←Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital

Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital

Photo of route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”
10 points2 km2.5 hours

A route about Ivan the Terrible's activities in Vologda, the start of the kremlin's construction and the city's development. In the 16th century Vologda held a unique place in Ivan IV's geopolitical plans. The tsar saw the city not just as a regional center but as a strategic “gateway” to the White Sea, the lands beyond the Urals and Europe. When the northern lands were made part of the Oprichnina in 1565, Vologda's status as the state's second, reserve capital was sealed.

Route author

Vologda Tourism

Things to do

  • 📜 Learn the city's history
  • 🗺️🎒 Themed route
  • 🏰🕵️‍♂️ Discover a legend

Route points (10)

  1. Mira Street — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    Mira Street

    📜 Historic site

  2. Trading Rows on Mira Street — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    Trading Rows on Mira Street

    📜 Historic site

  3. Stone Bridge — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    Stone Bridge

    🌉 Bridge · 📜 Historic site

  4. Trading Rows on Pobedy Avenue — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    Trading Rows on Pobedy Avenue

    📜 Historic site

  5. Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

    🕍 Place of worship

  6. Kremlin Square — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    Kremlin Square

    ⛲ Square

  7. St. Sophia Cathedral — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    St. Sophia Cathedral

    🕍 Place of worship · 📜 Historic site · 🕵️ Urban legend

  8. St. Sophia Cathedral Bell Tower — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    St. Sophia Cathedral Bell Tower

    🕍 Place of worship

  9. Monument to St. Gerasim of Vologda — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    Monument to St. Gerasim of Vologda

    🗿 Monument

  10. Lazy Square — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

    Lazy Square

    🗿 Monument

Stone Bridge in Vologda

Point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

Stone Bridge — point on route “Ivan the Terrible's Northern Capital”

Point 3

Stone Bridge

🌉 Bridge • 📜 Historic site

Historical Background

When the Vologda Kremlin was being built under Ivan the Terrible, a deep, wide defensive moat was dug to protect the southern wall, along today's Zolotukha, near where the Stone Bridge would later stand. To fill it with water, canals were dug to the Sodemka and Shogrash Rivers. According to legend, the earthworks were done by captured Tatars, which is why the man-made waterway came to be popularly called the Zolotukha. The bridge was originally made of wood. This is confirmed by an excerpt from a 1620 investigation file about a wooden bridge over the Zolotukha River, built where the Stone Bridge stands today.