One of the oldest cities in the Russian Federation is rightfully considered the city of Staraya Russa. It is located on the southern shore of the picturesque Lake Ilmen, just a hundred kilometers from Veliky Novgorod. It is generally accepted that the colonizers of Kievan Rus founded the first settlement here in the tenth century. But the first mention of him in the annals appeared only in 1167.
Staraya Russa, whose attractions attract travelers from all over the globe, has developed thanks to the wealth of the surrounding lands. The city not only occupied an advantageous position on the iconic path “from the Varangians to the Greeks”. Here developed the salt industry, crafts, trade. By the end of the eighteenth century, Staraya Russa became a county town, and soon salt production was stopped here. However, Staraya Russa, whose photo is shocking at first sight, received a new specialization and became a resort. Balneo-mud resort invited to recovery, drink mineral water and plunge into healing mud.
Water from local sources contains calcium, sodium, and chlorine; iron, hydrogen sulfide, and mineral salts are found in mud . Nine mineral springs merge to form lakes of amazing beauty with a healing microclimate around. Therefore, people come here who suffer from diseases of the musculoskeletal, nervous system, digestive system, respiratory system, and skin.
Staraya Russa, whose attractions are very diverse - a city with a rich history. He remembers such great people as N. A. Dobrolyubov, E. F. Napravnik, K. M. Fofanov, B. M. Kustodiev. Grand Dukes Alexey Alexandrovich and Vladimir Alexandrovich were treated here. Fans of antiquity can visit the Transfiguration Monastery - the main shrine of the city and a monument of architecture. Founded in the distant twelfth century, it amazes with powerful walls and amazing exhibits of the Old Russian Museum of Local Lore.
Staraya Russa. Her sights are also represented by the Church of the Great Martyr Mina and the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (fourteenth century), the Trinity Church and the Resurrection Cathedral (seventeenth century). Of the more modern sights, the house-museum of F.M. Dostoevsky, the writer lived in the city for a while. Here he created such masterpieces as The Demons and The Brothers Karamazov. Fans
of Dostoevsky ’s
work have a chance to visit the atmosphere of that time, as the interiors are furnished with original furniture of the nineteenth century, a collection of personal photographs, things, documents and books of the writer.
Staraya Russa, whose attractions are worth seeing, beckons with its cosiness, an abundance of green areas, parks, monuments and fountains. Here is a special atmosphere, color, which is difficult to convey on paper. It is only necessary to feel it personally. Veliky Novgorod, Staraya Russa - these are the cities that are considered the cradle of Russian culture, the soul and heart of the Russian people, the sources from which it all began. Therefore, each person is simply obliged to visit them at least once in his life in order to pay tribute to his ancestors.