The Golden Ring

The Golden Ring: overview

The Golden Ring is the main tourist route of the country, popular not only among Russian, but also among foreign travelers. It includes ancient cities located relatively close to Moscow, which grew out of ancient Russian settlements. They are a unique combination of ancient Russian culture and modern traditions, in which medieval fortresses, monuments of church and civil architecture of the XII-XIX centuries have been preserved. Traveling along the Golden Ring of Russia allows you to see the oldest and most important monuments of Russian architecture in a short time, to visit those cities where the most important events of Russian history took place. The list of cities of the Golden Ring is controversial, but Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Suzdal, Kostroma, Sergiev Posad, Rostov Veliky, Pereslavl-Zalessky are full members of this "golden" community. Each of the cities of the Golden Ring boasts a huge number of attractions - ancient churches, monasteries, defensive buildings, museums - and they are all unique! In Vladimir, you should definitely see the Assumption and Dmitrievsky Cathedrals, the Golden Gate, as well as the sights of the Vladimir suburb of Bogolyubovo - the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl and the Bogolyubovsky Monastery. Among the sights of Suzdal are the Kremlin, the Museum of Wooden Architecture, as well as numerous monasteries and temples. The main attraction of Rostov the Great is the Kremlin, built in the 17th century. In Kostroma, among the must-see sights, it is worth noting the Ipatiev Monastery, associated with the history of the accession of the Romanovs, as well as the sites of the Kostroma Museum Reserve, which include the Fire Tower, the Noble Assembly, the Guardhouse Building and others. The sights of Yaroslavl - the pearls of the Golden Ring - can be listed for an extremely long time, these are numerous monasteries (Svyato-Vvedensky Tolgsky convent, Kazan convent, Spaso-Preobrazhensky monastery), churches and cathedrals (Church of Elijah the Prophet, Assumption Cathedral, Ilyinsko-Tikhonovskaya church, Krestobogorodskaya Church of Yaroslavl), estates, castles and many architectural monuments of the 17th century. Sergiev Posad is a small town, unique in its architecture and history, which attracts tourists from different parts of the world like a magnet. The main attraction and shrine of the city is the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. The monastery received the status of a Lavra by Elizaveta Petrovna in 1744. Currently, the cultural monument is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is an open-air museum, which can be explored for a very long time. There are about 50 buildings of various types on its territory. In addition to numerous museums and monuments, festivals, fairs, and concerts are regularly organized here. The point of departure for traveling along the Golden Ring as usual is Moscow: the capital itself sometimes claims to be included into the "gold" list. A tour to the cities of the so-called Golden Ring of Russia is not only a trip to churches and temples, but also an opportunity to get in touch with the past, see how small towns and their inhabitants live, and just take a break from the hustle and bustle.