Staraya Russa

Staraja Russa is located on the Priilmenskaja Lowland, on the right coast of the river of Polist (the pool of the lake Ilmen), near the confluence of the rivers Polist, Porusja and Pererytitsa.

. In the town there is the quay, the railway station on the line Bologoje - Dno.
Staraja Russa is the unit of motorways.

The population is 41,6 thousand people (1992).

The general description

The health resort "Staraja Russa".

Staraja Russa is the third biggest town of the Novgorod area located on coasts of the rivers Polist and Porusja. The railways connect Staraja Russa with Moscow and St.-Petersburg, Pskov and Tallinn. Through the town numerous highways and river ways pass, it is also one of the industrial and cultural centres in the Novgorod area.

In Staraja Russa there is the oldest health resort in the north-west of Russia - the resort "Staraja Russa". In the territory of the resort there are nine mineral sources with remarkable curative properties. Two sources are drinking, others, forming the mineral lakes, create in the resort park a zone of the increased ionization of the air - the special microclimate, influencing beneficially to the patients with any pathology. Near the mineral sources there are the lakes, from which the unique mud with biologically active substances is extracted. It recognised as the best one among the resorts of Russia and Europe by its medical properties.

Staraja Russa is one of the ancient Russian towns with centuries-old history sated by events. A modern shape of the town is decorated by the monuments of ancient architecture. There are the Spaso-Preobrazhensky monastery (the end of the 12th century), the church of Mina (the 15th century), the Nikholskaja church (the 14th and 18th centuries), the Troitskaja church and the Voskresensky cathedral (the 17th century) etc. The river, flowing through the town, decorate the landscape.

Cosy streets of the modern town are swamped in greens of gardens and parks. .

Pages of history

The flows of the rivers Polist and Pererytitsa. Their coasts give the poetry to the lanscapes of Staraja Russa.

The first mention about Staraja Russa was found in the Novgorod chronicle of 1167. Archaeological excavations of 1966 confirmed, that already in the second half of the 12th century Russa was the comfortable town with paved streets, wooden buildings and well advanced handicrafts. The finds, found by the excavations in 1969-1970, confirmed the assumptions, that the ancient town arisen in the second half of the 10th century developed due to the salt craft. For a long time Russa was depending of Kiev princes, it was their basic point on a way from Russia to Novgorod. But during the feudal conflicts the town was several times at the centre of the battles. Russa was with difficulty restored after the raids and the fires. In 1190 and 1194 the town burned up, but was again restored. The inhabitants of Russa surrounded the town by earthen fortifications and wooden fortress walls, and on the approaches to the town the monasteries were under construction.

The hordes of the khan Batyj, invaded Russia in 1237, did not reached Russa and Novgorod, but taxed Russa, and for the resistance in 1285 the environs of Russa were plundered and routed.

Under Ivan I Kalita Russian towns began to recovered. In Russa there were a lot of the salt-mines. They began unite in artels because of the necessity to drill the chinks. On conclusions of the experts one of the them appeared in the area of the modern resort in 1370, not later. In 1424 in Russa the state salt-mines appeared. The handicrafts began to develop, the settlement grew, and the merchants appeared. The disposition of the town on a great water way ensured its wide connections with other countries (Denmark, Poland, Lithuania). The churches were under construction, in the first half of the 15th century 10 churches were constructed in Russa, 5 of them were stone.

But the enmity between Novgorod and Moscow princes involved the town on an arena of the struggle. And as a result of the campaigns of Ivan III the large part of the lands passed to the Moscow state. Further Russa became the possession of Ivan IV (Grozny) and received the name Staraja Russa. In the beginning of the 17 century "the Vague time" began - the Polish-Lithuanian gangs of Lgedmitry II, devastated Old Russa in 1608, and the conquest by the Swedes in 1611. After the liberation in Staraja Russa 38 inhabitants rested instead of 8 thousands people. For the restoration of the town the tsar ordered to settle Staraja Russa by the inhabitants of other towns. And Staraja Russa revived again, and the salt-mines restored, but the former prosperity was not achieved. The visits of Peter I in 1693 and 1724 promoted the improvement of salt-mines and the foundation of a craft on preparation of oak wood for local shipyard.

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The house-museum of F. M. Dostoevsky.

The fire of 1763 destroyed again all wooden structures of the town, then the town was under construction according to the new plan. Its centre was moved from the coast of the river Porusji (modern Malashka) to the right coast of the river Polist, here the stone buildings of the trade court and inns were erected. February 15, 1776 Staraja Russa received its own insignia and was announced the district town of Novgorod province. In 1785 Staraja Russa received public self-management. Under the tsar Alexander I in district of Staraja Russa there were the military settlements, the military heads governed in the town, the industry and trade were depressed. In 1831 the epidemic of a cholera came from Asia. And in Staraja Russa the revolt broke out. Though this revolt was suppressed, the tsar Nikolaj I understood, that the military settlements should be abolished, and the Staraja Russa district was again created. The industry, the trade and the transport began gradually develop, and in 1858 the steamship communication between Staraja Russa and Novgorod began to function, and in 1870 the railway of the same direction was constructed. And then there were the First World war, during which in Staraja Russa the military hospitals were opened, the revolution of 1917, the Civil war, and the ruin. During the Great Patriotic war of 1941-1945, on July 5, 1941 on the town the first fascist bombs fallen, as a result of the hard battles in August, 1941 the town was yielded to the enemy. February 18, 1944 Staraja Russa was released.

Places of Interest

The Spaso-Preobrajhensky monastery.

The earliest of the survived monuments of the ancient architecture in Staraja Russa is the Spaso-Preobrazhensky monastery. It is located near the right coast of the Polist. The main stone construction of the monastery is the Spassky cathedral founded in 1198 and built for 70 days. The complex of monastery buildings formed by the 17th century, survived to our times. Nowadays all the structures of the monastery are restored, in the cathedral there are the exhibition of the fragments of frescos of the 15-17th centuries, and there is the Museum of local lore, too. One more monument of the architecture of the 15th century is the church of Mina - a small building of the cubic form with one dome. In 1371 the inhabitants of Staraja Russa constructed near the trade square the stone church "to a patron of trade" Nikolaj Mirlikijsky. This Nikolsky temple was with one dome, but in the beginning of the 18th century it was reconstructed, and it became five-domed, and in the 19th century the belfry was attached to the church. Now in this complex there is the exhibition "the Finds of the archaeologists in Staraja Russa". In restored Troitskaja church (the 17th century) the exhibition of the painting of the 18th century was placed. One more interesting sight of the town is the Voskresensky cathedral (1692-1696).

The Muravjevsky fountain.

In the town there is the museum, devoted to a history of the resort "Staraja Russa". The resort was founded in 1828 on the sources of the medical mineral waters and mud. The glory of the sources quickly grew. In the second half of the 19th century over thousand people were treated in "Staraja Russa".

The great Russian writer Fedor Michailovich Dostoevsky arrived in Staraja Russa in 1872 and lived here fore eight years with his family. In the house on the silent coast of the river Pererytitsa there are genuine things, documents and books belonging to the writer.

The magnificent park with the picturesque lakes and beautiful fountains surrounds the buildings of the resort. And famous Muravjevsky fountain opened in 1854 and representing a pole of mineral water 10 ms height, amazes the tourists.