←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

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Staraya Ladoga

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

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

Point 9

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

🕍 Place of worship

Historical Background

The first mention of the church comes from Archimandrite Ambrose in his book of 1810, citing an inventory of 1628 that mentions a wooden church dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The stone church, built on the site of two wooden churches, went up in 1695 on Malyshev Hill. The church formerly belonged to the St. John Monastery, which in 1678 was annexed to the Zelenets Trinity Monastery and then abolished altogether in 1764. From the late 18th century until 1870, attempts were made to restore the cathedral, but each time the work was halted for lack of funds. In 1909 the bell tower was found to be subsiding because of quartz sand mining in Malyshev Hill. From 1919 to 1991 the cathedral was closed and stood abandoned. A complete restoration of the building was carried out from 2009 to 2012.