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Today, Uglich is a quiet town, and something of a backwater, which visitors usually only discover when they take a boat trip down the Volga. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, and the first stop downriver from Moscow. The first glimpse of the city, from the ship, is of buildings like the old Resurrection Cathedral and the Church of St. John the Baptist. These beautiful buildings coming into view through the trees on the horizon is captivating.
During the Time of Troubles, the city was plundered and burned many times, and in Soviet times, Uglich's outskirts were flooded to create a reservoir, but, fortunately, enough of the city's historic buildings survive to give this city a real flavor of Old Russia.
The gem of Uglich is its kremlin, which used to be a fortified fortress and suffered attacks from everyone from Mongol-Tatars to Lithuanians. Within its walls you can see the Prince's Chambers, where young Prince Dmitry lived, and the blue-domed Church of Dmitriya-na-Krovi (St. Dmitry on the Blood), built on the place where the dead tsarevich was found. You can also see its famous bell, exiled after tolling the news of Dmitry's death, but eventually brought back from Siberia. Also worth visiting inside the kremlin is the stately Spaso-Preobrazhenski Cathedral -- decorated with white-carved stone, and the 110 ft tall belltower next to it. The tower dates from 1730 but the digital clock inside was installed in 1984.
Among the other highlights of Uglich are the Alekseevsky Monastery and nearby a true jewel of Russian medieval architecture: the Divnaya (Marvelous) Assumption Church, so called because of its unusual triple tent shaped towers, which make it look as if it's floating in the air. Closer to the river bank there is a Resurrection Monastery which contains a great cathedral, a refectory (monks' dining room), a belltower and a summer church.
Another fascinating place in the city is the Museum of City Life which displays exhibits of ancient everyday artifacts like costumes and musical instruments. And you might be pleasantly surprised to visit the Vodka Museum, where you may learn about the history of Russia's most famous drink, and even try a few glasses (samples are included in the admission fee)!
Russia Cruises that stop in Uglich.
Uglich
Uglich is one of Russia's oldest cities. Local tradition dates its origins to 937 when it was said to have been founded by Prince Ivan Pleskovitch, but the earliest documents date it at 1148. For foreigners, Uglich is an undiscovered gem - a quaint little town on a sharp bend in the Volga, beautifully situated above the river and full of medieval buildings. For Russians, it played a key role in history. The town prospered until Ivan the Terrible's grandson, Dmitry, the last of the Rurik royal family, was murdered by the tsar's advisor, Boris Godunov. This threw Russia into an age of terrible conflict known as Smutnoye Vremiya (The Time of Troubles). These events were so vividly described in Pushkin's famous drama 'Boris Godunov', which was turned into an opera by Mussorgsky.Today, Uglich is a quiet town, and something of a backwater, which visitors usually only discover when they take a boat trip down the Volga. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, and the first stop downriver from Moscow. The first glimpse of the city, from the ship, is of buildings like the old Resurrection Cathedral and the Church of St. John the Baptist. These beautiful buildings coming into view through the trees on the horizon is captivating.
During the Time of Troubles, the city was plundered and burned many times, and in Soviet times, Uglich's outskirts were flooded to create a reservoir, but, fortunately, enough of the city's historic buildings survive to give this city a real flavor of Old Russia.
The gem of Uglich is its kremlin, which used to be a fortified fortress and suffered attacks from everyone from Mongol-Tatars to Lithuanians. Within its walls you can see the Prince's Chambers, where young Prince Dmitry lived, and the blue-domed Church of Dmitriya-na-Krovi (St. Dmitry on the Blood), built on the place where the dead tsarevich was found. You can also see its famous bell, exiled after tolling the news of Dmitry's death, but eventually brought back from Siberia. Also worth visiting inside the kremlin is the stately Spaso-Preobrazhenski Cathedral -- decorated with white-carved stone, and the 110 ft tall belltower next to it. The tower dates from 1730 but the digital clock inside was installed in 1984.
Among the other highlights of Uglich are the Alekseevsky Monastery and nearby a true jewel of Russian medieval architecture: the Divnaya (Marvelous) Assumption Church, so called because of its unusual triple tent shaped towers, which make it look as if it's floating in the air. Closer to the river bank there is a Resurrection Monastery which contains a great cathedral, a refectory (monks' dining room), a belltower and a summer church.
Another fascinating place in the city is the Museum of City Life which displays exhibits of ancient everyday artifacts like costumes and musical instruments. And you might be pleasantly surprised to visit the Vodka Museum, where you may learn about the history of Russia's most famous drink, and even try a few glasses (samples are included in the admission fee)!
Russia Cruises that stop in Uglich.
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