KOSTROMA CITY
The city is located on the banks of the Volga River 330 kilometers northwest of Moscow. Kostroma, like Moscow, was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1152. Over the centuries such numerous disasters as internecine wars between princes, devastating wars with Mongol invaders, terrible fires and Polish-Lithuanian invasion befell the town. Yet, each time it rose again from the ashes and healed its severe wounds.
In1778, Kostroma became the center of a gubernia (province), and several years later a master pan for its development was adopted, by which all its radial streets were to converge on the central square with a huge Shopping Center on the bank of the Volga. Today Kostroma is the only city in Russia which has retained the layout and architectural ensemble formed in its central part during the XVIII - early XIX centuries. Of the buildings erected in the XIX century no two were alike, which is an indication of a high standard of town planning in that period. A peculiar feature of the old part of Kostroma is the abundance of wooden houses. Their facade decorations and forged balcony railings add very special features to their appearance. However, Kostroma`s principal attraction is the Ipatiev Monastery. It is from this monastery that Michael Romanov, the first of the Romanov dynasty, was called to become tsar of Russia.
MONUMENTS The Ipatiev Monastery. The Ipatiev Monastery founded around 1330 is located at the confluence of two rivers - the Volga and the Kostroma. The monastery was first mentioned in chronicles in 1435. Its architectural ensemble was formed during the XVI-XIX centuries. Since the middle of the XVI century the monastery entered the period of prosperity, the development being attributed to the rise of the Godunovs who used to give great donations to the monastery. Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. The crowning glory of the Ipatiev Monastery ensemble is the five-dome Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. The original stone cathedral was built in 1558-64 with the Godunovs` contributions. In the middle of the XVII century the cathedral was destroyed by a gun powder explosion. The new church was built in 1652 Boyars Romanovs` Chambers. The monastery complex also includes the Boyars Romanovs` Chambers. Originally there were monk cells there wherein the Prior of the monastery used to live. In 1613 Michael Romanov and his mother, nun Marfa, occupied two small rooms on the first floor. In the middle of the XIX century the monastery building became ramshackle and was rebuilt to look like a tsar palace. Church of the Resurrection-on-the-Debre. Another treasure of Kostroma is the Church of the Resurrection-on-the-Debre built in the XVII century with the donations of the merchant Kiril Isakov. The church catches the eye with its amazingly festive appearance. Its red-brick walls are decorated with white-stone inserts and green glazed tiles on the domes. A covered gallery runs along its three sides. Three ornate tent-shaped porches lead to the gallery. The Epiphany Monastery (founded in the first quarter of the XV century), residence of the present Archbishop of Kostroma, is in the center of the city and accommodates a seminary, workshops for making church clothes, icons, as well as a printing house for publishing a newspaper.
MUSEUMS The State History and Architecture Museum-Preserve "Ipatiev Monastery" was established in 1958. It is located on the grounds of the Ipatiev monastery, and incorporates Architecture and Ethnography Museum founded in 1957.
The Museum-Preserve is one of the biggest museums in Russia. With its collection numbering over 400,000 objects the museum has more than 50 monuments of architecture of the XVI-XIX centuries. Exhibitions housed in the Ipatiev monastery include the "Sacristy of the Trinity Cathedral" (donations of boyar and tsar families), "History of the Kostroma Region from Ancient Times to the End of the XIX Century", "Church Antiquities of the XIV-XIX centuries", "The Boyars Romanos` Chambers", "Natural History of the Kostroma Region". The Natural History Department of the Museum is housed in the former almshouse of the Ipatiev monastery. The collection of I.M. Rubinsky, a local scientist, containing about 4,000 specimens of insects from different continents is of special interest for visitors. The Museum of Wooden Architecture is Russia`s first outdoor museum of this kind. Houses, barns, bath-houses, four mills, wooden churches and chapels were moved there from different parts of the Kostroma region. Brought together, they give us a full idea about country life in the Upper Volga Region. The pride of the museum is the Cathedral of Holy Mother of God (1552) from the village of Kholm.
Top