Discovering Volkhov

7 points13 km1.5 hours

Volkhov is a small town on both banks of the river of the same name, where it flows into Lake Ladoga, 122 km east of St. Petersburg. We tell you about the main sights of a town that grew up around the river, the railway and the Volkhov hydroelectric station. This route was designed specially for the BelkaCar car-sharing service.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras

Route points (7)

Church of the Archangel Michael in Volkhov

Point on route “Discovering Volkhov”

Point 3

Church of the Archangel Michael

🕍 Place of worship

Historical Background

The Church of the Archangel Michael, leader of the heavenly host, stands on a historic site. The Mikhailovsky pogost is first mentioned in the chronicles at the end of the 15th century, and archaeologists say a Slavic hillfort stood here in ancient times. Exactly when the church was built here is unknown. It's known that it was originally wooden but burned down in 1812. By 1820 the church had been rebuilt in stone in the Classical style and surrounded by a cobblestone wall.

The Church in the 20th Century

The Church of the Archangel Michael was closed in 1938, and the building was later used for various purposes: as a training center, a pharmacy warehouse and a dairy workshop. Toward the end of the Soviet period it housed a chemical plant. The church lost its bell tower and domes and by the early 1990s had turned into ruins. After 1991 the building was returned to the Church; it was restored in 1993–1995 and reconsecrated.