Journey to the Colder Side of the Earth: Yaroslavl

Greetings!

This week is IA's spring break, and we are actually having spring-like weather. Things have been very sunny and the temperatures have been creeping upwards, even if we are still waiting for the return of leaves and grass. The time off has given us a chance to relax, catch up on a few things, and also to take a short trip.

We spent two days (plus another 24 hours for travel) in the city of Yaroslavl. We were hoping to be able to travel somewhere over spring break, as we continue to try to see as much of this part of the world as we can while we are here and blessed with money from outside tutoring to let us travel, and I in particular wanted to see more of Russia. While St. Petersburg is of course part of Russia, it also lies on the very western edge of the largest country on earth, so I feel like we only get to experience a small slice of this vast country. St. Petersburg is also, by Russian standards, a very young city (founded in 1703), so we set off to a city that was founded in 1010 A.D.

Yaroslavl is about 750 kilometers from St. Petersburg, and is located to the north-east of Moscow. By train it took a little over 12 hours to get there. We left from Petersburg in the evening on Monday and arrived a little before 7 a.m. on Tuesday. We had some unplanned excitement when we were unable to find our hotel. We had bought a map of the city, but when we found the street our hotel was on, the building right next to the number after our hotel was abandoned. We asked a person on the street where our address was and he was unable to help us. We ended up walking to a nearby hotel that we had seen before and asked if they had any rooms available. We were able to make a reservation there, but could not check in for another six hours. Later that day, a mere 15 minutes before we could check in at our new hotel, we stumbled upon the place where we had made a reservation. It turned out that the street it was located on ended at one place, but continued, partway down another street. This was not indicated on the map we had or in the guidebook we had bought. At this point we were very tired and didn't feel like trying to go back to our new hotel cancel our reservation there and take our bags from there back to our original hotel, so we decided to cut our losses and just go to new hotel. The hotel ended up being very nice and the staff was extremely helpful, so we didn't regret it. It was a bit frustrating to have spent half a day waiting to be able to check in and take a shower and thinking that our hotel didn't exist only to find it at a very inconvenient time. Apart from feeling a bit frustrated and a little stupid, we had a wonderful time exploring the sites of Yaroslavl.

Since we went at a time when not many tourists visit, there was not as much open. The old churches in the city are the main sites to see, but many of the ones with famous interiors are closed until the start of the summer season. Unfortunately, this meant that we were unable to go inside some of the best known churches (including the church of Elijah the Prophet, which is famous for its frescoes). However, we were still able to appreciate the many examples of 17th century architecture found in the city. Yaroslavl is part of the Golden Ring, a series of historic cities to the north-east of Moscow that represented important principalities and centers of trade from the 11th through 17th centuries. Yaroslavl was once the second largest city in Russia in the 1600s and an important trading center before the rise of St. Petersburg. It was also an important center of activity during the Time of Troubles, a period of political, social, and economic turmoil from the late 1500s to 1613 that witnessed coups, civil war, and foreign invasion before the establishment of the Romanov dynasty. The city today has a population of around 600,000, which pales in comparison to Moscow and St. Petersburg, but still makes it an important regional center.

Yaroslavl is also located alongside the Volga River, which has played an important historic role in Russia and continues to be a key waterway. I had wanted to see the Volga for some time, so finally being able to see a small part of Europe's longest river was an enjoyable experience for me. Most of the main churches were located close to each other and along side the river, so we were able to walk almost everywhere.

It is always fun to get outside of St. Petersburg, and especially interesting to be able to experience other parts of the Russia. We were happy to be able to spend a few days in Yaroslavl. Here are some photos that document the main sites that we took in during our stay:

The hotel we actually ended up staying at. It was located right in the center of town and had a fun, Russian folk/fairy-tale theme to it.

One of the old towers/gates located in the center of the city. Like most of the main historic buildings, it dates from the 17th century (although it has undergone various restorations through the years), when the city was at its peak in many ways.

The Volkov Theater. The Volkov was the first theater in Russia, opening in 1750. While the current building dates to the beginning of the last century, Yaroslavl is considered to be the birthplace of Russian theater and has continued to maintain a certain level of cultural influence.

A monument to Dmitri Pozharsky, a prince from the Time of Troubles who was one of the main leaders of a people's army that worked to drive out the invading Poles and Swedes who were taking advantage of a period of chaos in Muscovite Russia.

The belfry inside of the Spaso-Preobrazhenskie Monastery, located in the center of the old part of the city alongside the river.

A statue of Yaroslav the Wise, grand prince of Kievan Rus (the earliest Russian state). Yaroslav was the founder of the city and Kievan Rus is considered to have reached its height during the time of his reign.

A monument to Our Lady of Kazan, a famous icon that was invoked as the protector of Russia during the Time of Troubles. This shrine (along with other scenes from Yaroslavl) is included on the 1000 ruble note.

I'll be honest. There are about 100 churches in Yaroslavl that look just like this one, so telling them apart can be a bit difficult for visitors like us. This is the Spas na Gorodu church, which is next to another church of very similar appearance.

This statue of a bear was in front of our hotel. According to legend, Yaroslav the Wise killed the scared bear of the local pagans with an axe. A bear carrying an ax is the symbol of the city.

The Church of Elijah the Prophet. Arguably the most famous of Yaroslavl's churches and another example of 17th century architectural treasures in the city.

Elijah the Prophet from a different side.

The Assumption Cathedral. This church was destroyed during Soviet times and rebuilt in 2005.

The front of the Assumption Cathedral.

Amanda with the Volga and Kotorosl rivers meeting in the background.

A park at the spit of the old part of the city. You can see the seal of the city, featuring the bear and the ax.

The Church of Elijah the Prophet, lit up at night.

The Bogoyavlenie Church, located next to the Spaso-Preobrazhenskie Monastery.

The St. John Chrysostom Church. This church was easily visible from the other side of the river, but difficult to find once we started walking towards it. It took us about an hour of walking around muddy roads and decaying wooden huts to finally locate it. Like many of the churches, it is in a state of disrepair and currently closed. However, the beauty of the church is still evident.

The Assumption Cathedral and park, as seen from the other side of the Kotorosl River.

Me putting my hand in the Volga.

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, is from Yaroslavl. A museum dedicated to her and to Russian space exploration is located in the city. In front of the museum is an interesting model of the solar system laid out in stone.