Rostov is one of the oldest towns in Russia and an important tourist centre of the so called Golden ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero in Yaroslavl Oblast. Population: 34 141.

While the official name of the town is Rostov, it is better known to Russians as Rostov Veliky, i.e. Rostov the Great. This name is used to distinguish it from Rostov on Don, which is now a much larger city. Rostov Yaroslavsky is the official name of its railway station (due to its position in Yaroslavl Oblast); the town itself is hardly ever called so.

History

Also called Rostov the Great, founded in 862, population 40,000. Another precious pearl of ancient Russian culture, one of the emeralds of the Golden Ring of Russia. In old Russia only two towns were called veliky (great). One was Novgorod, the famous trade centre of the Russia's north, the other Rostov. Rostov was predated by Sarskoye Gorodishche, which some scholars interpret as the capital of the Merya tribe, while others think it was an important Viking trade enclave and fortress guarding the Volga trade route. First mentioned in the year 862 as an already important settlement, by the 13th century Rostov became capital city of one of the most prominent Russian principalities. It was incorporated into Muscovy in 1474.

Even after it lost its independence, Rostov was still an ecclesiastic center of utmost importance (from 988 it was the see of one of the first Russian bishoprics). In the 14th century the bishops of Rostov became archbishops and late in the 16th century, metropolitans. It is to one of those metropolitans, Iona (Jonah) Sysoevich (ca. 1607-1690) that the town owes its main landmark, the kremlin that many regard as the finest outside of Moscow. Ravaged by the Mongols in the 13th-14th centuries (last sack by Edigu in 1408) and Poles in 1608, Rostov is now little more than a sleepy village. The metropolitan see was transferred to Yaroslavl late in the 18th century.

The courtyard in the kremlin

The central square of Rostov is occupied by the enormous Assumption cathedral. It is not known when the present building was erected, mid-16th century being the most likely date. Lower parts of the cathedral walls are dated to the 12th century. The ponderous bell-tower was constructed mostly in the 17th century. Its bells are among the largest and most famous in Russia; each has its own name. The largest bell, cast in 1688, weighs some 32000 kilograms. It is named Sysoi to honour the metropolitan's father.

The monastery of Sts Boris and Gleb near Rostov (1923).

An area situated between the cathedral square and the lake was chosen by Iona Sysoevich as a place for his fairy-tale residence. All the construction works were carried out between 1667 and 1694. Major buildings include the ornate Savior Church-na-Senyakh (1675), the sombre Church of St Gregory (1670), and the barbican churches of St John the Apostle (1683) and of the Resurrection of Christ (1670). The residence, often erroneously called kremlin, also includes eleven towers of fanciful appearance, numerous palaces, several small belfries and the dimunitive baroque Church of Our Lady of Smolensk (1693). All the churches are elaborately painted and decorated.

The cathedral and four tall kremlin churches with their silver "blind" domes were imitated throughout the city. This tendency is particularly evident in the Savior-on-the-Market church and the cathedral church of the Nativity convent, both dating from the 17th century and situated near the kremlin walls. The oldest church within the city centre was consecrated to St Isidore the Blessed in 1565. They say that Ivan the Terrible had the architect executed, because his church was so much smaller than its predecessor.

The kremlin is flanked by two great monasteries, both facing the Lake Nero. To the right from the Kremlin stands the Abraham monastery, founded in the 11th century and one of the oldest in Russia. Its cathedral, commissioned by Ivan the Terrible in 1553 to commemorate the conquest of Kazan, inspired numerous churches in the region, particularly in Yaroslavl.

Neoclassical interior of the Yakovlevsky monastery (1913)

Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery, situated to the left from the kremlin on the town's outskirts, has been greatly venerated as the shrine of St Dmitry of Rostov. Most of the monastery structures were built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the fine neoclassical style. There are also two 17th-century churches, dedicated to the Conception of St Anna and to the Transfiguration of Our Saviour. Unlike most other churches in the town, the monastery belongs to the Russian Orthodoxy and houses a theological seminary.

Surroundings

The vicinity of Rostov is rich in old architecture. For example, an old wooden church (1687-89) may be seen in the village of Ishnia. One of the best preserved monasteries in Russia, that of Sts Boris and Gleb, is situated in Borisoglebsky, about 20 km west of the town. The monastery was favoured by Ivan the Terrible who personally supervised the construction of towered walls and bell-tower around an even more ancient cathedral. The only addition made to the monastery after Ivan's death is a superb barbican church, commissioned by the metropolitan Iona Sysoevich.

Main points of interest: The focal point of the town is the Kremlin (1633) with its 11 towers and 12m (40 feet) high white-stone walls extended forabout 1 km (2/3 of a mile). Its churches are perfect examples of Russian architecture of the 17th century. The 4-domed belfry (1620) of Assumption Cathedral is 32m (107 feet) long and 17m (57 feet) high. It has four arched openings and its 15 bells, audible 15 km away, able to play 4 tunes. Famous composers such as Mussorgsky and Berlioz came here to listen to the chimes. The Church of the Resurrection (1670) with five silver domes was the first one to be built.The Church of the Smolensk Mother of God (1693) and Church of the Redeemer are also within the Kremlin area, along with various secular buildings and palaces. The Metropolitan's Residence, with its silver and gold cupolas and towers, cornices and crosses of lace-like design, resembles a castle out of a fairy-tale. The recently restored White Chambers and the Red Chambers, practically raised from the ruins, harmoniously supplement the Kremlin ensemble. Such old secular buildings are all too rare on the "Golden Ring" route. The Dormition Cathedral built in 1162 is outside the Kremlin. It was redesigned in the 15th-16th centuries, with a belfry from 1682. It houses the icon of the Virgin of Vladimir painted in the 11th century. Nearby is the Church of St. Gregory (1670) which has a stone iconostasis. The Savior in the Market Place Church (1690) with remarkable seventeenth-century frescoes and the Church of the Ascension (1566) are next to the Kremlin. The Abraham Monastery by Lake Nero is one of the oldest monasteries in Russia (11th century). It contains the Nikolskaya Gate Church (1691), the Vvedenskaya Church (1650), and the Epiphany Cathedral (1553). The Spaso-Yakovlevski Monastery, founded in 1389 by St. Jacob of Rostov, is also on the lake bank, to the west. The remaining buildings date from the 17th to 19th centuries. The Church of the Transfiguration on the Sands (1603), the Rozhdestvenski Monastery, St. Nicholas Church, St. John's Church, St. Nicholas in the Field Church, and the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin all stand within the old town. The little lovely Church of St. John the Divine (1683) is the only existing wooden church in the Yaroslavl region. It occupies the site of the old St. Gregory Monastery where in 1214 the first educational institution in Russia's northeast was founded, transferred from Jaroslavl. Many other churches are in the neighboring region.

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