On the high bank of the Volga lies Yaroslavl', a city which has preserved magnificent reminders of yore, and which has formed a school of architecture and art uniquely its own. According to legend, in 1010 prince Yaroslav Mudriy (the Wise) along with his men captured an old Russian settlement, and with his battle axe split in two a pagan image of a bear. Another version has the prince killing a live bear. Still, whatever happened, Yaroslav founded a fortress, naming it in his own honour — Yaroslavl'. The new city's coat of arms showed a bear holding an axe in its paws. On the prince's orders the city was girded by a wooden wall with towers. A hundred years later, it became the capital of an independent principality. Yaroslavl' did no escape the fate of many other Russian cities, and was burned and looted by the Tartars in 1238. In 1436, the Yaroslavl' principality became part of the Grand Principality of Moscow. Situated along trade routes with Western Europe (Moscow-Arkhangelsk) and the East (the Volga), Yaroslavl' eventually became the Russian state's most prominent trade centre. In 1608, the city was overrun by Polish-Lithuanian invaders. An army from Vologda came to Yaroslavl's aid, and the enemy was ousted. The next year, in 1609, the Poles were again at the ancient city's gates. Yaroslavl' became a stronghold of opposition to the aggressors. In 1612, Minin and Pozharskiy's army entered the city and remained there for four months while preparing tor a liberating march to Moscow. I he war years damaged the city heavily, but reconstruction progressed at a fast pace, and soon Yaroslavl' was second only to Moscow in terms of its area and the number of inhabitants. In the 18th century, Yaroslavl' was rebuilt according to a 'standard' plan, ll'yinskaya Square became the city's centre, with streets emanating from it in the manner of rays from the sun. In the 18th century, Yaroslavl' became home to the first theater in Russia accessible to the general public, created by Fyodor Volkov. Today, Yaroslavl' is a prominent industrial and cultural centre.

Sightseeing in Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl Art Museum has an excellent collection of Russian painting. In 1977 it won the title of the "Best Museum of the Year" among provincial Russian museums. The museum collecti...
Governor Garden A unique peculiarity of the Governor's House is the park-museum “Governor's Garden”, where modern sculpture is represented, flower exhibitions are organized and...
The architectural ensemble of the Strelka place where the Kotorosl river flows into the Volga, built in 1658-68.
Bogoyavlenskaya Church In the 17th-18th century, the use of poured ceramics for decorating buildings became very popular in Yaroslavl', BOGOYAVLENSKAYA CHURCH, (1684-1693), for ...
Church Ensemble in Korovniki Remarkable in its beauty the church ensemble in Korovniki (middle of the 17th-18th centuries) embellished the Korovnitskaya Sloboda (settlement), at the mouth o...
Church of Ilia the Prophet If you walk from the monastery to the direction of Volga river you'll see the white Church of Ilia the Prophet (Tserkov Ilii Proroka) with five green domes. It ...
Church of St. Nickols Rublenny (of-the-logs)
Epiphany Church Next to the monastery there's the richly decorated Epiphany church (Tserkov Bogoyavleniya). Built in the end of the 17th century, this church had more Moscovitan than Yaroslavl look.
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery THE SPASO-PREOBRAZHENSKIY MONASTERY was founded in 1216 by the prince Konstantin Vsevolodovich. In 1550-80, it was surrounded by stone walls and towers. It beca...
Spassky Monastery Yaroslavl starts from the Spassky monastery (Saviour monastery), that was founded in the 12th century at the place where Kotorosl river meets Volga river. The m...
The Tolgsky Monastery Ensemble is situated on the left bank of the Volga River. The Tolgsky Monastery was founded at the beginning of the 14 c. on the occasion of the appearance of the icon o...
Historic-Architectural Museum-Reserve Yaroslavl Historic-Architectural Museum-Reserve, founded in 1895, possesses rich collections (more than 250,000 exhibits). There are expositions of Ancient Russ...
The Literature-Memorial Museum-Reserve of N.A.Nekrasov Karabikha is located in the estate of a great Russian poet in the old settlement of Karabikha. The estate in Karabikha is a beautiful architectural ensemble in the classi...
Yaroslavl History, Architecture and Art Museum-Preserve established in1895 has enormous collections of great historical and artistic value. The museum visitors will see exhibitions of ancient Russian painting, expens...