Yaroslavl

Lore & Background

Reportedly the capital of an independent Principality of Yaroslavl from 1218, it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow in 1463 (de jure 1471). In the 17th century, it was Russia's second-largest city, and for a time (during the Polish occupation of Moscow in 1612), the country's de facto capital. Today, Yaroslavl is an important industrial center (petrochemical plant, tire manufacturing plant, diesel engines plant and many others). It developed at the confluence of major rivers, which were important for transportation and, later, for power. Because of the city's importance, several major railways and later highways were constructed to intersect here. The oldest settlement in the city is to be found on the left bank of the Volga River in front of the Strelka (a small cape at the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosl); this dates from the 5th–3rd millennium BCE. In the 9th century the so-called Rus' Khaganate formed, near Yaroslavl, a large Scandinavian-Slavic settlement in Timerevo. It is known for a surviving range of burial mounds. When excavations were carried out, a large number of artifacts, including Scandinavian weapons with runic inscriptions, chess pieces, and the largest collection of Arabian coins (treasure) in northern Europe (the earliest were struck in the first Idrisid), were found. In Timerevo the fourth set of Scandinavian brooches ever found in Russia was discovered. Apparently, this 'proto-Yaroslavl' was a major center for the Volga trade route. Soon after the founding of Yaroslavl, the settlement went into decline, probably in connection with the termination of the operation of the Volga trade route. Upstream of the Volga River, just outside the boundaries of the modern city, archaeologists have studied a large necropolis with a predominance of ordinary graves of the Finno-Ugric-type. Yaroslavl was founded by Yaroslav the Wise, a prince of Kievan Rus', during the period of his ruling the Principality of Rostov (988—1010) when he stepped ashore for the first time near the area now known as 'Strelka.' This is used as a contemporary park. On this spot, which was well protected from attack by the high, steep banks of the Volga, Kotorosl and Medveditsa rivers, Yaroslavl and his men began to set about building the first Yaroslavl Kremlin. The first recorded event of Yaroslavl occurred as a result of famine; it was recorded as the Rostov

Reader's Guide

The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. It is part of the Golden Ring. Yaroslavl is an important industrial center with a petrochemical plant, tire manufacturing plant, diesel engines plant, and many others. The Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, rebuilt in 1506–1516, is the oldest unchanged building in the city. The Monastery of Maria of Tolga (1314) is on the left bank of the Volga. The Strelka is a contemporary park at the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosl. A memorial church and cross mark the site of the 1257 Mongol attack on the right bank of the Kotorosl.

Did You Know?

• Yaroslavl is reportedly the oldest of all existing towns on the Volga.
• The Timerevo settlement near Yaroslavl yielded the largest collection of Arabian coins in northern Europe, with the earliest struck under the first Idrisid.
• Yaroslavl was founded by Yaroslav the Wise during his rule of the Principality of Rostov (988–1010).
• The city was Russia's second-largest city in the 17th century and briefly the de facto capital during the Polish occupation of Moscow in 1612.
• A mass grave of at least 300 bodies from a Mongol invasion in 1238 was discovered during an excavation in 2005.