←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

Kremlin Square in Vologda

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

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

Point 6

Kremlin Square

⛲ Square

Historical Background

In the time of Ivan the Terrible, the area of today's Kremlin Square in Vologda was a gigantic construction site. Work was in full swing on the tsar's new fortress, Nason-gorod. Alongside the building of huge stone walls, moats and ramparts, St. Sophia Cathedral (1568–1570) was going up, conceived as a likeness of the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow. Next to it, a temporary wooden palace and a private chapel were built for the sovereign and his family. Raids by the Crimean Tatars and a change of plans prevented the mighty fortress from ever being completed. Before it became Kremlin Square, Vologda's main square was paved with wood and called Cathedral Square. It lies next to the Bishop's Court (the Vologda Kremlin and Cathedral Hill).