Gorodets

Gorodets

Seventy kilometres from Nizhny Novgorod, on the left bank of the Volga, stands the oldest town in the Nizhny Novgorod Region – Gorodets. It was founded in 1152 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky with the aim of strengthening the borders of the Rostov-Suzdal principality. The town was built on the site of a small settlement called Maly Kitezh. The route of the armies who opposed the Volga Bolgars led directly through Gorodets; for their enemy"s devastating raids had laid waste to Russian lands on more than one occasion. At that time, the town acted as a shield for the eastern part of the principality. The wooden fort and defensive earth ramparts have been preserved right up to the present day, and could even now serve as a defense against unwanted incursions.

The foundation of The Monastery of St Fyodor was an important date in the town"s history. In 1263, Alexandr Nevsky was returning from the Golden Horde, and it was here that he took his monastic vows, choosing the Christian name Alexei. Soon after, he passed away. In the 1990s, a Prince"s helmet was found during excavations. It was dated as being from the 13th century, but its ownership has still not been established. Following Alexandr Nevsky"s death, his son Andrei succeeded him as prince of Gorodets and took the title Andrei of Gorodets. In the 17th century,a set of annals was written in the monastery: The Chronicles of Kitezh bear witness to the sorrowful events at the time of Baty"s invasion of Rus (the name for ancient Russia).

In the 14th century, Princes were already minting their own currencies out of silver here. By the 17th century, the city had become one of the centres of wooden ship building on the Volga. Embroidery from Gorodets started to gain a high reputation along the whole river. In 1772, Peter the Great paid a visit to the dockyards at Gorodets, and in 1767, the empress Catherine II was present at the consecration of the church of St Fyodor and The Virgin Mary. Catherine II made over a considerable part of Gorodets to Count Grigory Orlov; subsequently this part became the property of Count Panin and Princess Volkonsky. In the 17th century, the city became the bulwark and unofficial capital of The Old Faith {2}. By the 19th century, Gorodets had turned into an important trading and economic centre as well as a stronghold of shipbuilding.

The wooden houses of Gorodets, decorated with dense bas-relief and deeply cut wooden fretwork now seem as if they are fairytale castles. At the base of the fretwork, floral ornamentation was added so as to be in harmony with the other carvings of river mermaids and celestial birds (Sirini) as well as gentle lions and a host of other mythological creatures. The town"s glorious past has been preserved in the form of the merchants" stone houses, decorated by awnings, with finely- wrought rounded iron porches, metal chimney tops and drainpipes. The Museum of Regional History is housed in one of these mansions, which once belonged to the merchant IP Oblaev.

In memory of the generous contributions made by the merchants of Gorodets and in recognition of their patronage of the arts, a commemorative statue to the Russian merchant classes was erected in Gorodets in 2002.

The district around Gorodets carefully preserves and nurtures folk traditions and the artistic output of the area. In the past, this was where Gorodets painting and embroidery flourished, not to mention woodcarving, pottery, basket weaving, the production of honey cakes, and the making of decorative gingerbread; this required a high level of skill and has now become a genuine art in its own right; it is no surprise then, that the Gorodets of today has been dubbed "the town of master craftsmen". Every year, on the last Sunday in June, a festival of cottage industry and handicrafts takes place; the second Sunday of September is Gorodet"s own municipal holiday, the town becomes not only a theatre, but also a museum, and trade fair, giving each visitor his own "private viewing".

Twenty minutes ride from Gorodets is the town Zavolzhe. The central part of this town has been given the status of Construction of Historical Interest of the Soviet Period. In Zavolzhe, you will have the opportunity to visit the museums of the hydroelectric power station, The Volga Region Engine and Shipbuilding Factories, The Centre for Children"s Art, and simply have the opportunity to enjoy the views of the Gorkovsky Lake.

Русская версия Городец