The Golden Ring of Russia refers to a ring of cities northeast of Moscow. These are all ancient towns that played a significant role in the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church and have preserved some of the most important events in Russian history from 12th- 17th centuries. The towns are all very picturesque and many feature the famous onion dome with their architecture. Those who have visited the ring often comment about how it seems as if time has stood still. The towns are quite close together, and contain lots and lots of monasteries and churches. There is some variance as to the exact cities in the Golden Ring, but most will agree on the larger towns.
Some of the more prominent cities are as follows:
Suzdal: this is the most famous town. It has over 200 ancient monuments in only a 3.5 square mile area!! The town has a present day population of only 12,000 people.
Sergiev: This town is basically known as the capital of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Yaroslavl: This town houses the Drama Theatre, Russia's first national theater.
Rostov: This town's nickname is Miracle on Earth. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia. Its claim to fame is the Kremlin, a fortress with thick white walls, silver topped towers, and cathedrals.
On a side note, it looks like the weather is cooling off in Krasnoyarsk. Brrrrr!
Thanks for posting! I love the Golden Ring and specifically requested a region within it. It doesn't move fast but hoping the 10 day waiting period where they can request more documents before officially registering passes soon! :)
ReplyDelete