Staraya Ladoga is one of the oldest trading settlements of Northern Russia. It was once the residence of Prince Rurik. Now you can see a powerful fortress of the 15-16th centuries, the church of St. George of the 12th century with unique paintings, a museum exposition in one of the towers with a rich archeological collection and much more.
History of the fortress
The first written mention of Ladoga dates back to 1010, that is, Staraya Ladoga of ancient Moscow. Archaeologists claim that there was a settlement here already in the 7-8th centuries: the remains of houses, hearths and barns have been found. It is believed that the first inhabitants were Scandinavians, and then came here Slavic tribes.
The fortified settlement stood on the trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks", grew and became rich through trade. Here, for example, were found Arab coins of the 8th century and jewellery characteristic of Bulgaria - so there was trade with the south. Glass beads with "eyes" - the most fashionable jewellery of that time - were produced here. It is believed that it was Ladoga that Rurik made his residence. Several times the rich city was subjected to ruin.
Very early, already in the 10th century, there was a stone fortress - under the famous Prophetic Oleg, the Prince of Novgorod and Kiev. Its remains were found by archaeologists in the 70s of 20th century, however, these findings can be questioned. The fact is that the remains of the next fortress, 12th century, again wooden. Anyway, the fortress was surrounded by high ramparts, and the bend of the two rivers - Ladoga and Volkhov - was blocked by a specially dug moat, that is, the fortress was on an artificial island.
Since the 14th century Ladoga has been repeatedly subjected to attacks of the Swedes - it was taken, then beaten back. The current fortifications date back to the 16th century: like many other northern fortresses in these years Staroladozhskaya fortress is being rebuilt in accordance with the requirements of the new times. Firearms spread, artillery reached a new level - all this required the construction of new walls and towers.
After the Great Northern War, Staraya Ladoga lost its strategic importance. Peter the Great founded New Ladoga, in a location he deemed more suitable. Staraya Ladoga lost its status as a town - it was now a village.
By the end of the 19th century it had fallen into disrepair, but by that time archaeologists had become interested in it. Already in 1884 scientific excavations began here. The main research in Ladoga was conducted in the 30s of the 20th century under the guidance of the famous archaeologist Vladimir Bogusevich, who in these years investigated Pskov and Novgorod.
The Churches of St. George and St. Demetrius of Solunsk
There are two unique churches on the territory of Staraya Ladoga.
In the twentieth century the church was restored in its original forms, and on the stanzas and in the altar were discovered frescoes of the 12th century. About one-fifth of all the frescoes have been preserved. The most interesting of them is the fresco in the altar, depicting St George defeating the dragon. It is inscribed in the concave altar apse: the artist who painted it took into account the distortion of the image. The fresco is painted in such a way as to appear flat even taking into account the curvature of the walls.
The unique wooden Church of Dmitry Solunsky was built in 1732. It was badly dilapidated by the end of the XIX century, but in the beginning of the 20th century, amid the craze for antiquity, it was restored in its former forms on the money of local merchants. It is one of the oldest wooden churches in Russia.
After the revolution it was given to the museum and it housed an exposition about peasant life. Nothing remains of the interior decoration. Now there is an exhibition of frescoes of St. George's Church and sometimes by agreement with the museum there are church services.
Museum
Now the Old Ladoga Fortress is a museum. Its towers and walls were built in the 15th century, and significantly rebuilt in the 16th century. The walls are relatively low - on average about 10 metres high, but they are exceptionally strong. They are up to 7 metres thick in some places and were built to withstand artillery strikes.
The fortress was already considerably destroyed by the end of the 19th century. During the post-war restoration, two towers, the Vorotnaya and Klimentovskaya, and a section of the wall were fully restored, the rest was mothballed. The Raskatnaya, Strelochnaya and Tainitskaya towers are still in a dilapidated state. On the territory of the fortress, excavations continue.
The Gate Tower now houses a museum exposition. The museum appeared here back in 1971. It occupies two tiers of the tower. One of the expositions tells about the earliest settlements on these territories, dating back to the Neolithic period, and about the funeral rites of that time, another exposition reveals the numerous trade relations of medieval Ladoga, and finally the last one tells about the urban life and military history of the fortress.
Another part of the fortress, available for inspection is the Earthen Town. These are earthen bastions built in the late 17th century as an additional fortification. According to archaeological data, the original settlement was here.
Varangian Street
From the fortress goes Varangian Street - it is considered one of the oldest streets in Russia. It has preserved wooden buildings of the 19th century, and recently was installed a bronze "Attacking Falcon" - a symbol of the Old Ladoga and the Rurik family itself. There is also a monument to two princes - Rurik and Prophetic Oleg, by sculptor Oleg Shorov. He also appeared already in the 21th century.
In one of the merchant's mansions, a wooden house of merchant A. Kalyazin, now there is a museum dedicated to the Ladoga merchants. In the stone house, which belonged to the same family since 2003, there is an archaeological exposition. There are more than a thousand items found here during excavations.
Monasteries
Apart from the fortress in Staraya Ladoga it is worth visiting two monasteries, one for men and one for women.
The Old Ladoga Nikolsky Monastery was founded by Alexander Nevsky after the Battle of Neva, and now you can see the 18th-century Nikolsky Cathedral and the interesting church of St John Zlatoust. The Old Ladoga Dormition Monastery has preserved the Dormition Cathedral of the 12th century with the remains of ancient frescoes, as well as buildings of the middle of the 19th century in the Empire style. Here grow old huge linden trees - the monastery legend says that they were planted by Evdokia Lopukhina, the first wife of Peter the Great, who was exiled to this very monastery. Also in this monastery the abbess of the 19th century Abbess Eupraxia is honoured as a saint. At the place where she once appeared to St Barbara in a vision, there is a chapel.
Both monasteries are now operating, actively restoring and improving their territories.
Once in Staraya Ladoga on Malysheva Hill there was another monastery - St John the Baptist. Now from it there remains a functioning church of St John the Baptist, built in 1695. In the middle of the 20th century the building was on the verge of destruction. The fact is that in Malysheva Mountain the local population has long been mining sand, and eventually the mountain began to settle. Already in the 21th century the mountain was strengthened with concrete ties, and the church was restored and handed over to the believers.
Interesting facts
Staraya Ladoga is not only older than Moscow, but also considers itself "the ancient capital of Northern Russia".
The first researchers told about the mysterious underground passages that led from the towers to the river. Modern archaeologists have not discovered any underground passages.
On a side note
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Location: Staraya Ladoga, Volkhov Ave, 19.
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How to get there: by train from Ladoga railway station to Volkhovstroy-1 station, then by bus № 23 to the fortress.
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Official website: http://www.ladogamuseum.ru
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Opening hours: 09:00-18:00, St. George's Church only in summer.
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Cost of visit. Entrance to the territory: adults - 50 rubles, privileged categories - free of charge. Single ticket to all expositions: adult - 200 rubles, concessionary 100 rubles.
