YAROSLAVL, RUSSIA

                                 A City with a View!
      When we visited Yaroslavl, the oldest city on the Volga, the day dawned bright and sunny. The lovely water-front town is graced with attractive parks and wide tree lined boulevards and is one of Russia’s most beautiful and best-known towns.  Over ten centuries old and one of the Golden Ring cities, it stretches for miles along the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosi Rivers. Always a major trading center, the prosperous mercantile center boasts a plethora of dazzling churches built by merchants and containing more medieval wall paintings and frescos than any other Russian town.

      In the 8-10^th centuries Finno-Ugric tribes called their outpost Bear Corner. The pagan tribes worshiped bears. Occasionally those tribes exploited their privileged riverfront position by ambushing merchant ships.

       Legend says that Prince Yaroslavl went ashore to talk local inhabitants out of their pagan ways and they responded by turning a ferocious bear on him. In an impressive wrestling match the Prince subdued and killed the bear. He ordered the building of a church and thus the city was born in 1010.

      In 1218 Yaroslavl became the capitol of its own principality. In 1238 Mongol-Tartars sacked the city, but it remained an independent principality and an important port for the next 225 years. Ivan the Great annexed the principality to Muscovy in 1463. When Moscow was occupied in 1598, the Russian capitol was transferred to Yaroslavl until 1613. The years 1613-1703 became a golden age as the city became the most prominent mercantile center in the upper Volga region. Trade routes from both the mid East and Europe converged on Yaroslavl.

      A short road connects Red and Theater Squares. We passed the old gate to the city on our way to the 13^th century Transfiguration Monastery, one of the Volga’s oldest and a regional favorite. The first structure was wood, but was replaced with stone in the 15-16^th centuries.  The bell tower started in the 16^th century was finished in the 19^th century. After 1929 there were no bells in Russia. In 1991 when bells could again be rung these were the first to ring. There are 120 steps up to the top. The 10-meter high monastery wall withstood all attacks. At one time 150 monks prayed, ate, worked and slept here.

     In the monastery garden there was a lone fellow performing a bell concert. We stood amazed at his talent

as he was ringing numerous bells via string pulls to create the most amazing music. At the time we were the only people standing around listening to him. What a wonderful surprise!

      We walked along the lovely tree lined promenade. Landscaped in the 19^th century the long promenade is bordered by a picturesque green belt referred to as linden alley. Yaroslavl’s embankment is considered one of the most pleasant found among Volga towns. The colonnaded gazebo, perched atop the bank, offered wonderful Volga panoramas.  While enjoying the great views a local docent informed us, “Fifty percent of the income for the city is from chemicals. Eight state universities cater to 20,000 students. One-half of all Russians were in WW II and 20% of them never returned. Half of the churches have been destroyed. And by the way, the river freezes in winter.”

      Elijah the Prophet Church, 1647-50, features an asymmetrical exterior created by five unevenly arranged green cupolas on the main building, covered galleries, a belfry, portico, and a bulky spire of an adjoining chapel. Frescos, painted in 1680, blanket the interior. The 1696 lace-like iconostasis is regarded as a Russian baroque masterpiece. The 1660 carved wooden czar thrones are superb examples of ancient craftsmanship. The frescos in this church were done by 15 artists in only three months and they were lovely!

      Many Russian churches combine both summer and winter churches. The winter church is smaller and as is typical has no seats or pews. In the small winter church we listened to the most fantastic quintet.  The men were exceptionally good and had wonderful voices, and I still wish I had bought one of their CDs..

      Toward the end of the city tour the docent walked us through the greenbelt to a statue saying, “This is the only religious statue in the country”

       The first professional theater was established in the city in 1750, and late afternoon we attended a very good folkloric show in one of the theaters.

       I found Yaroslavl a delightful town. We were getting a pretty good handle on Russian churches, and I was both amazed and impressed at the many well preserved and wonderful frescoes we saw.