Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus

11 points5 km2.5 hours

An ancient capital and an important town until the 18th century. Gradually Staraya Ladoga lost its status and became a village, an open-air monument to history. An ancient fortress and monasteries of the 12th–16th centuries survive here. They stand along the left bank of the Volkhov River, and the best views of them open from the right bank. The route was designed especially for the BelkaCar car-sharing service.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras
🏰🕵️‍♂️ Discover a legend

Route points (11)

St. Nicholas Monastery in Staraya Ladoga

Point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

Point 2

St. Nicholas Monastery

🕍 Place of worship

Historical Background

According to legend, the monastery was founded by Alexander Nevsky himself in the 13th century, in memory of his victory in the Battle of the Neva in 1240 at the mouth of the Izhora River. Written mentions of the monastery, however, appear only in the 15th century. The monastery grounds include the St. Nicholas Cathedral, a bell tower, the Church of St. John Chrysostom, and the Tikhvin Chapel. Here too is kept the miracle-working Gethsemane-Chernigov icon of the Mother of God, which survived the persecution of the church in the 20th century. In 2002 the Russian Orthodox Church revived monastic life at the monastery, and in 2021 a large-scale restoration of the complex began.