Veliky Ustyug, located in the north - east of the Vologda Region, Russia’s North-West, turns 877 years old. Celebrations on this occasion will be held on July 19 and 21.
Veliky Ustyug is a northern town that retains in its historical part features of the 17th-18th century architecture and lay-out. It is in fact a unique open-air museum. It is an ancient Russian town, a contemporary of Moscow and Vologda.
A group of old churches, prominent in the panorama opening from the Sukhona River, form the nucleus of the historical centre. This part of Veliky Ustyug abounds with buildings of civic and ecclesiastic use which were designed in the 17th and 18th centuries. Much of its charm and originality the old town owes to an ingenious system of spacial correlations on which the lay-out of its streets and squares is based. Dwelling houses of baroque and classical design alternate with buildings of religious purpose: the monastery of the Archangel Mikhail, the group of churches that once belonged to the Saviour Monastery, the Church of the Ascension which is the oldest in the town (1648).
No account of the artistic development of the town would be complete without mentioning decorative, applied and fine arts. The productions of Veliky Ustyug's folk artists are original and distinctive. The local traditions of decorative and applied arts have their roots in the hoary past. The Severnaya Chern workshop perpetuates a remnant of the town's former exotic trading connections. There, craftsmen produce fine niello silverwork of a kind not seen anywhere else in northern Europe - delicate black alloy inlaid on engraved silver.
The town offers an unforgettable journey to Ded Moroz, who lives in his wooden palace in the forests at Votchina a few miles outside Veliky Ustyug. Ded Moroz, the Snow Maiden and their helpers operate a year round business, but naturally things are at their most feverish in the run-up to the New Year.
The peculiarity of the district consists in the vicinity of the wildlife which is unique in its beauty, with the ancient monuments of history and architecture. Forests contain an abundance of wilderness, wildlife and spectacular beauty.
Теги: Veliky Ustyug