How did the name "Great Ustyug" come about? History of Russian cities

In the Vologda region on the bank of the beautiful river Sukhona is located one of the oldest northern Russian cities - Veliky Ustyug. This is an amazing and fabulous place, from the very name of which is bleak gray antiquity. How the name "Veliky Ustyug" happened, you can find out by referring to the history of this small but famous town.

Ancient history of the city

The first mention of it dates back to 1207, although even then it was a large settlement. Originally, the settlement was called Gleden or Gleden, perhaps because of the fact that a good view opened up from the small hill on which the town grew up.

However, Gleden is not exactly Ustyug, since it was located a few kilometers from the modern city, but was devastated in internecine wars, burned and never rebuilt. But at the confluence of the river of the South in Sukhotnu a new city has grown up. As the name Veliky Ustyug is clear from its location - in the mouth of the South River. More precisely, in those distant times the town was simply called Ustyug, and it will receive its title later.

The ancient history of the city is rich in events and military exploits. Since its appearance until the XVI century, Ustyug was one of the fortresses defending the northern borders of Russia, and later the Moscow principality.

One of the interesting facts of the history of this city is that it never had serfdom. If you look at the location of Veliky Ustyug on the map of Russia, the reasons for this will become clear. The landowners did not want to go to such remote northern regions. Therefore local peasants were free and paid taxes to the treasury of the city, which in those days was also considered free.

Acquiring the title

The name Veliky Ustyug received in the 16th century, when thanks to the opening of the Northern Sea Route, the city became an important center of trade. It was here that merchants from Holland and England arrived who were carrying overseas goods. Then their way lay in Vologda, and thence to Moscow.

Most of the goods at that time were crossed along the rivers, while Veliky Ustyug was located at the crossroads of waterways. It is not for nothing that the image of Neptune is placed on the city coat of arms. Pitchers with jets of water in the hands of this mythological character are symbols of the rivers Yuga and Sukhona, which merge into the Northern Dvina. How to get to Great Ustyug knew all the enterprising merchants.

The development of trade has become not only a source of wealth for the city, but also contributed to the development of crafts. The city grew, many churches and temples were built in it, and the icon painters and artists of the Great Iron were famous as unsurpassed masters of a special, northern letter.

Ustyugans played an important role in the development of Siberia. Moreover, not only peasants and artisans take part in the campaigns for the development of new lands, but also merchants and industrialists.

Decline of the city in the XVIII - XIX centuries

The conquest of Peter the Great, the discovery of his access to the sea, led to the loss of Veliky Ustyug of its importance as a shopping center. And the construction of railroads that passed away from the city, and completely deprived of its former grandeur. 200 years after the name Veliky Ustyug, it finally turned into a small provincial town, surviving, mainly, through folk crafts, for example, the famous "northern mob" - silvering.

Modern Great Ustyug

Currently, the city, which has only a little more than 30 thousand people, has long been popular with tourists thanks to the preserved old mansions and temples. Visitors are struck by their beauty and harmony snow-white churches and cathedrals of the XVII century: Epiphany, Sretensko-Preobrazhenskaya, the Church of St. John of Ustyug, Prokopyevsky Cathedral and the oldest church in the city of Ascension. Many surviving churches and churches and later period. All of them create a special atmosphere of the ancient fairy tale in the city.

Some mansions and temples have now become museums, for example, in the house of the merchant Usov there is a museum of local lore, and in the St. Nicholas Church you can see an exhibition of folk art.

One of the attractions of the vicinity of Veliky Ustyug is a unique natural spring - a ten-meter waterfall, called "Vaska key". It is located near the village of Nizhnyaya Tosma. According to legend, to the emergence of this amazing source, a paw with the name Vaska, split a cliff, from which the key was scored, attached a paw.

But most importantly - in the Great Ustyug is the estate of Santa Claus.

On a visit to Santa Claus

Now very few people think about how the name Veliky Ustyug happened, considering that this city is called the Great because it is there that the main wizard of the Russian land lives. Although his hometown of this city was announced relatively recently - at the end of the XX century.

Built patrimony and the house of Santa Claus, and the gray-bearded elder himself harmoniously blended in the original architecture of the ancient city, and in the fantastic landscapes of the northern nature.

And in winter tourists from all corners of the country come to see firsthand the house of Santa Claus and the real master of the cold. For guests who meet the Snow Maiden and different characters of Russian fairy tales, there are various entertainment programs, including visits to museums, the residence of Father Frost and the Throne Room.

How to get to Veliky Ustyug? Very simple. From Moscow and St. Petersburg, you need to travel by train to Kotlas, and from there by bus to the homeland of Santa Claus. There is another option - to go to Vologda, where there is also a bus. In summer, you can make a fascinating walk from Vologda on a motor ship.