Yaroslavl: A City with a Thousand-Year History

24 points11 km3.5 hours

A bear on its coat of arms and a multitude of churches, the cradle of Russian theater and painting, one of the oldest Russian cities, the jewel of the Golden Ring: all of this is Yaroslavl. The city's historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Where better to take a thoughtful stroll along the embankment than here?

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🔍🖼️ Spot interesting details
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras

Route points (24)

Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Yaroslavl

Point on route “Yaroslavl: A City with a Thousand-Year History”

Point 7

Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos

🕍 Place of worship • 🏟️ Architectural landmark

Historical Background

The Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos stands near the embankment, close to the Strelka. It is a modern rebuild, since the church was destroyed four times in the course of its history. The current cathedral was built from scratch, and its opening was timed to the celebration of the city's thousandth anniversary. It was erected on the site of a church blown up in the Soviet period. The relics of saints that had miraculously survived the fires and the explosion were moved into the new cathedral.

A Chronicle of the Ages

From the start, the very first cathedral was conceived as Yaroslavl's main shrine. It was founded in 1215 by Prince Konstantin Vsevolodovich: “a stone church in Yaroslavl in his court in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God.” The chronicles describe it as “built beautifully and richly”: gilded copper on the doors, a floor laid with majolica, and the hallmark architectural feature of the time, stone carving on the facade. Sadly, all this survives today only in historical records. The church was plundered and burned and in the end completely destroyed. But years passed, and once again the city's main church stands on this spot: the same Cathedral of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.