There
aren't so many places in Russia where the magnificence of landscapes
along the Volga river and rich historical development are combined
with the original skill of masters, embodied in the unique monuments
of art. This is the Yaroslavl land. Visiting Yaroslavl you'll
be able to see the real traditional Russia surviving and existing
in the province.
The
town was firstly mentioned in Russian chronicles in the beginning
of the 11th century. According to the ancient legend in 1010
on this very place Great Kiev Prince Yaroslavl the Wise killed
a bear and ordered to found a fortress there. This legend
has given the emblem to the town - a bear with a pole-axe
represented on a silver shield. The fortress featuring favorable
location at the crossroads of the important commercial ways
soon turned into a large center of commerce, handicrafts as
well as religious centre of Russia. There is a lot of old
churches, museums with unique collections in the city.
Brief
Date
The
year of foundation 1010
Territory 20.1 sq. km
Population
(as of 2002) 613 thousand
Major
Victor Vladimirovich Volonchunas
Number
of districts 6
Number
of higher establishments (with branches) 11
Geographical
Position. Transportation and Communication
The
city of Yaroslavl occupies an advantageous position at the
intersection of the most important transport main lines. Yaroslavl
is the junction where the Transsiberian Railway crosses with
the Moscow-Archangelsk motorcar and railway lines. The city
is connected with Moscow (270 km) through railway, coach and
river transportation. There is also the railway and coach
communication with St. Petersburg (790 km). The railway main
lines pass through the city to the North-East of the country.
From Yaroslavl, along the Volga river one can get to the southern
and northern seas. The navigation duration in the region is
200 - 220 days.
Except
the international telephone communication there are intensively
developing new types of it: satellite, mobile and paging communication,
computer network transmission of data on the base of the Internet
technology. All the cities and higher education institutions
of the region have the access to the Internet. The administration
of the region has the Web-server of its own
Cultural
and Natural Heritage
214
of the settlements of the region are referred to as historically
valuable, i.e. they have accumulated the most precious historical
and cultural heritage. Except Yaroslavl itself, where the
Volga and history are everywhere, these are the following
cities: Rostov - the cradle of the Christianity and the oldest
city in the centre of Russia, it is over 1100 years old, Pereslavl
Zalessky where Peter the Great started the construction of
Russian fleet, Uglich where the mysterious and dramatic events
of the 16th century caused the change of the Ruricovich dynasty
into the Romanov dynasty. Myshkin - a small merchant museum
- town of the 19th century and a lot of others.
There
are over 5000 monuments of history and culture, including
those three recommended by UNESCO for tourists: the Rostov
Kremlin, the cathedrals of John the Baptist and Elijah the
Prophet. Most of the monuments are the masterpieces of the
golden age of Yaroslavl architecture of the 12th - 17th centuries.
The oldest of the architectural monuments is the Transfiguration
Cathedral, that dates back to the year of 1152 in Pereslavl
Zalessky.
Yaroslavl
can deservedly be considered the cultural capital of the Golden
Ring of Russia. There are 4 theatres in the city and the Governor's
Symphony Orchestra. There are also arranged the international
festivals and various exhibitions: "The Jazz Over the
Volga" festival, the Sobinov Festival of Opera Music,
the All-Russian Nekrasov Poetry Holiday of chorus and bell
music called "Transfiguration", various international
exhibitions.
The art
of different folk and ethnographic groups attracts a lot of
tourists and is popular not only in Russia, but all over the
world. The Rostov enamel is a real pearl of Yaroslavl traditional
handicraft art, though the region is famous for the production
of linen, exported to Europe years ago, for embroidery and
icon painting, for issue of jewelry, wooden and clay articles.
One gets
brilliant opportunity to enjoy beautiful scenery of the Volga
river and the Rybinsk Lake and to get rest in Pereslavl National
Park, which is the first one in Russia where natural and cultural
heritage is being protected.
The purity
of the waters allows one to enjoy swimming and that of the
forests to go mushroom and berry picking.
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