Welcome to Kostroma, one of the brightest and most precious pearls of the Golden Ring of Russia!
The first mention of Kostroma dates back to 1152. At this time, on the banks of the Sula River, the fortress of Kostroma appeared, founded by Yuri Dolgoruky. Scientists believe that the word "Kostroma" comes from "bonfire" - "fortified place, fortress." According to another version, this is an ancient pagan word that means a holiday held in the summer during ritual games in honor of the sun god Yarila.
Kostroma is built up according to the principle of a radial (fan) layout, the streets fan out from the main square. Strict adherence to this urban plan is one of the features that distinguish Kostroma from other Russian cities. It was not until the 18th century that such clarity arose. Before that, Kostroma was a collection of wooden buildings. Therefore, the city has repeatedly suffered from fires throughout its history.
After another catastrophic fire in 1773, when almost all houses and churches burned down, it became clear that it was time to finally do something. Local land surveyors drew up "a plan for the burnt places in that city with an appointment to build quarters." But the "construction of quarters" turned out to be unrealistic - in order to carry it out, it would be necessary to demolish most of the buildings that survived the fire. Therefore, other projects began to be developed.
The legend ascribes the idea of fan buildings to Empress Catherine II. As if, having visited Kostroma, she learned about the town-planning problems of the inhabitants and solved them simply and elegantly. Ekaterina dropped the open fan on the map with the image of the Volga and said: “Build it like that.” True, Catherine visited Kostroma six years before the fire and, therefore, before the decision was made to rebuild the city. In fact, the final fan plan of Kostroma was approved by an ordinary commission in 1779 on the basis of information collected by the Yaroslavl Governor-General Melgunov.
It is worth coming to Kostroma if only to feel the living breath of history, to touch it, to see with your own eyes what our city is rich and famous for.
Ipatiev Monastery
One of the main historical monuments of Kostroma is the Ipatiev Monastery. It is located on the arrow between the Volga and the Kostroma River. According to one of the hypotheses, Hypatius was founded in 1275 by Prince Vasily Kvashnya during the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Moscow. Another legend tells that the Tatar prince-Murza Chet was the founder of the Ipatiev Monastery in the 1330s. On his way to Moscow to see Ivan Kalita, Chet suddenly fell ill and was forced to make a halt in the place where the monastery is now located. At the height of his illness, the couple saw visions of the Apostle Philip, Hieromartyr Hypatius of Gangra, and the Mother of God. After that, Chet accepted the Christian faith, becoming Zechariah, and built the temple of the Holy Trinity with the chapels of Philip and Hypatius. It is from Chet that the genealogy of the Godunov boyars begins, they took a direct part in the further fate of the monastery, where their ancestor rested: under their patronage, a workshop for making books was built in the temple. Here, at the insistence of the Godunovs, priestly vestments were made, religious objects studded with precious stones, and icons were painted. All this was included in the exposition of the modern monastery. In addition, the Godunovs collected a magnificent library called the Ipatiev Chronicle, which is one of the main sources in which information about Ancient Russia is stored.
In 1613, the Ipatiev Monastery was forever inscribed in the history of the country as the cradle of the Romanov family. At this time, the Polish-Lithuanian intervention passed through Russia. Sixteen-year-old Mikhail Romanov found refuge within the walls of the monastery with his mother, nun Martha. Moscow envoys came there and offered Mikhail to become the king of "all Russia." However, the young chosen one, mindful of intrigues and betrayals, for a long time refused the honor shown to him. And only after a six-hour exhortation did the ambassadors convince Michael to accept the throne. Appearing before the miraculous image of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, Mikhail Romanov was blessed to reign. In the Trinity Cathedral of the monastery, the first thanksgiving service was served for the salvation of Russia from turmoil and for the blessing of the new reigning house.
At various times, the Ipatiev Monastery was visited by Russian emperors: Catherine II (1767), Nicholas I (1834), Alexander II (1837, 1858), Alexander III (1866, 1881), Nicholas II (1881, 1913).
Spiritual heritage
Kostroma is a city of golden-domed churches and majestic temples, the center of folk spirituality.
On the opposite side of the Kostroma River, parallel to the Ipatiev Monastery, there is the Epiphany-Anastasia Monastery. It is believed that it was built in the 15th century, but has been rebuilt several times since then. The main Kostroma shrine, the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, is kept in the cathedral. Acquired by Holy Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich (1238) in a dilapidated wooden chapel near the ancient city of Gorodets, the icon passed to Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky after his death. In 1263, the icon miraculously appeared in Kostroma, in the inheritance of Alexander Nevsky's younger brother, Prince Vasily Yaroslavich. According to legend, Prince Vasily went hunting outside the city, to the Zaprudnya River, and saw a beautiful icon of the Mother of God on a tree. The clergy called by the prince from the city removed the newly acquired shrine from the tree and brought it to Kostroma in a solemn procession of the cross, placing it in the city Cathedral in the name of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates. In memory of this, she became known as Feodorovskaya. The day the icon was found - August 16 (29) became the day of church celebration. The Feodorovskaya icon, as the patroness of the family, became famous for many miracles, blessed healings.
On the Volga embankment stands the Church of the Resurrection on the Debra, this is the only church in Kostroma dating back to the 17th century. At the entrance to the Holy Gates, the parishioners are greeted by mythological creatures: a lion is a symbol of strength, a unicorn is a symbol of chastity, a pelican is a symbol of immortality and resurrection, an alkonost (a bird of paradise with a human head) is a symbol of righteousness. On the other bank of the Volga, you can see two more architectural monuments - the Ilyinsky and Transfiguration churches. Previously, around the Ilyinsky temple there was the village of Gorodishche, which belonged to the boyar Morozova, which Vasily Surikov depicted on his canvas. On the night of November 16, 1671, when the noblewoman was taken into custody, her estate with a five-domed church was transferred to the state treasury.
Architectural appearance of Kostroma
The historical part of the city is an integral architectural ensemble of the late XVIII-XIX centuries. Shopping malls are symmetrically located. In the Red Rows, they used to sell “red” goods - fabrics, furs, leather goods, books. In the Big Flour Rows it was possible to buy flour, fodder, flax. In the yard are the Small Rows, built for the sale of small haberdashery. Opposite is the elegant building of the Vegetable (Tobacco) Rows. Next to them is the building of the Oil Rows. At the top of the Volga slope, Gingerbread Rows with two chapels were erected, Rybny Ryads are lower down the slope.
The ensemble of public buildings includes a guardhouse, a fire tower and Borshov's house. The construction was carried out at a time when the Empire style already dominated in St. Petersburg, so in the provincial Kostroma you can find all shades of classicism: from early classicism to the empire style. For example, the building of the provincial government is monumental in the spirit of the creations of G. Quarenghi, the fire station is most likely of the Bazhenov type, and the guardhouse is a completely empire building.
The guardhouse was built in 1824-1827 according to the project of P.I. Fursova. At that time, the riot and revelry of officers were considered in the order of things, so the city society maintained a guardhouse. The wooden guardhouse was originally located on the banks of the Volga, near the Moscow outpost. When it fell into disrepair, Fursov decided to move it to the square. Previously, this place was an apple orchard of the manufacturers Volkovs. The building of the guardhouse is the facade of the quarter. Like all buildings in the Empire style, it is distinguished by a special solemnity and majesty.
The fire tower is an architectural monument of the first third of the 19th century, located on the main (Susaninskaya) square of Kostroma. The initiative to build a tower on the central square (then called Yekaterinoslavskaya) belonged to the governor K.I. Baumgarten. The architect P.I. Fursov. The building was built in the form of a two-story quadrangle with a beautiful portico topped with an octagonal watchtower with a guardhouse. The successful location of the monument, the integrity and compactness of the architectural volume, the expressiveness of its silhouette, the measure in the use of decor on the facade make the Kostroma tower one of the best monuments of late classicism in Russia. In 1834, she aroused admiration from Emperor Nicholas I, who visited Kostroma, after which she gained the fame of the best fire tower in the Russian province.
The former mansion of a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, General S.S. Borschov was built in 1824. Large scale and representativeness are its characteristic features. The decision of the main facade was dictated by the fact that the mansion was in the depths of the square and was perceived from a great distance, so it is accentuated by an eight-column portico of the Corinthian order. The artistic appearance of this building is a necessary link between the front fire tower, the elegant guardhouse and the officially solemn provincial government offices.
The building of the Assembly of the Nobility is considered one of the best examples of construction in the style of Russian provincial classicism of the late 18th - early 19th centuries (architect M.M. Prave). Everything in the building captivates: the originality of the layout, the nobility of the interior, and the rich stucco decoration. Its almost cubic volume looks light and elegant. Architectural elements - blades, rods and reliefs create an unusual play of light and shadow. In a large, spacious lobby, a cast-iron openwork staircase originates, according to legend, in May 1913, Emperor Nicholas II climbed up it to the front halls of the second floor.
In the name of the great playwright
The names of many remarkable personalities are associated with Kostroma, in particular, the actor F.G. Volkov, writers N.A. Nekrasov, A.F. Pisemsky. And, of course, the great Russian playwright A.N. Ostrovsky. It was in Kostroma that he found the prototypes for his famous play The Thunderstorm.
The name of the playwright is the Kostroma Drama Theatre. It is one of the oldest theaters in Russia.
The theater's repertoire includes dozens of performances based on plays by Russian and foreign playwrights, both already recognized classics and contemporary authors.
The Kostroma Drama Theater is the only one in the world where 46 out of 47 plays written by A.N. Ostrovsky.
Not far from the river station there is a gazebo built in 1956.
One of the symbols of Kostroma is located on the embankment, preserved from the wood-and-earth fortifications of the ancient Kostroma Kremlin.
This gazebo is also called by the Kostroma residents after the Russian playwright A.N. Ostrovsky.
Often coming to Kostroma from his Shchelykovo estate, he liked to relax here, admiring the Volga landscape.
Monuments of great history
Between the Flour and Red Rows, on the top of the Milky Mountain, there is a monument to the Russian patriot Ivan Susanin. It was erected in 1967 according to the project of the sculptor N.A. Lavinsky. In the winter of 1613, Ivan Susanin, a peasant from the Kostroma district, saved Tsar Mikhail Romanov from the Polish invaders. He led the enemies into an impenetrable forest swamp, for which he was killed by the Poles. The memory of the feat of Ivan Susanin has been preserved in oral traditions. He was sung in his work by the Decembrist poet K. F. Ryleev: “Everyone loves the Fatherland from infancy and will not destroy his soul by betrayal.” The Russian composer M. I. Glinka dedicated to these events the folk-heroic opera Ivan Susanin, as well as the opera A Life for the Tsar.
In 2003, a monument to Yuri Dolgoruky was erected in Kostroma. The sculptor of this monument is V.M. Tserkovnikov, architect - G.L. Morozov, artist - S. I. Kadyberdeev. The monument is 4.5 meters high, weighing 4.2 tons, cast in bronze. The sculpture represents the Grand Duke seated on the throne, who stretches out his right hand in front of him, indicating that a new city will be founded here. In his left hand, he holds a sword like a cross, showing that he came to these lands not as a warrior, but as a creator.