←Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus

Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus

Photo of route “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)

  1. Pobedishche Tract — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Pobedishche Tract

    📜 Historic site

  2. St. Nicholas Monastery — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    St. Nicholas Monastery

    🕍 Place of worship

  3. Staraya Ladoga Fortress — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Staraya Ladoga Fortress

    📜 Historic site · 🏯 Fortress remains

  4. Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve

    🏛️ Museum

  5. Monument to Rurik and Oleg the Wise — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Monument to Rurik and Oleg the Wise

    🗿 Monument

  6. Holy Dormition Convent — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Holy Dormition Convent

    🕍 Place of worship

  7. Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God

    🕍 Place of worship

  8. Schwartz House — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Schwartz House

    🕵️ Urban legend

  9. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

    🕍 Place of worship

  10. Holy Spring of St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Holy Spring of St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa

    🕵️ Urban legend

  11. Sopki Tract: Oleg's Grave — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

    Sopki Tract: Oleg's Grave

    📜 Historic site

Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve in Staraya Ladoga

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

Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve — point on route “Staraya Ladoga: The First Capital of Rus”

Point 4

Staraya Ladoga Museum-Reserve

🏛️ Museum

Historical Background

Plans to create a museum in Staraya Ladoga were already being hatched in the Russian Empire, amid a surge of public interest in Old Russian culture at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. But they were realized only after the revolution. Under Soviet rule, oversight of Staraya Ladoga's architectural monuments was entrusted in turn to the Directorate of Novgorod State Museums, Leningrad State University, and the architecture department of the Leningrad Regional Executive Committee, and only in 1966 was it decided to create a network of museums in the towns of the Leningrad Region, Staraya Ladoga among them. The first full-fledged exhibition of the Staraya Ladoga Museum opened in the fortress's Gate Tower on July 15, 1971. In 1984 the museum received the status of a museum-reserve of history, architecture, and archaeology.