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)

Yaroslavl State Circus in Yaroslavl

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

Point 19

Yaroslavl State Circus

🕵️ Urban legend

Historical Background

The Yaroslavl State Circus opened in 1963. Its auditorium seats 1,632. From 1850 to 1920 the city saw performances by K. Villier's Gymnastic Circus and M. Truzzi's Italian Circus, the temporary circuses of the Nikitin brothers and S. Baidoni, and M. Pempkovsky's Fantasia circus. But all of these were temporary venues and touring troupes, in conditions far from comfortable for performers and audiences alike. The first state circus was built in the city in 1937; it was made of wood and was lost during the Great Patriotic War. The new permanent circus, built to a standard Soviet design, opened in 1963. Its ring has seen performances by Yuri Durov, Oleg Popov, Karandash, Yuri Nikulin, Igor Kio, and Walter Zapashny. For Yaroslavl's 1000th anniversary the building was reconstructed and reopened in March 2011. Today the Yaroslavl Circus is a venue for the country's leading circus companies.