Vereya, Russia

Vereya is located in the western part of the Moscow region, on the banks of the Protva River, almost on the border with the Kaluga region.

A cozy and picturesque town with the smallest population in the Moscow region is among the top popular places for a weekend trip from Moscow. The rich history, military past, starting with the ancient Russian principalities and ending with the invasion of Napoleon and fascist troops, preserved civil and temple buildings on the steep bend of the Protva form a small but amazingly significant ensemble of attractions.

One day is enough to visit the city; there are no crowds of tourists here, and this county town will surround and enchant the traveler who loves Russian history.

 

Orientation

Regular city and block planning arose in Vereya under the pressure of the well-known urban planning reforms of Catherine II. The main attractions are concentrated on the right high bank of the Protva near Leninskaya, 1st Sovetskaya and Krasnaya streets, and the core of the historical center is located around Sovetskaya Square. A pedestrian bridge leads to the opposite bank, to Zarechye, where private houses with carved platbands line the radial streets diverging from the Epiphany Church.

 

Sights

1  Fortified settlement “Vereisky Kremlin”.
2  Church of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem , st. Lesnaya, 3. A monument of Moscow architecture of the second half of the 17th century, one of the oldest buildings in the city. The modern church building was built in 1677-1679. like the cathedral of the Spassko-Vkhodsky Vereisky Monastery, which was abolished in 1764. The snow-white five-domed brick church on the basement has two levels: the lower Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, the upper - the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. A hipped bell tower adjoins the church from the north-west. A stone porch with lockers on jug-shaped pillars leads into the temple. The church was partially destroyed during Soviet times, all the paintings were destroyed. It was restored in the early 2010s. Now it is one of the most beautiful temples in the city with landscaped grounds. It is located in the northeastern part of Vereya, on the high bank of the Protva River. There is an observation deck.
3  Vereisky Museum of History and Local Lore, Sovetskaya Square, 18. entrance ticket 100 rub., excursions - 800 rub./person.

 

Getting here

By plane
The nearest major passenger airport is Vnukovo; there are no direct public transport flights. An alternative may be the Kaluga International Airport (Grabtsevo), which is quite sparse in its route network. K. E. Tsiolkovsky.

Plans to open for passenger traffic and develop the Ermilovo airport, which is located near the city, have been frozen.

By train
From Belorussky station to Dorokhovo station or Mozhaisk station. Next, take a regular bus or taxi. It is preferable to use Art. Dorokhovo, since it is closer to the city and regular buses run more often
From Kievsky station to Naro-Fominsk station, then by regular bus or taxi.

By car
Vereya is located a hundred kilometers from Moscow, you can drive along the Minsk M3 or the Kyiv highway M1. The Great Moscow Circle A108 runs not far from the city. Parking in the central part of the city is located near the bus station and the city administration building.

By bus
Buses from Moscow and from nearby large cities arrive at the city bus station quite often: Mozhaisk and Naro-Fominsk. Local service is available.

Comfortable buses on route No. 301 depart from Moscow (departure from the Park Pobedy metro station) from 8.00 to 20.00, departure period is 1.5-2 hours, travel time is about 2-2.5 hours. Tickets cost 321 rubles (2020); during the summer season, it is better to purchase tickets in advance.
1  Bus station, Sovetskaya Square, 7.

 

Hotels

Boarding house "Aquarelle".

 

Name

The name of the city is a Slavic word meaning “posts on which gate towels are hung,” “jamb, post at the door and at the gate.” In terms of its location, the city fully corresponded to this name, being, as it were, the western “gate” of the Moscow principality. In the Code of Laws of 1497, the name of the city is written as “Vereteya” (not documented). According to other sources, the name of the city comes from the word verya, meaning in Russian the 11th-17th centuries. “a piece of land or forest”, in Russian dialect “a small wedge, a strip of meadow, field, forest”.

 

History

XIV-XVII centuries

Vereya was first mentioned in 1371 in connection with the campaign of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd against Moscow. At the end of the 14th century, a fortified settlement with ramparts and a wooden fortress was created, which retained its defensive significance until the 17th century. In 1408 the city was sacked by the Tatars of Edigei. In 1389-1432 Vereya was part of the Mozhaisk Principality, and in 1432-1486. was the center of the Verei principality, in 1445 it was ruined by the Lithuanians of Casimir. In 1486, Vereya became part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and in 1519-1567. - was part of the Staritsa appanage principality. In 1567 it became part of the Russian kingdom.

At the beginning of the 16th century, to the northeast of the city in Krasnaya Sloboda on the high bank of the Protva, the Spassky Monastery was founded, which existed until 1764. In 1610-1611, Polish-Lithuanian troops ravaged Vereya several times, after which the city remained desolate for a long time. In the 17th century, Vereya gradually transformed from a fortified city into a trade and craft center.

 

XVIII century

Vereya flourished in the 18th century, when the city became a major center of crafts and trade. Vereian merchants concluded trade deals in different cities of Western Europe. “The crafts in this city are tannery, rawhide, shoemaking, blacksmithing, and in the best kindness they knit nets and seines, for which this city is famous among others in Russia.” Stone and wood construction is actively carried out in the city.

Since 1782, Vereya has been a district town in the Moscow province, and by the end of the century it had become one of the largest district towns in the province in terms of population. The city receives a regular layout, which has been preserved to this day: the main part of the city is rectangular, and Zarechye is radial-circular. Vereisky governor F.A. Polunin compiled the “Geographical Lexicon of the Russian Empire,” published in 1773, and also translated some of Voltaire’s works into Russian.

 

1812

At the end of September 1812, after the capture of Moscow, the French command (with the help of a sapper unit) built fortifications (palisade, gates, engineering barriers, etc.) in Vereya, in the old Russian earthen fortress, and stationed a battalion there to protect the Smolensk road from the east and south. To create a threat to the rear and communications of the patchwork, so-called “Great Army,” M. I. Kutuzov ordered General I. S. Dorokhov to defeat the enemy garrison and destroy the fortifications. On the night of September 28-29 (October 11), 1812, the troops (army partisan detachment) of the chief of the Izyum Hussar Regiment, Major General and Cavalier I. S. Dorokhov, with the help of local residents, actually from the march from the city of Borovsk, carried out an unexpected and decisive assault, with minimal losses for yourself, at 05 o'clock. 30 minutes, Napoleonic troops (the Westphalian battalion from the corps of General Andoche Junot) were knocked out of Vereya, leveling their fortifications in the city and the old fortress to the ground. The prisoners and wounded were given medical care and sent to Kaluga. Around noon, they repulsed the advance of a large column of Westphalian troops with artillery towards Vereya (from the direction of Borisov and Mozhaisk), turning the enemy forces into a retreat. Supplies of bread and more than 500 enemy rifles were distributed to local peasants, organized by the Verei priest Archpriest Father John (Ivan Nikiforovich Skobeev).

However, after some time, Vereya again found herself in a war zone. On October 13 (25), 1812, Napoleon's retreating army after the battle of Maloyaroslavets was forced to turn north and soon passed through Vereya, where, during a short stop, Napoleon met with the detachment of Marshal Mortier. Leaving Vereya, the French burned the city.

 

XIX - early XX centuries

In the 19th century, Vereya gradually lost its commercial importance and in the second half of the century, remaining aloof from the railways, it turned into a small county town. Residents were engaged in trade, gardening and vegetable gardening. There was an Old Believer community of priests in the city (continues to operate to this day). In 1865, archaeological excavations were carried out on the territory of the Verei settlement. At the end of the 19th century, mineral springs and limestone deposits were discovered near Vereya.

In 1913, in connection with the celebration of the centenary of the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812, in the presence of members of the royal family, a monument to the first liberator of the city in 1812, General I.S. Dorokhov (who was buried in this city), was unveiled. This monument to the hero stood until 1918, when it was destroyed by the Red Army.

In 1929, Vereya became the center of the Vereya district. In the 1930s Holiday homes and pioneer camps appeared in the vicinity of Vereya. At the end of the 1930s. Vegetable drying, dairy and brick factories operated in Vereya.

 

1941-1942

During the Great Patriotic War, with German troops approaching Moscow in July-October 1941, the Mozhaisk defense line was created in the vicinity of Vereya. On October 18, 1941, during the attack on Moscow according to the Typhoon plan, units of the 20th Army Corps of the 4th Army of Army Group Center entered the city. During the occupation, the Germans captured and shot five Komsomol members. The German command turned Vereya into a defense hub. On January 19, 1942, during the Rzhev-Vyazemsk offensive operation, troops of the 222nd Infantry Division of the 33rd Army of the Western Front liberated Vereya. One of the streets of the city is named after the commander General Efremov.

 

Second half of the XX-XXI century

In 1946-1947 A group of archaeologists from the Historical Museum carried out excavations on the territory of the Verei settlement. Since 1954, a garment factory operated in the city. In 1959, as a result of the consolidation of districts, the Vereya district was abolished, and part of it, together with the city of Vereya, was transferred to the Naro-Fominsk district.

By resolution of the Moscow Regional Duma of April 28, 2016, the city was awarded the honorary title of the Moscow Region “Settlement of Military Valor.”

From 2005 to 2017, the city of Vereya was the administrative center of the municipal formation of the urban settlement of Vereya, which was abolished in June 2017 when the Naro-Fominsk municipal district was transformed into an urban district.