Volokolamsk is the oldest town in the Moscow region. It was once an important strategic point that needed strong defenses, and its kremlin provided them. This route takes you around the kremlin and its surroundings and introduces you to the town's ancient history, as well as local legends and myths.
Istoriya Mesta (History of the Place)
🎨 Art installations
Monument to the Metropolitan
🗿 Monument
Church of the Nativity
🕍 Place of worship
Bridge
🌉 Bridge
Volokolamsk Kremlin
📜 Historic site · 🏟️ Architectural landmark
Resurrection Cathedral
🕍 Place of worship · 🏟️ Architectural landmark
St. Nicholas Cathedral
🕍 Place of worship
Bell Tower
🏟️ Architectural landmark · 🕵️ Urban legend
Wall
📜 Historic site
Government Offices
🏟️ Architectural landmark · 🌿 Public garden or park
Former Public School
🏟️ Architectural landmark · 🕵️ Urban legend · 🌿 Public garden or park
Point 8
🏟️ Architectural landmark • 🕵️ Urban legend
A Symbol of Relations with Moscow A bell tower was built next to the Resurrection Cathedral in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. You'll spot it from afar: it is 52 meters tall. Later the church and the bell tower were linked by a covered staircase.
The fifth and final tier, shaped like a rotunda, is topped with a dome. The fourth tier has a clock. The clock you'll see is a modern one: the original was removed in Soviet times and installed on the building of Moscow's Northern River Terminal. That decision is a symbol of Volokolamsk's complicated relationship with the capital.
Ravens nesting at the top of the bell tower circle around it. These birds have always featured in legends and superstitions, and Volokolamsk has its own. If the kremlin ravens disappear, expect trouble. Rumor has it that in the summer before World War II not a single raven could be seen. There's a more recent legend too. In spring the ravens are especially noisy, but at the beginning of April 1987 they fell silent, as if they had vanished. On the night of April 7–8 a landslide occurred on the western side of the kremlin, and a mass of earth came crashing down on the houses below. When you visit, be sure to check whether the ravens are in place.
Point on route “Volokolamsk Kremlin”
Point 8
🏟️ Architectural landmark • 🕵️ Urban legend
A Symbol of Relations with Moscow A bell tower was built next to the Resurrection Cathedral in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. You'll spot it from afar: it is 52 meters tall. Later the church and the bell tower were linked by a covered staircase.
The fifth and final tier, shaped like a rotunda, is topped with a dome. The fourth tier has a clock. The clock you'll see is a modern one: the original was removed in Soviet times and installed on the building of Moscow's Northern River Terminal. That decision is a symbol of Volokolamsk's complicated relationship with the capital.
Ravens nesting at the top of the bell tower circle around it. These birds have always featured in legends and superstitions, and Volokolamsk has its own. If the kremlin ravens disappear, expect trouble. Rumor has it that in the summer before World War II not a single raven could be seen. There's a more recent legend too. In spring the ravens are especially noisy, but at the beginning of April 1987 they fell silent, as if they had vanished. On the night of April 7–8 a landslide occurred on the western side of the kremlin, and a mass of earth came crashing down on the houses below. When you visit, be sure to check whether the ravens are in place.
11 points
2 km
3 hours
