisine cafe “Ryapushka”, which visitors
strongly do not recommend. In some houses, traditional wood painting has
been recreated, although if you look at these houses from the outside,
it is not entirely clear what the authors took as a model.
11 City
beach, at the end of the street. Kuznetsov (north of the Trubezh mouth).
The shallow depth of Lake Pleshcheevo is unlikely to please those who
love large bodies of water. However, you can swim in the lake. In
summer, the city beach is quite crowded, but local residents prefer to
go to the Blue Stone or even to the opposite shore of the lake, where
there are quieter and more comfortable places.
By train
There is a direct train from Moscow to Pereslavl, but
only once a day (in the morning - there, in the evening - back) and only
on weekends and holidays. Travel time from Moscow is about 3 hours.
Along the way, the train (rail bus RA-2, tickets are sold with seats)
makes two stops: in Aleksandrov and at Berendeevo station.
If you
are heading to Pereslavl from the north, you can take the train to
Rostov and transfer to the bus.
1 Railway station, at the end of
the street. Pushkin (2.5 km from the center). The dead-end line to
Pereslavl was built for freight traffic and only recently adapted for
passenger traffic. For this reason, the station is located on the
outskirts of the city and there is no infrastructure around it. The
easiest way to get to the center is to walk or take a taxi. You can also
walk forward along the street. Pushkina to the intersection with the
street. Svoboda, where buses No. 7,8,9 go (stop “Khlebozavod”).
By bus
All buses traveling from Moscow towards Yaroslavl and further
to Kostroma, Rybinsk, Tutaev stop in Pereslavl. These buses depart
either from the Shchelkovskaya bus station or from the Northern Gate bus
station; On average, at least once an hour, it takes 2 hours to get to
Pereslavl (subject to traffic jams). In the direction of Yaroslavl there
are also mainly transit buses, and somewhat less frequently than in the
direction of Moscow. It takes 1 hour 15 minutes to get to Rostov, and a
little more than 2 hours to Yaroslavl.
Several times a day there
are direct flights to Sergiev Posad (1.5 hours), which Moscow buses pass
along a bypass. The rest of the transport is suburban. If you need to go
to Uglich, go through Yaroslavl. If you are in the Vladimir region, plan
a separate trip: buses from Pereslavl have not been going there for a
long time, and it will not be easy to hitchhike.
2 Bus station,
st. Moskovskaya, 113. ☎ +7 (48535) 2-30-75. 4:00–21:00. It is located at
the entrance to the city from Moscow, which is inconvenient for
travelers, since the center is at least 3 km from here. The walk is not
without meaning, along the road there will be three monasteries, an
arboretum and many more interesting things, but sooner or later you will
want to take city buses No. 1, No. 6 or No. 7, following Moskovskaya
Street to the city rampart and Red Square. Near the bus station there is
a grocery supermarket and a burger joint “Marusya”, which is a decent
fast food place, and across the road is the Armenian cafe “Ani”.
By car
Pereslavl is located on the M8 highway, i.e. on Yaroslavskoe
highway. It is 137 km from Moscow, the road is mostly four-lane
(although there are regular traffic jams on the way out of Moscow), the
two-lane section begins 30 km before Pereslavl. There are another 120 km
to Yaroslavl, the road is mostly two-lane, but with a wide shoulder,
which is actually used as an additional lane.
To the southeast, a
badly broken asphalt road leads to Yuryev-Polsky (75 km), and to the
west, an equally bad road along Lake Pleshcheevo leads to the highway to
Uglich, which is 130 km away.
There are 10 bus routes in the city, of which only one (actually, No.
1) runs often enough to be convenient to use. During the day, the
traffic interval is 8-10 minutes. This bus goes straight along the
Yaroslavskoye Highway from the bus station through the center to Uritsky
Street, about a kilometer before the turn to Nikitskaya Sloboda. The
fare is quite affordable, 22 rubles. (2020), payment to the driver upon
exit.
In Pereslavl itself, a city bus will be enough for you, but
for trips around the surrounding area you need a taxi.
If you are
traveling by car, please note that parking is prohibited along the
entire Yaroslavskoye Highway, and traffic police enforce this quite
strictly. You can leave your car in one of the side streets, and in the
center the most convenient parking is on the south side of Red Square
near the Church of Peter the Metropolitan. They drive there along
Proezdnaya Street or from the bridge over Trubezh along the inner side
of the city rampart.
Private museums and the above-mentioned craft and entertainment
centers are richest in souvenirs. You can also buy some things at the
Pereslavl Museum.
Raw and smoked fish are sold everywhere; there
are several shops right along the highway. The prices are high, aimed at
Muscovites. If you have a car, drive along the lake towards Kupanskoye,
where you can sometimes buy fresh fish directly from those who caught
it, which will be much cheaper.
There are regular grocery stores
throughout the city, and you can also check out the city market. In
addition, if you are driving from the direction of Moscow, do not speed
up in the villages of Glebovskoye and Novoe on the highway before
Pereslavl: there are cameras at every step and (regardless of them)
spontaneous trade takes place. Local residents sell everything that
grows in the surrounding forests and local vegetable gardens. These
markets are especially good in late summer and autumn, when the
selection includes impressive pumpkins and onions braided into huge
braids.
1 Supermarket “Pyaterochka”, Krasny per. 9 (deep down
the block from the Church of Simeon the Stylite). 9:00–23:00. The
largest grocery store in the city center.
2 Market, st. Svobody, 12.
The main shopping area in the center of Pereslavl. It consists of shops
selling household goods, furniture, tools, but there is also a grocery
part that resembles a market.
3 Sunday market (Pereslavl trading
yard), st. Mendeleeva, 52 (on the north-eastern outskirts of the city, a
couple of kilometers from the center). Sun 8:00–14:00. The Sunday market
is a long-standing Pereslavl tradition and a place that performs not so
much a trading, but a social function. Private owners and small
producers from all over the area come here. The prices are higher than
store prices, but you can find something not quite ordinary or at least
have a conversation. Previously, this market was almost in the center
right on the highway, but then it was moved to the outskirts. If you get
here, you will be able to see an unusual Pereslavl, built up with
Soviet-era apartment buildings: this is the area of the Slavich plant,
the territory of which begins directly across the road.
Most cafes and restaurants in Pereslavl are conveniently located
along the Yaroslavl highway and even evenly distributed along its entire
length, from the bus station in the south to Troitskaya Sloboda in the
north. You can also eat (with varying degrees of comfort and pleasure)
in country motels.
Cheap
In the city there are grocery stores
“Dixie”, “Kopeyka”, “Magnit”, where you can always buy inexpensive food.
On Rostovskaya Street there is an excellent store of the Pereslavl
Bakery.
1 Cafe-pizzeria “Pinocchio”, st. Svobody, 3 (center).
10:00–22:00. Large pizza: 200-250 rub. Almost fast food, but the pizza
is baked on site. During the day it can be crowded and therefore you
will have to wait a long time for pizza. In addition to pizza, the menu
includes salads, desserts and soft drinks: some visitors recommend this
establishment as a children's cafe. Wi-Fi.
2 Dining room “Visit”,
st. Rostovskaya, 36 (opposite the Pereslavl Hotel, in the northern part
of the city). 8:00–20:00. Hot: about 100 rub. An authentic Soviet
canteen with good food for very modest money, the cheapest place in the
city. Nearby is a culinary store where tourists buy pies en masse.
3 Dining room “On Sovetskaya”, st. Sovetskaya, 35 / st. Committeeskaya,
22 (center). 8:00–19:00. Hot: 100-150 rub. Contrary to its name, it is
not located directly on Sovetskaya, but in the courtyard of the Old Town
business center. Unlike the previous one, the dining room is relatively
new and therefore more comfortable. Prices are also a little higher, but
the quality, if you believe the reviews, is at the same level.
4 Dining room (Khutorok), st. Moskovskaya, 1 (next to the turn to
Botik). 8:00–20:00. A roadside eatery, and located accordingly.
Conflicting reviews.
Average cost
5 Cafe “Monpensier” , st.
Sovetskaya, 10 (center). 9:00–21:00. Hot: 300-500 rub. Cozy furnishings
in the style of the early 20th century and a well-chosen menu of Russian
cuisine, but the main reason to come here is the summer veranda
overlooking the Transfiguration Cathedral and Red Square. Wi-Fi.
6 Cafe “Pirog&Borsch”, st. Kardovskogo, 3. 10:00–20:00. Hot: from 250
rub. The cafe is somewhat reminiscent of the pie shops that have
proliferated in the capitals. The original name, the interior of an old
country house and good pies are accompanied by average quality hot food
and inconsistent opening hours. Bad reviews prevail.
7 Restaurant
“Herling Tsarsky Ambassador”, st. Kardovskogo, 22. 9:00–21:00. Herring
dishes: within 300 rubles, the rest is more expensive. The creativity is
felt right in the name and is continued in the menu, half of which is
dedicated to herring of all types, including boiled and even frozen. If
you limit yourself to herring, the prices are low, fortunately this is
an ordinary herring from a store, and not the fish that was once
delivered to the royal table from Lake Pleshcheyevo. There is also
non-herring food, but at the prices of a good Pereslavl restaurant.
8 Cafe Fit, st. Rostovskaya, 27 (in the center). 8:00–24:00. Located in
the Pereslavl Hotel, but it feeds not only guests. In the morning, they
offer a buffet breakfast for 250 rubles. The rest of the time they
operate as a restaurant, with European and Russian cuisine on the menu.
Good feedback.
Expensive
There are restaurants open late with
Moscow prices at many Pereslavl hotels. All of them are of acceptable
quality, but they do not cause delight among visitors.
9 Panoramic restaurant, st. Prigorodnaya 10-B (Victoria Plaza Hotel).
11:00–23:00. Hot: from 400 rub. It differs from other hotel restaurants
in that it is located on the roof with an excellent view of Lake
Pleshcheyevo. Caucasian and Russian cuisine, reviews from visitors are
reserved. Live music and karaoke in the evenings.
10 Coffee house “Delicious Peresville”, Sovetskaya st. 8.
8:00–21:00. A cafe and farm products store from the well-known cheese
factory Maria Koval. Mainly coffee, sweets and refrigerators with
cheese, but for those who wish there is also a small selection of
original hot food - for example, a goat burger. Visitors praise the
cakes very much and are not happy with everything else.
11 Cafe
“Vysoko” , st. Rostovskaya, 1a (2nd floor). 9:00–21:00. Coffee: about
100 rubles, burgers: 300-350 rubles. “The Cheerful Cafe of
Pereslavl-Zalessky” specializes in coffee: there are a dozen varieties
of beans and competent baristas who are ready to talk about them. The
atmosphere is reminiscent of an American coffee shop, but for some
reason there is also a small menu with hot food: they cook borscht, make
burgers, and in the morning they can fry eggs. Good feedback.
12 Pizzeria “Via Romano” , st. Rostovskaya, 1. 10:00–22:00. An
ordinary provincial fast food with pizza would not be worth special
mention if it did not have a bakery with fresh and inexpensive pastries,
as well as cheap and passable coffee. Visitors are skeptical about the
pizza itself.
13 La Forêt Cafe, st. Rostovskaya, 1a (1st floor).
9:00–20:00. The French confectionery in Pereslavl-Zalessky is still
surreal, but everything falls into place when you see the prices: at the
level of a good Moscow coffee shop, although the hall is self-service
and outside is Trubezh, and not Paris at all. The establishment has some
reasons to be proud; it was set up by a French pastry chef. It is not
entirely clear, however, whether he works in the city constantly or only
occasionally. Mostly good reviews.
At night in Pereslavl there is a daily cycle of services in
monasteries. It is interesting to visit the shore of the lake and listen
to the sounds of nature at night. Medieval buildings look beautiful in
the moonlight. There are also nightclubs, although people usually come
to Pereslavl not for alcohol and disco.
1 Escobar , pl.
Mendeleeva, 4 (in the northern part of the city). 18:00–6:00. On
weekdays it is a cafe-bar, open until about 3 am (sometimes it closes
earlier, but is open until at least 1:30), on weekends it is a club with
a working kitchen. On Fridays, some tables are without a deposit, on
Saturdays, all tables are deposited (from 5,000 rubles per table). The
club is popular, there is almost no free space in the hall, and the hall
itself is small. Good food and hookahs, prices in the bar are at Moscow
level or higher. The security works fine, the contingent is decent, but
showdowns on the porch are also not uncommon.
2 Mix Bar (4rest),
Rostovskaya st. 27. Fri–Sat 21:00–4:00. Operates as a bar, hookah bar,
night club and karaoke. Uses two rooms: one is reserved for karaoke
(it’s quieter here), the other is for a nightclub. The sound equipment
is of decent quality, the dance floor is spacious. There is a kitchen
and you can choose your hookah by strength. There are not very many
visitors, the halls are quite spacious, although there are not always
free tables. Contingent 30-35+. Face control is loyal.
You can go from Moscow to Pereslavl for one day. If you decide to
stay overnight, there are many hotels at your service, mostly in the
mid-price category. Almost all Pereslavl hotels are small and private.
There have never been large foreign tourist hotels in the city, tours
along the Golden Ring traditionally stop somewhere else, and Pereslavl
itself has always been more oriented towards independent travelers.
There are many places to stay overnight along the shores of Lake
Pleshcheevo, see the corresponding article.
Cheap
On any
street you can ask who rents out rooms for the night. It's usually
inexpensive.
1 Station for young tourists, st. Kardovsky, 5
(center). ☎ +7 (48535) 9-85-32. Soviet-style hostel. Mostly triple
rooms, shared toilet and shower.
2 Hotel of the cultural and
entertainment complex, st. 50 let Komsomol, 16B (in the northern part of
the city). ☎ +7 (48535) 3-77-37. 600 rubles/person or about 2000 rubles
for a double room. Multiple hostel-style rooms and separate rooms with
bathroom and kitchen, more reminiscent of apartments. There is a sauna
and swimming pool.
3 House of Creativity named after. Kardovskogo,
st. Moskovskaya, 30 (Podgornaya Sloboda). ☎ +7 (48535) 2-38-51, +7 (910)
663-25-83. Double room: 1200-1800 rub. A boarding house for artists on
the basis of the former estate of Kardovsky, a Russian and Soviet
graphic artist, a native of Pereslavl. Rooms with amenities. The guests
are generally satisfied.
4 Motel “Navigator”, st. Mayakovsky, 1 (in
the northern part of the city). ☎ +7 (48535) 3-64-15, +7 (48535)
3-64-09. 400-500 rubles/person, double without amenities: 1300 rubles.
The hostel has bunk beds, although there are also several private rooms,
some with private facilities. Good feedback.
Average cost
5 Hotel “Pereslavl” , st. Rostovskaya, 27 (in the center). ☎ +7 (495)
272-01-40, +7 (48535) 3-26-87. Double room: 2000-2400 rub. The largest
hotel in the city, built back in Soviet times, although since then it
has been well renovated. The conditions are not bad, but there are many
complaints about noise. Free Wi-Fi. Fit Cafe (separate entrance, open
until 20:00), lobby bar (in the hotel lobby on the ground floor, open
until 23:00).
6 Hotel “Zapadnaya”, st. Pleshcheevskaya, 1a (in the
center). ☎ +7 (48535) 3-43-78, +7 (48535) 3-43-95. Double room: from
2650 rub. A modern hotel in a two-story wooden house. Wi-Fi, free
parking. Good feedback.
7 Hotel “Forest Fairy Tale”, the town of
Krest (5 km towards Moscow). ☎ +7 (48535) 2-32-07. Double room: 2500
rub. Country hotel in a nice location in the middle of the forest and at
the same time next to the road. There are places to go for a walk, but
the guests don’t really like the rooms, and even less so the local
restaurant. Problems with water.
8 Guest house “Wind Rose”, lane.
Pochtovy, 3 (next to the bus station). ☎ +7 (48535) 6-05-55, +7 (48535)
2-34-85. Single/double room: from 1500/2400 rub. A small hotel without
any frills, good reviews.
9 Motel “Albitsky Garden”, st.
Kardovskogo, 21 (in the center). ☎ +7 (48535) 3-14-30. Double room:
2000-2500 rub. Small hotel. It is best known for its restaurant, but the
accommodations here seem to be quite good.
10 Hotel “Victoria
Plaza”, st. Prigorodnaya, 10B (Borisoglebskaya Sloboda, 2 km from the
center). ☎ +7 (48535) 6-00-37. Double room: from 2500 rub. The hotel,
large by Pereslavl standards, is located in a new building and is
designed quite modernly: there is a children's playroom and a rooftop
cafe with panoramic views of Lake Pleshcheyevo. Some rooms have the same
view, while others have the same view of the noisy Yaroslavl highway.
Wi-Fi.
11 Hotel “Troika”, st. Sadovaya, 10 (center). ☎ +7 (48535)
3-01-01, +7 (965) 725-01-01. Double room: from 2300 rub. A new hotel
located a stone's throw from the Church of St. Peter the Metropolitan.
Own cafe and restaurant. Breakfast, free parking and Wi-fi. Good
feedback. Nov 2020 edit
12 Hotel “Orchid”, st. Kuznechnaya, 23 (a
little north of the center). ☎ +7 (920) 107-76-15, +7 (920) 105-44-73.
Double room: from 1550 rub. A small hotel, essentially a guest house.
Shared kitchen with free tea and coffee.
Expensive
13 Art
hotel (cottage “At the Artists”) , Bolshaya Protechnaya st. 45. ☎ +7
(910) 979-07-06, +7 (915) 989-44-91. Double room or separate house: from
5000 rub. A small private hotel with highly artistic decoration, but,
judging by the reviews, a low level of comfort. You can choose from a
double room, a separate house or a cottage. According to guests, the
price hardly meets the conditions.
Pereslavl is similar to the cities near Moscow and poses no danger
either day or night, unless you are looking for adventure.
There
are practically no asphalt roads in the historical part of the city,
with one exception - the very busy Yaroslavl Highway. There are no
sidewalks on the south bank of the river. You will have to walk either
on a dirt (sandy) road or on gravel, so choose comfortable shoes.
Post office, st. Svobody, 1. Mon–Fri 8:00–20:00, Sat 9:00–18:00.
A classic post office, little changed since Soviet times, but
offering Internet access.
Wi-Fi is available in many city cafes.
Pereslavl-Zalessky was founded in 1152 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky
as the future capital of North-Eastern Rus'.
The prince
founded a city on a swampy plain, huge by the standards of that
time, with ramparts about 2.5 km long. There were no cities larger
in size than Pereslavl in North-Eastern Rus'. Only Vladimir is
comparable to it (the perimeter of the fortifications of Monomakhov,
or Pecherny, the city is also about 2.5 km). The perimeter of the
fortifications of Yuryev-Polsky is smaller - 2 km, in Suzdal even
smaller - 1.4 km. In Dmitrov (founded a little later than Pereslavl
- in 1154), Yaroslavl (Chopped City) and Przemysl in Moscow -
approx. 1 km, in Zvenigorod and Moscow (fortress of 1156) - about
800 m. Pereslavl-Zalessky was a very large city by the standards of
all of Rus'. Only Kyiv (the perimeter of the fortifications of the
city of Yaroslav at that time - about 3.5 km) and Smolensk (the city
of Rostislav - also about 3.5 km) were larger than it. The perimeter
of the fortifications of Novgorod and the “fortification” of Old
Ryazan is about 1.4 km.
The city received its original name -
Pereyaslavl - in honor of an older city - Pereyaslavl-Russian
(today's Pereyaslav on the territory of Ukraine), which, in turn,
was founded and named so by Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich. The
perimeter of the fortifications of Pereyaslavl-Russky was much
smaller than the city of Dolgoruky - about 1.5 km.
The city
founded by Yuri Dolgoruky was located behind the forests in Zalesye
- an area of fields and agriculture; therefore, an additional
definition was added to the name of the city: Pereyaslavl-Zalessky.
Since the 15th century, the pronunciation has changed to
Pereslavl-Zalessky.
Academician S.V. Zagraevsky noted that
both in terms of significance for culture and politics, and in terms
of labor costs and the burden on the Russian economy, the
construction by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1152 of his future capital “in a
bare place”, on swampy soil, was quite comparable with the
foundation by Peter I St. Petersburg. And it is very symbolic that
Peter built his first fleet on Lake Pleshcheyevo.
After the
death of Yuri Dolgoruky, Pereslavl-Zalessky lost its capital
functions, and its development stopped.
During the
restoration of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Pereslavl-Zalessky,
a 12th-century graffiti inscription was discovered containing the
names of 20 conspirators - the murderers of Prince Bogolyubsky,
starting with the names of the Kuchkovichs, and a description of the
circumstances of the murder.
The city remained one of the
most important destinies. Around 1220, Prince Alexander Nevsky was
born here.
During archaeological security surveys, a mass
grave of people was discovered in the city center. The similarity
with the mass graves in Yaroslavl suggests that they may have
perished during a Tatar raid in 1238.
In 1276-1294 (with a
break), Dmitry Alexandrovich Pereyaslavsky, son of Alexander Nevsky,
who reigned in Pereslavl, was the Grand Duke of Vladimir, although
his residence was still in Pereslavl. Thus, at this time
Pereslavl-Zalessky again became the de facto capital of
North-Eastern Rus'. In 1280, a council was held in Pereyaslavl with
the participation of North Russian bishops (Novgorod Archbishop
Clement, Rostov Bishop Ignatius and Vladimir Bishop Theodore),
Metropolitan Kirill III, who died there, and Grand Duke Dmitry
Alexandrovich of Pereyaslavl.
In 1302, after the death of
Prince Ivan Dmitrievich, the city, according to his will, went to
the Principality of Moscow. Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich
(Gorodetsky) tried to annex Pereyaslavl to his possessions, but a
charter from the Horde Khan in 1303 confirmed the rights of the
Moscow princes. In 1304, in the battle of Pereslavl-Zalessky, the
Tver detachment that besieged the city under the command of boyar
Akinfa was completely defeated by the united Moscow-Pereslavl army.
Pereyaslavl returned to the Grand Duchy of Vladimir.
In 1238
(after a five-day siege), 1252, 1281 and 1282 the city was taken and
plundered by the Horde. In 1294, the city was burned by the
Yaroslavl prince Fyodor Cherny. Beginning in 1302, the city was
governed by Moscow governors, and was sometimes given to visiting
princes for feeding. In 1372, the city settlement was burned out by
the raid of the Trok prince Keistut. In 1382, 1408 and 1419 the city
was again taken and plundered by the Horde.
In the 15th and
16th centuries, Pereslavl was the patrimony of the princes of Moscow
and was obliged to deliver fish to the court, which was reflected in
the city’s coat of arms. This fish, Pereslavl vendace, is a
delicious subspecies with a special taste that lives only in Lake
Pleshcheyevo and is currently listed in the Red Book of Russia and
the Red Book of the Yaroslavl Region. At the very beginning of the
14th century, according to the will of the last appanage prince Ivan
Dmitrievich, grandson of Alexander Nevsky, Pereyaslavl-Zalessky was
annexed to the Moscow principality. Documents indicate that
Pereyaslavl was one of the main suppliers of parchment manuscripts
for the needs of the Moscow Printing House. However, only a few
codes of local writing have reached us. The best of them is the
“Pereyaslav Gospel”, remarkable for its artistic design. The
manuscript contains five miniatures, one of which, “Savior in
Power,” is a real mystery for art historians. The exquisite floral
ornament has no analogues in books and is comparable only to the
decorative elements of the fresco painting of temples. The
manuscript was kept in the Pereslavl St. Nicholas Monastery “in the
swamp” (in the 19th century, its owner was Count F.A. Tolstoy, as
part of whose collection the book entered the Public Library in
1830).
In the fall of 1374, Moscow Prince Dmitry Ivanovich
organized a meeting of Russian princes and boyars in Pereslavl, at
which he first discussed the issue of ridding the country of the
Mongol-Tatar yoke.
In 1608, the fortress was destroyed by
Polish-Lithuanian invaders. The city suffered greatly during the
Time of Troubles.
In 1688, Tsar Peter I began the
construction of an amusing flotilla on Lake Pleshcheyevo, which was
the beginning of the Russian navy. In 1692, the construction of the
flotilla was completed and a ceremonial review was held.
In
1708 the city was assigned to the Moscow province. Since 1719 - the
center of the Pereslavl province of the Moscow province. Since 1778
- a district town of the Vladimir governorship, and then - the
Vladimir province.
Since 1929 - the center of the Pereslavl
district of the Ivanovo industrial region. Since 1936 - part of the
Yaroslavl region.
In 1884, a water supply system was built in
the city.
From 1872 to 1917 the city was governed by the city
council. In 1994 it was recreated.
In 1917, the first
newspaper in the city, Pereslavets, was published.
On March
17, 1944, Pereslavl-Zalessky received the status of a city of
regional subordination.
Pereslavl is located on Lake Pleshcheyevo, around which the national
park of the same name is formed. The main attractions of the park are
the Botik of Peter I, the ancient Nikitsky Monastery and Alexander
Mountain, which offers the best views of Lake Pleshcheyevo. In the woods
behind the lake there is a steam locomotive museum based on a former
narrow-gauge railway. If you want to go further, then from Pereslavl
roads lead to three other ancient Russian cities - Rostov the Great,
Yuryev-Polsky and Uglich, although the last two are difficult to get to
without a car. In the direction of Moscow there will be Sergiev Posad
with the famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra and quiet Alexandrov, where the
residence of Ivan the Terrible was once located.
The area around
Pereslavl is quite typical for Central Russia. In every second village
there is an old church, the ruins of a noble estate or something else
(see list), but there are only a few objects that deserve a special
trip:
1 Nikita Church in Elizarovo (30 km on the road to
Yuryev-Polsky). A tented church of the second half of the 16th century,
built, like many things in that period, in memory of the victory over
the Kazan Khanate. The church is much more elegant than its
contemporary, the Church of Peter the Metropolitan in Pereslavl, but,
unfortunately, its overall composition is spoiled by a large bell tower,
added in the middle of the 19th century. Nearby stands the Trinity
Church (1882-85), the work of the Vladimir architect, one of the first
researchers of ancient Russian architecture N.A. Artleben.
Ganshin Estate
2 Ganshins’ estate, village. Gorki (in the direction
of Yuryev-Polsky to Ryazantsevo and further to the southeast, only 33
km). 9:00–17:00 except Tues. 70 rub. Nationalized after the revolution
and destroyed in the 1920s. The estate of the Ganshin merchants would
have remained only in the old cadastral books if Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
had not been there, who came here in 1894 to visit the underground
workers who were publishing the future Bolshevik bestseller “What are
“friends of the people” and how do they fight against the Social
Democrats?” This seemingly insignificant episode inspired Pereslavl
workers so much that in the early 1960s they petitioned to recreate the
estate and organize a museum. Now here you can see the manor house and a
small hunting lodge, where Ilyich actually stayed. The museum exhibition
tells about the history of the Social Democratic movement in the context
of peasant life at the end of the 19th century. They also show a special
mimeograph machine on which the book was printed.
How to get there: A
commuter bus runs to Gorki (also known as Gorki Pereslavskie or
Leninskie Gorki) from Pereslavl, 4 times a day. Some flights can be
operated with a stop in Elizarovo, others stop only in Ryazantsevo, from
where it is another 3 km to Elizarovo.
3 Smolenskoe estate (40 km
from Pereslavl via Ryazantsevo or Berendeevo). The largest estate in the
Yaroslavl region has now turned out to be in remote places not far from
the Berendeyev swamp. The huge manor house was built in the 1770s. in a
semicircular shape, uncharacteristic for Russian estates. There is a
large park around it, now partially converted into a state farm garden.
At the far end of the park, closer to the railroad, is the original
"Island" pond, which is a ring-shaped pond with a round island in the
middle. According to legend, the pond was dug by French prisoners as a
sign of Russia's victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.
How to get
there: commuter buses go to Smolenskoye several times a day, more often
through Berendeevo than through Gorki-Ryazantsevo. Nearby is the square.
155 km of the Yaroslavl railway.
Berendeevo is a village that grew up
around a railway station and a now closed peat briquette plant. The
toponym “Berendeevo” comes from the Turkic tribe of Berendeys, resettled
to the Vladimir-Suzdal land under Yuri Dolgoruky. Traces of this tribe
were lost, but the toponym remained in the name of the large Berendeyev
swamp, located south of the railway. It was in this swamp that the
legendary Tsar Berendey lived, and it is quite reliably known that the
playwright A.N. Ostrovsky collected material here for the play “The Snow
Maiden”. In the middle of the swamp there was a hill called Wolf
Mountain, and now there is a village with the same name. In Soviet
times, active peat mining was carried out, a network of narrow-gauge
railways was built, now completely dismantled. Partially drained and
subsequently burned out due to unextinguished peat fires, the swamp is
the same pitiful sight as the emptying villages in its vicinity. The
brand of Tsar Berendey was successfully adopted in Pereslavl-Zalessky,
but Berendeyovo itself did not have time to use it or simply could not.
Pereslavl is located in the central part of the East European Plain (in the northeastern part of the Klin-Dmitrov ridge), on the southeastern shore of Lake Pleshcheevo, at the confluence of the Trubezh River, 21 km from the Berendeevo railway station, 124 km to the south west of Yaroslavl and 140 km northeast of Moscow.
Pereslavl-Zalessky is located in the MSC time zone (Moscow time). The applied time offset relative to UTC is +3:00. In accordance with the applied time and geographic longitude, average solar noon in Pereslavl-Zalessky occurs at 12:21.
The climate is moderate continental. Winter is cool, cloudy, with periodic thaws. Spring is fine, with the annual minimum precipitation. Summer is relatively warm, but short-lived. Autumn is usually stormy.
In the city there are factories of JSC "LIT Plant", LLC "PolyER" and
JSC "Company Slavich", LLC "Zalesye", LLC "Kangaroo", photochemical
workshop "Kodak", factory "New World", "Pereslavl Bakery" (part of
Agro-industrial corporation "Stoilenskaya Niva") and a number of other
enterprises. Most of the city's large enterprises belong to the chemical
industry complex. In Pereslavl-Zalessky, thermal insulation based on
polyethylene foam, coating materials based on aluminum foil, plastic
disposable tableware and plastic packaging, PS, PP, and PET tapes are
produced. The company produces technical textiles and machine
embroidery. Local mechanical engineering, the food industry, and the
production of building blocks using volumetric modular technology are
developed.
The city was famous for its tourist narrow-gauge
railway (Pereslavl is the starting point of departure). In 2005, the
road was dismantled. In 2021, restoration of a section of the
narrow-gauge railway along the southern shore of Lake Pleshcheevo began.
Starting from 2022, residents and guests of the city will have the
opportunity to ride a trolley on this site.
At the moment, there are 13 kindergartens, 7 secondary schools, 1
gymnasium, 5 additional education institutions, as well as 1 summer
children’s camp operating in the city.
There are also 3
vocational education institutions in the city:
Pereslavl College
named after. A. Nevsky
Vocational school No. 6
Vocational school
No. 37
From 1992 to 2017, a non-state university operated in the
city - the Institute of Software Systems “UGP named after A. K.
Ailamazyan”. The university opened on November 26, 1992 on the
initiative of academician Evgeniy Velikhov and professor Alfred
Ailamazyan. In 2017, the university was closed due to financial
difficulties.