17 kilometres from Moscow, on the Plescheyev lake lies the city of Pereslavl'-Zalesskiy. On this land, in 1152, prince Yury Dolgorukiy founded a city at a crossing of trade routes. Pereslavl' was once affluent and famous; actually the city's very name is translated from Old Russian as 'one who has taken on glory'. Pereslavl's most famous prince was Aleksandr Nevskiy, who was born here, and later left to rule in Novgorod. There is a monument to Nevskiy in the city's Red Square. After it was adjoined to the Moscow principality in 1302, Pereslavl' saw almost all the grand princes and tzars. During Ivan the Terrible's reign, the city became the administrative base of oprichniki, the government elite selected by the tzar. Wishing to transfer the capital from Moscow to Vologda, the tzar considered Pereslavl' a strategic post. Nikitskiy convent, not far from the road to Vologda, was in 1561-64 turned into an impregnable fortress. In the beginning of the 17th century, Pereslavl'-Zalesskiy was taken by Polish-Lithuanian invaders, which were kicked out in 1609 by the armies of Skopin-Shuyskiy. Together with Minin and Pozharskiy's militia, the inhabitants of Pereslavl' took part in the liberation of Moscow. The end of the 17th century brought great excitement to the city. In 1688, Peter I began to build on Plescheyev lake an 'amusement fleet', which was the forerunner of the Russian fleet. One of the surviving petrovian boats, the Fortuna is at the 'Botik' museum.

Sightseeing in Pereslavl-Zalesskiy
The Red Square To better see the city, you can walk the ramparts (the Rampart Ring) and see Pereslavl1 from the fortress walls. You will see Red Square, with the Spaso-Preobra...
Fyodorovsky Monastery When entering the city from the direction ot Moscow, you will see the FYODOROVSKIY MONASTERY. According to legend, it already existed in the 14th century, but b...
Goritskiy Uspenskiy Monastery GORITZKIY USPENSK1Y MONASTERY was buift in the 16th century, during Ivan Kalita's reign. No 16th century buildings remain in the monastery complex, which consis...
Nikitsky Monastery To the city's north, on the high bank of Plescheyev lake lies the NiKITSKIY MONASTERY. Founded in the early 1100s, it is the oldest in the city. Th...
Troitse-Danilov Monastery Not far from the Goritzkiy Cathedral is THE TROITZE-DANILOV MONASTERY, built in 1508. It was founded by the monk Daniil, later Ivan the Terrible's godfather. Th...
The Botik Museum Estate Te museum-estate is on Plescneyev laêå, three kilometres south of the city. The stoned lake, amazing in its clarity and beauty, is one of Pereslavl'-Zalesskiy's...