The Yaroslavl region is located in the northern part of Central
Russia.
A popular region of domestic Russian tourism, which, due
to its location on the banks of the Upper Volga, is known for the
historical cities of the Golden Ring of Russia. The routes of the
region, which is located in close proximity to Moscow, are actively
replenished with museums and sights, and the region's water resources
contribute to the development of active recreation. In the west, it
borders on the Tver region, in the south - on the Moscow and Vladimir
regions, in the east - Ivanovo and Kostroma regions, in the north - on
the Vologda region.
Administratively, the region is divided into 17 districts:
Bolsheselsky, Borisoglebsky, Breitovsky, Gavrilov-Yamsky, Danilovsky,
Lyubimsky, Myshkinsky, Nekouzsky, Nekrasovsky, Pervomaisky, Pereslavsky,
Poshekhonsky, Rostov, Rybinsky, Tutaevsky, Uglichsky and Yaroslavsky
districts.
From a tourist point of view, in descending order of
interest, the area can be divided into three main regions:
Yaroslavl Upper Volga - all cities and regions along the Upper Volga,
both up to and below the Rybinsk reservoir
Yaroslavl Zalesye -
Pereyaslavsky, Rostov and Borisoglebsky districts, forests and fields
with historical cities near large lakes
Yaroslavl Poshekhonye and
Zavolzhye - Poshekhonsky district, the eastern shore of the Rybinsk
reservoir, which gave the cheese its name, as well as Danilov, Lyubim
and Kukoboy, the northern districts of the region bordering on the
Vologda and Kostroma regions
Yaroslavl is the largest city
in Central Russia after Moscow. By local standards, this is practically
a metropolis with heavy industry and a very cozy historical center
located on the high bank of the Volga. Although Yaroslavl is a very
ancient city, almost all of its churches were built in the 17th century
in their own architectural style, which complemented the harmony and
beauty of Russian churches with bright oriental tiles. The pinnacle of
Yaroslavl architecture, the Church of St. John the Baptist in Tolchkovo,
even hit the 1000-ruble note, becoming the most recognizable temple in
Russia, and located in the city center and not inferior in beauty to it,
the Church of Elijah the Prophet contains outstanding examples of fresco
painting.
Remote and rather inaccessible
Myshkin is located on the
left bank of the Volga. To get here, you need to cross by ferry, and
sometimes cruise ships make a stop in the city with a tour. There are no
completely old historical objects in Myshkin, and this would be strange,
because the first mention of it dates back to the 15th century. Here you
can see a couple of cathedrals in the style of classicism, and wooden
and stone urban buildings, mainly of the 19th century. The tourist boom
of recent times has led to the flourishing of museums. Even 10-15 years
ago in Myshkin there was an open-air folk museum that occupied a whole
block, and on its territory there was a hut with a themed authentic
mouse museum. The locals liked the museum theme, and now there are more
than a dozen exhibitions in the city, including museums of linen or, for
example, felt boots.
Pereslavl Zalessky stands
on the shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo. The central part of the city is
surrounded by a full ring of earthen ramparts, inside which you will see
a church built in 1152-57. The Transfiguration Cathedral is one of the
oldest Russian churches. Pereslavl is also famous for its monasteries,
there are as many as 5 of them in the city, and almost every one of them
has preserved infrequent even in Central Russia monuments of the 16th
century. Old Russian temple architecture is quite organically
intertwined in Pereslavl with the architecture of the 18th century,
which was invented in a special style - Pereslavl Baroque. In the newest
period, the city was marked by the appearance of its own arboretum, and
also by the fashion for museums of all sorts of things like irons and
sewing machines that spread throughout the Golden Ring.
Rostov the Great is rightfully considered one of the
first Russian cities, although its current appearance hardly corresponds
to this title. The Rostov Kremlin is not a Kremlin at all, but a
metropolitan court built in the 17th century and became popularly known
after the film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession” was filmed in
it. For all the kitsch of their external appearance, the Kremlin
churches are very charming, and from the inside they are decorated with
very solid and harmonious frescoes. Outside the Kremlin in Rostov, you
should definitely see the pretty church of Isidore on the Walls, two old
monasteries and a wooden church on Ishna, already outside the city
limits. Rostov is located on the banks of the picturesque lake Nero,
which offers beautiful views of the city and the Kremlin.
Rybinsk is the second industrial
center of the region, which gave its name to the Rybinsk reservoir and
is adjacent to a large dam and a cascade of locks. The city itself does
not belong to the cities of the Golden Ring, and cruises along the Volga
do not particularly favor it, although in general the city is very
interesting and unusual - the only one in Central Russia that grew up on
the Volga trade, and therefore somewhat reminiscent of the cities of the
Volga region. The old, pre-revolutionary buildings, wooden and stone
mansions, Orthodox churches and even a church are well preserved here.
You can also combine city sightseeing with a vacation in one of the
country rest houses or park hotels located on the Volga.
Tutayev stands on the Volga and belongs to the
“divided” cities rare for Russia, which are located on both banks of the
river, but are not connected by a bridge. The Volga coast is decorated
with wonderful temples, and the city itself preserves a rare atmosphere
of a distant and forgotten wilderness, where churches stand on lawns,
motor boats are the main means of transportation, and the opportunity to
get to the other side still depends on the weather and is at the mercy
of the natural elements. At the same time, in terms of transport, Tutaev
is located very conveniently, halfway from Yaroslavl to Rybinsk.
Uglich
is best known as the site of the mysterious death of Ivan the Terrible's
son Tsarevich Dimitri. The city picturesquely nestled on the high bank
of the Volga, which turns here at an almost right angle. Being one of
the stops of the Volga cruises, the city adjusts to the schedule of
ships, throwing all its efforts into serving tourists and especially
getting lively for foreign guests. And in the intervals, it almost does
not differ from small provincial towns with their unhurried, measured
life, taking place against the backdrop of attractive low-rise
historical buildings, including even rare wooden town houses in Russia,
and the same chamber, but rather dull Soviet heritage. No, there is
still one difference - the Volga! Still not wide, but already impressive
with magnificent panoramas of the ancient part of the city, the
surrounding expanses and, oddly enough, the Uglich hydroelectric power
station.
Poshekhonye
Gavrilov-Yam
Danilov
Lyubim
Pleshcheyevo Lake National Park is a unique
body of water in Central Russia. Its even, almost round shape, shallow
depth and, of course, proximity to Moscow were duly appreciated by Peter
I, who decided to start building the first Russian fleet here. The only
surviving ship of this amusing flotilla is now exhibited in the special
museum Boat of Peter I, which is also interesting because it was created
at the beginning of the 19th century, thus being one of the oldest in
Russia. On the northern shore of the lake are the Nikitsky Monastery and
the pre-Slavic settlement, from which beautiful views of the water
surface and Pereslavl-Zalessky standing in the distance are opened.
There are a lot of mushrooms in the forests along the shores of the
lake, and there is also a locomotive museum based on an old narrow gauge
railway.
The village of Borisoglebsky (19 km northwest of Rostov) is
a museum in the Borisoglebsky monastery-fortress of the 16th century.
The village of Kukoboy is a small village with an openwork church of the
Savior Not Made by Hands, recently the birthplace of Baba Yaga with a
corresponding museum.
Manor of the Ponizovkins (Palace of the
Ponizovkins), st. Naberezhnaya, 16, urban-type settlement Red Profintern
(Nekrasovsky district) (from Yaroslavl bus number 126 from the Zavolzhye
bus station). ☎ +7 (961) 160-81-17. Open: visit by group by appointment.
200₽. The palace was built between 1912 and 1914 in an eclectic style
with Art Nouveau elements, richly decorated with neo-Moorish carvings
and ornaments. It is currently privately owned and is being restored.
The Nikitsky Church (XVIII century) in the village of Porechie-Rybnoye
(Rostov region) is the second (according to some sources, the first)
bell tower in Russia in height.
State Literary and Memorial
Museum-Reserve of N. A. Nekrasov "Karabikha"
The village of Kurba
(Yaroslavsky district, 20 km southwest of Yaroslavl on the
Gavrilov-Yam-Tutaev highway) - Kazan Church (1770) of an unusual round
shape with original frescoes of the 18th century.
Darwin Biosphere
Reserve
Rybinsk reservoir
Salt Museum in Nekrasovskoye
Mologa - Russian Atlantis
By car
From Moscow or Vologda along the M8 Kholmogory
highway. On local roads, it is possible to enter the
territory of the region from Ivanovo, Kostroma, from the
Tver region through Kalyazin.
The Yaroslavl Region is located in the center of the European part of
Russia, in the center of the East European Plain.
The area of the
Yaroslavl region is 36.2 thousand km². Of this, 17.2 thousand are
occupied by forests, 11.3 thousand agricultural lands, 3.9 thousand
water bodies, 1.1 thousand swamps, and other lands - 2.7 thousand km².
The length from north to south is 270, from west to east - 220 km. The
highest point is the Tarkhov hill in the north of the Pereslavl region:
292.4 m above sea level. The lowest point is the bottom of the Volga
River at the place of its outflow from the Yaroslavl region to the
Kostroma region - 75 m above sea level (the mark of the water's edge is
about 84 m above sea level).
The climate of the region is
temperate continental, with long and cold winters and short but very
warm summers. The average temperature in January is -11°С, and in July
+18°С. Previously, almost the entire territory of the region was
occupied by dense coniferous (spruce, pine) and mixed forests, but now
most of them have been replaced by secondary birch-aspen forests and
arable land. Large areas are also occupied by swamps.
Minerals
here are mainly building materials (sand, gravel, clay) and peat. There
are also mineral waters (springs and wells).
The Yaroslavl region is located in the time zone designated by the international standard as the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD). The offset from UTC is +3 hours.
The entire territory of the region belongs to the basin of one of the
largest rivers in Russia - the Volga, which connects the regions of the
Baltic, White, Caspian, Black and Azov seas, its length in the region is
340 km. The Volga is regulated by dams and has practically become a
chain of reservoirs: Uglich (with a capacity of 1.2 km³), Rybinsk (25.4
km³, the area in the region is 3246 km² out of 4580 km²) and Gorky (8.8
km³).
In total, 4,327 rivers flow through the territory of the
region with a total length of 19,340 km. Their annual flow is 38.8 km³.
The longest rivers (within the region): Volga - 340 km, Sot - 170 km,
Sit - 159 km, Mouth - 153 km, Kotorosl - 132 km, Sarah - 93 km, Sogozha
- 90 km, Obnora - 90 km, Sutka – 84 km.
There are 83 lakes. The
largest: Nero - 5130 ha, and Pleshcheyevo - 5089 ha. Fresh water
reserves in the region are 254 km³.
On the territory of the
region, 30 deposits of fresh groundwater (reserves - 540 thousand m³ /
day) and 29 mineral and brine (2.6 thousand m³ / day) have been
explored. Fresh waters are used in household and drinking water supply,
for technical purposes, mineral waters - as medicinal, brine and
industrial purposes. Subsoil potential is significant in terms of
geothermal resources (12-15 billion tons of reference fuel). Currently,
20% of cities and urban-type settlements are provided with explored
operational groundwater reserves.
Fresh groundwater is abstracted
by 726 water users during the operation of about 2,500 wells. Consumers
of fresh groundwater are small rural and industrial settlements and 7
regional centers. The underground waters of the cities of Rybinsk (9.5%)
and Uglich (26.9%) are partially used for household and drinking water
supply.
The water of most water bodies is moderately polluted.
The effluents from industrial enterprises have the greatest impact on
quality.
The climate, due to its geographical location (the central part of
the East European Plain), is temperate continental. Summer is relatively
warm, short; winter is moderately cold and long. The coldest month is
January (the average temperature fluctuates between -10.5 °С ... -12
°С), the warmest is July (+17.5 °С ... +18.5 °С). The autumn and spring
periods are clearly expressed.
On average, about 500-600 mm of
precipitation falls annually in the region, of which 30% falls in
winter. Due to the fact that the evaporation rate is one third less than
the amount of precipitation (400 mm), the climate in the region is
humid. Humidity ranges from 52-56% in May to 65-93% in December.
The Yaroslavl region is divided by the Volga River flowing through its
territory into two parts, which are characterized by some differences in
climate, in particular, the left bank is characterized by greater
humidity and more precipitation than the right bank. These districts, in
turn, are divided into two more sub-districts each.
The number of large animals has greatly decreased, but bears, wolves,
foxes, elks, red and spotted deer, wild boars, lynxes, beavers, hares,
and squirrels are still found in the forests. Many species of birds live
and nest in the region. In cities, common birds are pigeons, jackdaws,
hooded crows, magpies, house sparrows, great tits, ducks, as well as
rooks, swifts, white wagtails, blackbirds and rock gulls during the
breeding season.
On the peninsula, separated from the rest of the
region by the Rybinsk Reservoir, there is a part of the Darwin Biosphere
Reserve. Around Lake Pleshcheyevo there is a national park of the same
name. The region also has 1 federal (“Yaroslavsky”) and 41 regional
nature reserves, 70 natural monuments, 17 nature reserves, 82 protected
natural and historical landscapes, 5 medical and recreational areas, 22
protected water ecosystems, 21 tourist and recreational areas.
In
order to preserve the species diversity of the flora and fauna of the
region and improve their natural reproduction, the Red Book of the
Yaroslavl Region has been created.
The Yaroslavl region was inhabited already at the end of the Late
Paleolithic after the retreat of the last glacier. In the Neolithic, the
Volga-Oka interfluve was occupied by hunting and fishing tribes of the
so-called Pit-Comb Ware culture. At the beginning of the II millennium
BC (Bronze Age) cattle-breeding tribes invaded from the Middle Dnieper
region, which subjugated the Neolithic tribes and partially mixed with
them, they were called Fatyanovsk. From the middle of the 1st millennium
BC until the middle of the first millennium AD. The region was inhabited
by the so-called Dyakovo tribes, who knew how to process iron, were
engaged in cattle breeding and slash-and-burn agriculture, as well as
fishing and hunting. In the second half of the first millennium A.D the
territory of the region is inhabited by the Finno-Ugric people Merya.
In the 9th-10th centuries, the Upper Volga region began to be
peacefully settled by the Slavs, these were representatives of the Ilmen
Slovenes and Krivichi, they gradually mixed with the Meryans. The first
of the cities that arose on the territory of the region was Rostov,
located on the lake Nero, which is mentioned in the annals as early as
862. Here the princes of Kyiv sent a prince or governor who ruled over
the entire North-Eastern Russia. In 991, the Rostov diocese was
established - one of the oldest in Rus'. Not earlier than 1010, the
Rostov prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich (the Wise) founded the city of
Yaroslavl on the Volga. At the beginning of the 13th century,
North-Eastern Rus' also broke up into specific principalities; the main
principalities on the territory of the modern Yaroslavl region were
Pereslavl (1175-1302), Rostov (1207-1474), Uglich (1216-1605) and
Yaroslavl (1218-1471). In February 1238, North-Eastern Rus' was
devastated during the Tatar-Mongol invasion.
In the XIV-XV
centuries, the principalities on the territory of the present Yaroslavl
region became part of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The territory of the
Yaroslavl region suffered greatly during the Time of Troubles, the
population was devastated, many died or fled; especially heavy damage
was inflicted on Rostov, Uglich and Yaroslavl. In 1719, Yaroslavl and
Uglich provinces of the St. Petersburg province and Pereslavl and
Kostroma provinces of the Moscow province were located on the territory
of the modern Yaroslavl region. In 1786, the department of the Rostov
diocese (since then it has been the Yaroslavl and Rostov diocese) was
transferred from Rostov to Yaroslavl.
July 6-21, 1918 - Yaroslavl
anti-Soviet uprising, July 8, 1918 - Rybinsk uprising: White Guard
uprisings organized by the Union for the Defense of the Motherland and
Freedom.
During the Civil War, active hostilities were not
conducted on the territory of the region, with the exception of the
Yaroslavl and Rybinsk uprisings, the suppression of which caused heavy
damage to these cities, as well as the green movement.
In January
1929, after the liquidation of the provinces, the territory of the
former Yaroslavl province became part of the Ivanovo industrial region.
On March 11, 1936, the Yaroslavl region was separated from the
Ivanovo industrial region, consisting of 36 districts and 15 cities,
including 3 cities of regional subordination - Yaroslavl, Rybinsk and
Kostroma. The region included the territory of the former Yaroslavl
province (without the eastern part of the Rostov district), a
significant part of the Kostroma province and the Pereslavl district of
the Vladimir province. The territory was 62 thousand km², and the
population was 2.1 million people. The rest of the Ivanovo industrial
region was renamed the Ivanovo region.
The Yaroslavl region has
an area of 36.4 thousand km², which has remained virtually unchanged
since then. The territory of the region began to truly turn into an
industrial center during the years of the First Five-Year Plan
(1928-1932). The Yaroslavl region has become a major center of energy,
in addition, the danger of floods has been eliminated, and the
conditions for navigation on the Volga have been improved. On the eve of
the Great Patriotic War, the Yaroslavl region was one of the most
industrialized in Central Russia. During the Great Patriotic War, the
region was bombed, the most devastating of which occurred on the nights
of June 10 and 21, 1943.
In 1946, the waters of the Rybinsk
reservoir completely flooded the territory of the city of Mologa.