Human development of the Moscow region
The territory of the modern Moscow region - located in the central part of the East European Plain in the basins of the Volga, Oka, Klyazma and Moskva rivers - according to archeology, was inhabited by humans 20 thousand years ago. The primitive society here lived by hunting, gathering and fishing.
The oldest and most important archaeological site of the Upper Paleolithic (Early Stone Age) era in the Moscow region is the Zaraisk site, located in the center of Zaraysk. It belongs to the Kostenki-Avdeevka archaeological culture, dating back to 22–19 thousand BC. e. The culture left many richly ornamented bone products, among other things, the famous anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines - “Kostenko Venuses”. Neolithic (late Stone Age) sites were discovered in the village of Rybaki, Dmitrovsky district, the village of Zhabki, Egoryevsky district, the village of Belivo, Orekhovo-Zuevsky district, the village of Nikolskoye, Ruzsky district, and other places.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow regionIn the III–I millennium BC. e. The Bronze Age begins in the region described. Man learned to make tools from alloys of copper and other non-ferrous metals. This period is represented here by the Fatyanovo culture of the Volga-Oka interfluve - pastoralists who migrated from the southeastern steppes in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e.
The Iron Age replaced bronze at the end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. People made iron from swamp ore, deposits of which are often found in the Moscow region. An archaeological site of the early Iron Age was discovered in Domodedovo, the so-called. The Shcherbinskoye settlement is located on the right bank of the Pakhra River. In the 1st millennium AD e. The territory of the Moscow region was inhabited mainly by the Finno-Ugric peoples Meshchera and Meryans. And the Slavic tribes of the Vyatichi and Krivichi penetrated here starting from the 4th century.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
History of the Moscow region in the 1st millennium AD. rich and varied. On the territory of Podolsk, in a bend of the Pakhra River, a monument of federal significance was discovered, Gorodishche Lukovnya. There have been settlements here since the 5th century BC. e. to the 17th century AD e. Not far from Domodedovo, on the left bank of the Pakhra River, is the Starosyanovskoe settlement of the 6th–15th centuries. The cultural layer of the settlement contains ceramics from the Dyakovo culture - the ancestors of the Meri and Vesi tribes. It is worth noting the Vyatichi burial mound necropolis of the 12th–13th centuries. near the Gorki Leninskie estate; archeological monument of federal significance Akatov kurgan group of the 12th–13th centuries. near Balashikha, associated with the settlement of the Pekhorka valley; the disappeared city of the 11th–12th centuries, Iskona, inhabited by Krivichi, stood on the river of the same name in the territory of the modern Mozhaisk region.
The period of formation and development of statehood
The history of the formation of the state in Russia is inextricably linked with the lands of the modern Moscow region. So, from the middle of the 13th century they were part of the great Vladimir-Suzdal principality. In 1236, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich allocated the Principality of Moscow as an inheritance to his son Vladimir. The center of the principality was the city of Moscow, founded by Yuri Dolgoruky presumably in 1147.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
During the period of fragmentation, rivalry with neighboring principalities occurred against the background of resistance to the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In 1238, North-Eastern Rus' was devastated by the invasion of Khan Batu, and the territories near Moscow were repeatedly plundered. Later, Kolomna, Mozhaisk, Serpukhov, Zaraysk and other cities of the current Moscow region became fortress cities in the fight against the Horde, Lithuania and the Crimean Tatars. In addition to the cities, monasteries near Moscow played a significant defensive role - Joseph-Volotsky near Volokolamsk, Savvino-Storozhevsky in Zvenigorod and the Trinity-Sergius Monastery.
It was Moscow, of the appanage principalities of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, that became the head of the fight against the Mongol-Tatar yoke and the center of the unification of Russian lands and received the greatest development. At the beginning of the 14th century, the Moscow Principality expanded to include Kolomna, Pereslavl-Zalessky and Mozhaisk. Under Dmitry Donskoy, in 1376, the principality established its influence in Volga-Kama Bulgaria. And in 1380, the troops of the already united Russian lands, led by the Moscow prince, set out to meet the army of Mamai, who came to Rus'. The Battle of Kulikovo ended in the defeat of the Horde, which became a turning point in the Mongol-Tatar invasion.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
The protracted internecine war in the principality in the second quarter of the 15th century ended in the victory of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark. At that time, the territory of the Moscow Principality was 430 thousand square kilometers with a population of 3 million people.
In the 15th–16th centuries, under Ivan III and Vasily III, on the lands of Rus', with the exception of those that fell under the rule of the Prince of Lithuania and the King of Poland, a single Russian state was formed, including the Yaroslavl, Rostov, Tver principalities and the Novgorod and Pskov republics. At this time, agriculture continues to develop on Moscow lands, especially three-field crop rotation. The importance of feudal, landownership also increased, and corvée farming developed. Non-agricultural activities are also undergoing positive changes, and trade is flourishing. Cities near Moscow have been known since then for crafts, for example, Serpukhov - leather production and metalworking, Kolomna - brick production.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
The events of the Time of Troubles, the first and second people's militia also unfolded on the territory of the modern Moscow region. It is worth noting the unsuccessful siege of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery by the troops of False Dmitry II, which lasted 16 months - from September 1608 to January 1610. At that time, the monastery had already become an influential religious center and a powerful military fortress with 12 towers.
Another famous monastery, dating back to the 17th century: the New Jerusalem Monastery - founded on the territory of present-day Istra in 1656 by Patriarch Nikon. The idea of the monastery was to recreate a complex of holy places in Palestine near Moscow. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the monastery became a popular center of pilgrimage. In 1920, a museum was created in the monastery. In 1991, it was named the “New Jerusalem Historical, Architectural and Art Museum.” Today the museum is one of the largest in the Moscow region. The stock collection includes archaeological, historical, ethnographic and art collections and numbers more than 180 thousand items.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
During the Empire
A new period in the history of the Moscow region begins under Peter I Alekseevich. By decree of the Tsar of All Rus' in 1708, all of Russia was divided into eight provinces, including Moscow. In addition to the lands near Moscow, the province included the territories of modern Vladimir, Ivanovo, Ryazan, Tula, Yaroslavl, Kaluga and Kostroma regions, a total of 50 counties. Since 1719, the Moscow province has been divided into nine provinces. The lands of the Moscow region became part of the Moscow province, governed by the governor. The rest of the provinces were headed by voivodes.
Boyar Tikhon Nikitich Streshnev, a relative of the royal family and educator of Peter I, was appointed the first Moscow governor in 1708. Administrative, police and military power was concentrated in his hands. In 1711, Streshnev became a senator, and vice-governor V. S. Ershov was appointed governor of the Moscow province. The next governors were M.G. Romodanovsky and K. A. Naryshkin. Afterwards, the Moscow province was headed by dignitaries in the position of governor-general. Among them are S.A. Saltykov, who played a prominent role in the accession of Anna Ioannovna, Z.G. Chernyshev, hero of the Smolensk War, governor of Belarus.
In the 18th century, with the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg, the economic importance of the Moscow region decreased. Now light industry has come to the fore in the economy. Manufactories, and later factories, developed in the cities of the Moscow region. Silk and cotton production is operating, finishing and spinning factories are being built. Handicrafts are also gaining great importance, for example, Gzhel ceramics. The villages of Shchelkovo and Zuevo become centers of crafts. Waterways, including the Oka River, contributed to the development of trade; the ports of Serpukhov and Kolomna had a significant turnover.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
In order to establish the exact boundaries of landholdings in the Moscow province, general land surveying began in 1766; The first master plans appeared for the cities of the Moscow region in the second half of the 18th century. Under Catherine II, the country was divided into 50 provinces and governorships and one region. In 1781, the Vladimir, Ryazan and Kostroma governorships were separated from the former territory of the Moscow province, and the remaining territory, slightly smaller than the modern Moscow region, was divided into 15 counties: Bogorodsky, Bronnitsky, Vereisky, Voskresensky, Volokolamsky, Dmitrovsky, Zvenigorodsky, Kolomensky, Klinsky, Mozhaisk, Moscow, Nikitsky, Podolsky, Ruzsky and Serpukhovsky. Subsequently, Nikitsky and Voskresensky districts were abolished. Therefore, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Moscow province had only 13 districts. Kashira district was formed on the territory of the Tula province, Zaraisky and Yegoryevsky - as part of the Ryazan province, they later became part of today's Moscow region.
Before the reform of 1775, there were only ten cities in the Moscow region. Later, on the Vladimir road, the city of Bogorodsk arose from the village of Rogozhi, and the village of Bronnitsy also became a city. Two more cities arose on the Pakhra River: Podolsk (formerly the village of Podol), and Nikitsk (formerly the village of Kolychevo). In addition to them, the large village of Voskresensk near the New Jerusalem Monastery became the city of Voskresensk.
In the 18th–19th centuries, Bogorodsk, Pavlovsky Posad and Orekhovo-Zuevo became important centers of light industry. From the first half of the 19th century, a large porcelain and earthenware production was formed in Gzhel on the basis of the local ceramics industry; in the 1830s, another porcelain factory opened in the Moscow province - in Dulevo.
The most important events of the Patriotic War of 1812 took place in the Moscow region. It is enough just to remember the Borodino field near Mozhaisk, where on September 7 one of the largest battles of that war took place.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
The Moscow province experienced a strong economic recovery in the second half of the 19th century, especially after the peasant reform of 1861. The formation of a railway network was taking place; in the 1850–1860s it was already possible to travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Sergiev Posad, Ryazan, Kursk and beyond. And before the First World War, the 11th beam of the Moscow hub “Lyubertsy - Arzamas” was completed. Accordingly, the presence or absence of railways near populated areas affected their economic development.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
Although mechanical engineering developed in the second half of the 19th century, textiles remained the leading industry in the province. At this time, the large Kolomna Machine-Building Plant and a carriage-building plant were opened in Mytishchi. Then the Klimovsky weaving loom plant, production of agricultural machinery in Lyubertsy. During the same period, vegetable gardening, suburban gardening, and dairy farming rose. The population of the Moscow region also grew; if in 1847 1.13 million people lived in the province, then in 1905 there were already 2.65 million.
From that time, many estates associated with the names of writers, artists, scientists and statesmen have been preserved in the Moscow region. Among the most famous are Abramtsevo in the Sergiev Posad district, Muranovo in the Pushkin district, Ostafyevo in the Podolsk district, Arkhangelskoye in Krasnogorsk. Today the estates have been turned into museums and nature reserves. Thus, the Melikhovo estate near the city of Chekhov was turned into a literary and memorial museum-reserve for the writer. And in Klin the house-museum of the composer P.I. Tchaikovsky was founded. The estates of Zakharovo and Bolshie Vyazemy in the Odintsovo district are part of the historical and literary museum-reserve named after A.S. Pushkin.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
Under Soviet rule
The economic growth of the province was facilitated by the transfer of the capital from St. Petersburg to Moscow in 1918. Over time, heavy industrial enterprises appear. The electric power industry was developing; in the 1920s, the Kashirskaya State District Power Plant and the large Elektrostal plant began operating.
In the 1920s–1930s, administrative transformations in the region took place. In 1929, the Moscow province was abolished, and instead the Central Industrial Region was formed with its center in Moscow. The region included the Moscow, Tver, Tula and Ryazan provinces, and a few months later the region was renamed Moscow. It was divided into ten districts: industrial - Moscow, Orekhovo-Zuevsky, Kolomensky, Kimry, Serpukhovsky, Tula, Tver; agricultural - Ryazan, Bezhetsk and Kaluga. In 1931, Moscow received the status of an independent administrative and economic unit. In 1935, 26 districts from Moscow were transferred to the newly formed Kalinin region. In 1937, 77 districts of the Tula and Ryazan regions were separated from the Moscow region. Many settlements were given urban status, and the category of urban-type settlements was introduced. New cities, for example, Krasnogorsk, Fryazino, Elektrostal, Dolgoprudny, were formed near industrial enterprises.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
In 1931, the region had 143 districts, consisting of 6,238 village councils, 67 cities, including seven separate administrative and economic units (Moscow, Tula, Tver, Orekhovo-Zuevo, Serpukhov, Bobriki, Zvenigorod), 60 workers’ villages and 37.1 thousand rural settlements. The population of the region was 11,359,300 people.
During this decade, the sectoral structure of the region's economy also changed. Heavy industry - mechanical engineering - received the greatest development. The chemical industry is also gaining importance, for example, a large plant for the production of mineral fertilizers and the Gigant cement plant were built in Voskresensk. Peat extraction was carried out in the east of the region. In the 1930s, with an increase in air traffic, the construction and equipment of new airports began in Bykovo, Tushino (then still part of the Moscow region) and Vnukovo.
The Great Patriotic War left a big mark on the history of the Moscow region; in 1941–1942, the Battle of Moscow took place - one of the most significant battles of that war. Then industrial enterprises were evacuated to the east. Tens of thousands of residents joined the militia. In October and November 1941, the army of invaders entered Mozhaisk. The battles were accompanied by heavy losses on both sides. In December, Solnechnogorsk, Klin, Istra, Volokolamsk and other cities in the Moscow region were liberated.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
Administrative changes also occurred during the war period. In 1944, the Borovsky, Vysokinichsky, Maloyaroslavetsky and Ugodsko-Zavodsky districts were transferred from the Moscow region to the Kaluga region. The Petushinsky district was transferred to the Vladimir region. And the areas transferred to the Moscow region in 1942 returned to the Ryazan and Tula regions. In 1960, a number of territories of the Moscow region were transferred to Moscow.
Post-war reconstruction turned into the development of new industries. Science cities were founded in Dubna, Pushchino, Troitsk, and Chernogolovka. Now the industry is dominated by chemistry, mechanical engineering, precision instrumentation and electrical power. The population of the Moscow region is growing. To provide it with food products, livestock complexes and poultry farms are being built. In 1969, one of the largest greenhouse complexes in the country was organized at the Moskovsky state farm. The transport system has also reached a corresponding level of development: gas pipelines and high-voltage power lines, electrification of main railway lines, the Moscow Ring Road. The rapid development of air transportation required an increase in the capacity of the Moscow air hub: Sheremetyevo Airport was opened in 1959, and Domodedovo Airport in 1964. In the 1980s, the service sector, centered in Moscow, became a significant component of the region's economy. As a result, there is pendulum migration from the region to the capital.
Source: Photobank of the Moscow region
Russian Federation
The crisis of the 1990s had the greatest impact on the manufacturing industry and science. The state of the food industry, construction industry and mechanical engineering was assessed positively. By 1997, the Moscow region retained only 32% of industrial production from the 1990 level.
The economic growth of the region, which began in 1997, was suspended by the 1998 default, but then became stable, and since then the industry of the region and the entire economy as a whole have been developing at an accelerated pace. The volume of industrial production in the Moscow region in 2004 amounted to only 77% of the 1990 level (the Russian average is 71%). But by 2005, the process of reindustrialization of the Moscow region made it possible to restore pre-crisis indicators, and by 2007 the region exceeded them by a third.
A new stage of economic recovery occurred in the first half of the 2000s. The number of unemployed has decreased significantly. The overall unemployment rate decreased from 7.9% in 2000 to 2% in 2007. According to this indicator, the region rose to second place in the Central Federal District after Moscow (0.8%, respectively).
Investment projects in the field of high technology have been developed. Their implementation took place in Dubna, Krasnoznamensk, Khotkov. The research and production cluster “Photonics” is being founded in Fryazin. During the period from 2001 to 2010, the Moscow region became one of the most attractive regions of Russia for investors and maintains this position to the present day. At this time, intensive construction of residential buildings is taking place in the cities closest to Moscow. Currently, the region ranks first in Russia in terms of housing commissioning. At the same time, residents are being resettled from dilapidated and dilapidated housing at a high pace.
As a result of administrative changes in the 2000s, the cities of Moskovsky, Golitsyno, Kubinka and others were formed from urban-type settlements and villages. In 2012, part of the territory of the Moscow region, including three cities - Troitsk, Moskovsky and Shcherbinka - became part of Moscow, as a result of which the territory of the region decreased by 144 thousand hectares, and the population - by 230 thousand people.
Over the past three years, 122 new enterprises have been built and over 200 thousand new jobs have been created. The volume of investments has also increased and amounts to 59 billion rubles. Of the 28 existing industrial parks, 12 were created in 2015. At the same time, two special economic zones (SEZs) were created in the region: the industrial-production type “Stupino”, where five companies invested 5.5 billion rubles and created 550 new jobs, as well as the technology-innovation type “Istok” in the urban district Fryazino. Here ten companies are implementing their projects with a total investment of at least 48.5 billion rubles.
You can admire this view from one of the surrounding hills for a very long time without stopping.
The Lavra is a real museum of the history of Russian church architecture; here you can find most of the famous styles, and their most striking examples.
There are also picturesque places outside the Lavra, although I must admit that I haven’t explored the surrounding area very well yet: 
Second place is Kolomna, a large historical city about 100 km away. from Moscow, which is unofficially called the “capital of the Moscow region”. In the 16th century, it was the main outpost against the regular invasions of the Crimean Tatars, so a huge brick Kremlin, only slightly smaller in size than the Moscow one, was built here even before Ivan the Terrible. During raids, tens of thousands of residents from the surrounding volosts took refuge in it.
Now only a few towers and small fragments of walls remain from the Kolomna Kremlin, but they also make an indelible impression: 
Inside the former Kremlin, the magnificent ensemble of the old city has been preserved, which has been given the status of a nature reserve. You rarely see this here in Russia - everything is licked, cleaned, painted, people continue to live in small old houses. But there is also the opposite effect - a feeling of some kind of sterility, emptiness and unnaturalness of the situation. What is missing is what makes up the soul of a museumized historical center in any country in the world - crowded streets with thousands of cafes, restaurants, shops, workshops, street musicians, artists, etc.
But still great, beautiful: 
The other day I came to Kolomna for the third time since 2005 and I hope to return.
Third place - Dmitrov, 65 km. north of Moscow. I have been visiting this city since childhood and have seen how dramatically it has changed over the past 20 years. It seems that there is a real economic boom there and new infrastructure is growing right before our eyes - shopping and sports centers, vast residential areas, central streets are being improved. I don’t remember that anywhere else in Russia the historical center was completely reconstructed over the course of several years, the main street was blocked off and turned into a pedestrian zone, decorative shopping arcades were built, and many street sculptures were installed. More precisely, there is only one example - the above-mentioned Kolomna.
As well-maintained and cultured as in Kolomna, the historical center of Dmitrov is still very different in itself. Its core consists of the high earthen ramparts of the former wooden Kremlin, within which is enclosed the impressive Assumption Cathedral of the 16th century: 
Outside the ramparts, a private building area has been preserved, and behind it is another attraction in the ensemble of the historical center, the Boris and Gleb Monastery: 
This monastery amazes with its fantastic well-groomed, not to say varnished appearance. The temples and walls shine with whiteness, the entire territory is buried in flowers and is a monument to modern landscape and park art, there are even peacocks. In general, the visit evokes a feeling of complete delight and respect for the Dmitrov residents.
Fourth place is Zaraysk, the region’s furthest city from Moscow. It is almost undeveloped by tourists and gives the impression of some kind of reserve, a real Russian province with chickens on the streets and massive wooden buildings in the center, which are not threatened with demolition in the coming years, despite its dilapidation.
The main attraction is a fully preserved stone Kremlin of the 16th century with a regular rectangular shape: 
The surviving churches in the city are gradually being restored.
I would say that in all spirit Zaraysk is the antipode to the museumized historical center of Kolomna.
Fifth place - Serpukhov.
I visited there only once in 2007 and was captivated by the atmosphere. There was an impression that this rather large city was located not a hundred, but a thousand kilometers from Moscow, and it was still the 90s there. A huge contrast with Kolomna and Dmitrov, although perhaps my impressions in this case are very subjective.
There is no compact historical center in Serpukhov. The ancient Kremlin hill stands somewhere on the outskirts. A rather modest-looking cathedral rises on it and quiet village life flows around it: 
A very tragic story happened to the stone Serpukhov Kremlin. In the 1930s local authorities, either on their own idiotic initiative, or at the request of the center, decided to dismantle the ancient walls to their foundations and send the resulting stone for decoration of the Moscow metro under construction.
Only a small fragment was left as a keepsake for descendants: 
Well, where else in Russia these days can you see horses grazing near the Kremlin wall?
Sixth place - Podolsk. This large city is worth visiting if only to see one of the wonders of Russia - the Church of the Sign - on its outskirts, in the Dubrovitsy estate: 
In terms of its architecture, this temple has no analogues in Russia. It was built during the reign of Peter I by craftsmen invited from Switzerland, so the decoration corresponds more to the Catholic tradition: 
Seventh place - Zvenigorod. A small town with a sonorous name is located 30 km away. west of Moscow. The main attractions are outside its modern centre. On the old settlement (Gorodok) there is one of the oldest temples in the Moscow land - the white-stone Assumption Cathedral built in 1399. 
2 km. from Zvenigorod there is the famous Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery with the Nativity Cathedral of the 15th century.
The eighth place is the town of Vereya, 95 km southwest of Moscow, once the capital of the independent Vereya principality.
Vereya captivated me with its picturesqueness; if you go down from the high hill, where city life is in full swing, and cross the pedestrian bridge, you immediately find yourself in some kind of fairy-tale world of rural childhood: 
Right on the banks of the river, housewives milk cows; on the surrounding streets there are almost no souls.
View of the district from the city Kremlin hill: 
The city has several quite interesting churches, including the Nativity Cathedral from the mid-16th century (heavily rebuilt), but the main thing worth coming here for is the picturesque landscape.
The top ten most interesting cities in the Moscow region, of course, includes Mozhaisk, 110 km west of the capital. Once it was an outpost of Moscow against invasions from the west, a border fortress (hence the expression “Drive beyond Mozhai”). The Mozhaisk Kremlin has existed since the 12th century; at the beginning of the 17th century it received stone walls, which, unfortunately, were dismantled long before the revolution.
Now the historical center, the Kremlin hill, is the very outskirts of Mozhaisk. When entering the city from the west, the entire area is dominated by the new St. Nicholas Cathedral of the early 19th century in the style of Gothic romanticism: 
To the left of it you can see the old St. Nicholas Cathedral, of much more modest size.
Within the city there is an interesting Luzhetsky Ferapontov Monastery with a cathedral from the times of Ivan the Terrible.
Finally, in the top ten I would include the city of Bogorodsk (better known under the Soviet name Noginsk), which traces its origins to the village of Rogozhi since 1389: 
Although this city does not shine with architectural masterpieces and such a rich history as the previous ones, and has not retained much of the environment of the old center, it has many interesting and picturesque corners. Also worthy of attention are the efforts of local authorities to improve the most attractive places and create local areas where citizens would be pleased to come for recreation.
Of course, there are many more interesting and beautiful historical cities in the Moscow region, I hope that over time I will tell you about them.
The Moscow region celebrates its 85th anniversary in 2014. Meanwhile, many cities in the Moscow region are much older - they were founded in the Middle Ages, in the 12th-14th centuries. The most ancient cities of the region can be recognized by the preserved walls of the Kremlins, temples and monasteries, ancient “fortifications” and earthen ramparts. Correspondents of the portal “In the Moscow Region” chose the ten most ancient cities of the Moscow region, found out why they are remarkable, and found out which city near Moscow is older than Moscow.
Volokolamsk
The most ancient city in the Moscow region is Volokolamsk , or Volok Lamsky, as it was called in ancient times. This city is mentioned in Russian chronicles back in 1135. It is believed that he is 12 years older than Moscow. This was an important trade route from Novgorod to Moscow and Ryazan lands. Novgorodians dragged ships with goods from the Lama River to Voloshnya - hence the name. The oldest building of the Volokolamsk Kremlin that has survived to this day is the Resurrection White Stone Cathedral, built in the 15th century. The Kremlin itself, like most buildings of that time, was wooden, so the towers and walls have not survived to this day.
Near Volokolamsk there is the Joseph-Volotsky Monastery, founded in the 15th century. The walls with seven towers built in the 17th century have been preserved here. The oldest part of the monastery ensemble has also been preserved - the Epiphany Church, built in 1504, the ruins of a unique bell tower, the Peter and Paul Church, the Assumption Cathedral.
Kolomna
For the first time about Kolomna mentioned in the chronicle in 1177 as a border fortress of the Ryazan and Moscow principalities, and it was founded several decades earlier. This city was a traditional gathering place for Russian troops before campaigns against the Tatar-Mongols and the richest city after Moscow, and during the feudal wars in the mid-15th century - the capital of Muscovy. It was not for nothing that the princes of fragmented Rus' fought for it - Kolomna occupied an advantageous trading position between three rivers - the Moscow River, Oka and Kolomenka.
A monument of ancient Russian defensive architecture, the Kolomna Kremlin, built in the 16th century, has been partially preserved here. Today it houses a large museum complex. Thanks to the Kremlin, the enemies were not able to take the city by storm. The most famous tower is Marinkina. It is believed that the name comes from the name of the great prisoner - Marina Mniszech, who, according to legend, was imprisoned in a tower in 1614 and died here. Tour guides call Kolomna the Suzdal near Moscow. Now it is one of the most attractive tourist centers, with many fashionable projects.
Zvenigorod
Zvenigorod was founded in the mid-12th century, probably in 1152. According to one version, Moscow and Zvenigorod have the same founder - Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. At the same time, there were several cities with the same name in Rus'. Historians argue about the origin of the poetic name of the “ringing” city. There are different versions - from the word “ringing”, with which the population was notified of danger, to “Savenigorod”, that is, “the city of Savva” - in honor of the Monk Savva of Storozhevsky, the founder of the monastery. The city was also glorified by the famous Soviet actress Lyubov Orlova, who was born here.
The Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery is the main attraction of the Zvenigorod area. The monastery was founded at the very end of the 14th century on Mount Storozhe by Saint Savva, a disciple of the famous Russian saint Sergius of Radonezh, and in the 17th century, under the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich, it was actually rebuilt. On the territory of the monastery, one of the oldest temples on Moscow soil has been preserved - the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary from the early 15th century. The ancient fortress walls with towers, the palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the chambers of his wife Queen Maria Miloslavskaya, fraternal buildings with cells have also survived to this day.
Dmitrov
Dmitrov - another city on Moscow soil, founded by Yuri Dolgoruky in the mid-12th century. In a village on the Yakhroma River, on the way from Kyiv, the prince and his wife Olga had a son - Vsevolod the Big Nest, and at baptism - Dmitry, in whose honor it was decided to name the new city - Dmitrov.
The Kremlin in Dmitrov was made of wood and has not survived to this day. The ancient fortifications are evidenced by the high, up to 15 meters, earthen ramparts that surrounded the ancient settlement. They are a historical and cultural monument of federal significance. The Dmitrov Kremlin museum-reserve has been opened on the territory of the Kremlin.
Of the ancient buildings in the city, the Boris and Gleb Monastery of the 15th century, with a stone fence and turrets, has been preserved. The oldest church in the monastery is the Cathedral of Saints Boris and Gleb, built in the 16th century. During the Soviet years, the monastery housed the construction department of the famous Moscow-Volga canal.
Ruza
This small town in the western Moscow region was founded in the first third of the 14th century, around 1328. All that remains of the city fortress are the earthen ramparts, which have yet to be explored by archaeologists; now there is the “Gorodok” park, a recreational area for the townspeople.
Of the architectural monuments in the city, several churches have been preserved: the Resurrection Cathedral of the early 18th century, the Intercession and Dmitrievskaya churches (late 18th century), Boris and Gleb Church of the early 19th century. By the way, in the oldest local history museum in the Moscow region, opened in Ruse in 1906, they created a rich exhibition about the ancient inhabitants of the Moscow region - the Eastern Slavs.
Mozhaisk
First mention of a city on the river Mozhaisk found in the chronicles of 1231. In the 14th century, Mozhaisk was one of the religious centers of Rus' thanks to the miraculous icon of St. Nicholas of Mozhaisk; there were about 20 monasteries here. Of these, only one has survived - the Mozhaisk Luzhetsky Monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founded by the disciple of Sergius of Radonezh - Ferapont Belozersky in 1408. The monastery has preserved a number of architectural monuments from the 16th to 19th centuries, including the main Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the 16th century, a bell tower with a tomb from the 17th century, a gate church and a fence with towers from the 17th century.
The city is also famous for the Battle of Borodino in 1812. Mozhaisk Museum of History and Local Lore is a branch of the Borodino Military Historical Museum-Reserve.
Sergiev Posad
The main “tourist magnet” of the Moscow region, the only city in the region included in the “Golden Ring” of Russia, grew up around a wooden church in the name of the Trinity on Mount Makovets, where Sergius of Radonezh founded a monastic monastery in the 14th century. The year of foundation of the city is considered to be 1337. The Holy Trinity Lavra of Sergius, where the icons of the great icon painters Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny are kept, where, according to legend, Moscow Prince Dmitry Donskoy came for a blessing before the Battle of Kulikovo, where Tsar Ivan the Terrible bequeathed to bury himself and where the Moscow Theological Academy is now located, is included in the list of protected UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The oldest building of the Lavra is the white stone Trinity Cathedral, built over the tomb of St. Sergius of Radonezh in 1422-1423. According to the archives of the monastery, since 1575 the world famous icon of Andrei Rublev “Trinity”, painted in memory of the great saint and wonderworker, occupied the main place of the iconostasis of the Trinity Church - to the right of the royal doors. And the Assumption Cathedral of the Lavra (1585), with bright blue domes in golden stars, was created by order of Ivan the Terrible and on the model of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The Lavra's bell tower is the highest in Russia - 88 meters.
The Sergiev Posad Historical and Art Museum “Horse Yard” (former monastery stables) houses a unique and one of the largest collections of ancient Russian art from the 14th to 19th centuries in Russia.
Serpukhov
Serpukhov on the Nara River supposedly dates back to 1339 - it was a fortress on the borders of the Moscow Principality during the period of a long struggle with the Mongol-Tatars and Lithuanian-Polish conquerors. The main architectural monument of the city is the Vysotsky Monastery, one of the oldest in the Moscow region, founded in 1347 by the Serpukhov prince Vladimir the Brave. This is a center of pilgrimage to the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “Inexhaustible Chalice”, which is considered to relieve the ailments of drunkenness and drug addiction.
Among other antiquities of the city are the Vladychny Convent of the 14th century, fragments of the 16th century Serpukhov Kremlin on Cathedral Hill, the Trinity Cathedral of the 17th century on Cathedral Hill. More recent attractions include 19th-century shopping arcades and a number of churches and temples.
Wedge
Wedge first mentioned in chronicles in 1317. The fortress was destroyed at the very beginning of the 15th century by a Tatar-Mongol raid. The Klin Kremlin did not have stone structures or fortifications. The earthen ramparts have not survived, but a deep ravine is visible that protected the approaches to the city.
The oldest monument of the Klin Kremlin is the Resurrection Church of the early 18th century.
Kashira
One of the oldest cities in the Moscow region was first mentioned in the spiritual charter of Moscow Prince Ivan the Red in 1356. The antiquity of these places is evidenced by a unique archaeological monument - the Kashirskoye settlement, dating back to the 7-4 centuries BC. Traces of the ancient settlement can be seen on the banks of the Oka River. According to research, the settlement in Kashira It was fortified with a rampart, a ditch and an oak tine. Archaeologists discovered more than 20 dugout dwellings with stone hearths in the center, clay products, dishes, bone arrows, harpoons, iron tools and bronze jewelry.
Based on materials from: inmosreg.ru
The authorities of the Moscow region, together with developers and leading experts in the field of urbanism, discussed options for the development of historical cities in the region at the “Construction Week of the Moscow Region - 2014”. Experts from Strelka KB presented to the participants their vision of the recent history of these unique locations.
“The historical cities of the Moscow region, unlike similar locations in countries such as Spain or the United Arab Emirates, are not torn out of time, but continue to actively participate in the life of the region. However, this does not have the best effect on their architectural appearance. We went on an experiment, asking urban experts from Strelka KB to develop their vision of the development and transformation of historical cities. In their work, they outlined the goals that we want to achieve. The next stage will be the development of a plan for their implementation," said German Elyanushkin, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Moscow Region. Urbanists named the cyclical degradation of the urban environment as the main problem of historical cities. “The quality of the environment is decreasing, there is an outflow of population from cities, the economy is deteriorating, which is why the urban environment suffers even more,” explained Yuri Grigoryan, architect, head of the Meganom Project bureau, director of educational programs at the Strelka Institute of Media, Architecture and Design.
Despite the significant differences between the historical cities of the Moscow region, urbanists managed to derive their classification. Strelka KB specialists have identified 4 types of historical cities depending on their development potential:
- An attraction city that is developing successfully and has even greater potential for developing the tourism and real estate markets.
- A fair city with great potential for changes in the urban environment.
- A factory city with the lowest development potential.
- A monument city with low potential for changes in the urban environment, but with a unique historical heritage.
According to Yuri Grigoryan, a high-quality environment is formed in the presence of a clear strategy and well-developed mechanisms for its implementation. The implementation of plans will be possible if there is a commercial component, developers are confident. “The success of modernizing the historical cities of the Moscow region depends on the economic factor. The authorities need to interest and involve not only large businesses in the process, but also medium and small ones,” comments Sergey Korotchenkov, General Director of RDI. Urbanists are confident that it is possible today to preserve and develop the potential of historical cities not only by investing in a large number of environments, but also through cooperation between the state and society. You can start making improvements today, experts say. “The most obvious thing we can do without global changes is to work with islands of the urban environment such as estates and museums. The historical environment already exists there and has its own value, we just need to support and expand it,” says Mikhail Alekseevsky, head of the Center for Urban Anthropology, Strelka KB.
The international industry exhibition “Construction Week of the Moscow Region” is a unique congress and exhibition event that has federal status. This year, about 200 exhibitors and 160 business program speakers from 6 countries took part in the exhibition. Partners and sponsors of the event: PIK Group of Companies, FSK Leader, SU-155 Group of Companies, Morton Group of Companies, MIC Group of Companies, RDI Group, Urban Group, Krost Concern.
For more information:
Anna Nikolaeva,
Press service of the exhibition “Construction Week of the Moscow Region-2014”
[email protected], 8-926-890-85-95
Pre-Mongol, and accordingly pre-Moscow, Rus' is a country of great Russian cities: Kiev, Novgorod, Smolensk, Chernigov, Ryazan, Rostov, Suzdal, Vladimir... Many volumes of scientific and popular science books have been written about their history, films have been made, new exhibitions have opened. and museum exhibitions. And what cities were located at this time, more than 770 years ago, in the current cultural and geographical heart of Russia: on the territory of modern Moscow and the Moscow region? What has survived from these cities to the present day?
Scheme of ancient cities of the Moscow region of the pre-Mongol era
In the era of pre-Mongol Rus', at least seventeen Russian cities were located on the territory of the modern Moscow region: Volokolamsk, Dmitrov, Dubna, Zaraysk (Sturgeon), Zvenigorod, Kolomna, Koltesk, Lobynsk, Mozhaisk, Moscow, Perevitsk, Peremyshl Moskovsky, Rostislavl Ryazansky, Svirelsk, Teshilov, Tushkov and Khotun.
The information we have about these cities is mixed. We know almost nothing about one of them - the mysterious city of Svirelsk, except its name; we don’t even know its exact location. Other cities have been studied for many years by archaeological expeditions of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, other scientific institutions and museums. We can imagine the most ancient stages of the history of these cities in relatively detail - although the past of each of them still hides many secrets and mysteries.
Some ancient Russian cities of the Moscow region gradually developed into notable urban centers: Volokolamsk - an ancient Novgorod city on the trade route from the Nizovsky lands to Novgorod; Mozhaisk, which arose as an eastern outpost of the Smolensk Principality; Kolomna founded by Ryazan residents. Moscow from a small town has become a metropolis and the capital of a huge country. Other ancient cities of the Moscow region perished: for example, Koltesk - during the Mongol-Tatar invasion; or Rostislavl - later, during the active wars of Moscow with the Crimean Khanate.
Old Russian Dubna.
Pectoral cross and vest crosses, metal, stone, amber
In their place now there is no settlement, only archaeological monuments - the remains of ancient fortifications and a layer of earth saturated with traces of ancient life, called in archeology the “cultural layer”. Other cities have been preserved as small villages and villages - for example, Teshilov and Tushkov. And the ancient Russian Dubna, which after the invasion became the village of Gorodishche on the Dubno estuary, is now part of the modern city of Dubna, founded in the mid-twentieth century, and is its historical predecessor.
In the era before the Tatar-Mongol invasion, the lands of five ancient Russian principalities converged on the territory of the modern Moscow region. The central, northern and northeastern regions of the current region were part of the territory of the Rostov-Suzdal (later Vladimir-Suzdal) principality, the predecessor of Muscovite Rus'. It included the basin of the Klyazma River, the middle reaches of the Moscow River, the basin of the Dubna River and its tributaries, and the right bank of the Upper Volga.
Almost all the cities in this territory were founded or fortified by the Rostov-Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Among them are Dubna, Dmitrov, Moscow, probably Zvenigorod and Przemysl Moskovsky. By the 13th century, the lands of this principality expanded to include areas along the lower reaches of the Moscow River up to its mouth (Kolomna). In the southeast of the modern Moscow region, in the middle reaches of the Oka River, the lands of the Ryazan principality were located.
Old Russian Dubna. Encolpion Cross
Ryazan cities included Rostislavl, Perevitsk, Zaraysk (Sturgeon), and at first Kolomna was Ryazan. In the southwest of the Moscow region, along the banks of the Oka and its tributaries, the cities of Teshilov, Koltesk, Lobynsk were built as part of the Chernigov principality (later transferred to the Ryazan principality). The western part of the region - the upper reaches of the Moscow River - originally belonged to the Smolensk principality.
Here was the Smolensk outpost city of Mozhaisk. In the northwestern part of the present Moscow region, the Rostov-Suzdal principality bordered on Novgorod land. Here, on the trade route to Novgorod, was the ancient Novgorod city of Volokolamsk (Volok Lamsky). All ancient Russian cities of the Moscow region are located on the banks of rivers. The place of the ancient city in the hydrographic system of the Volga-Oka interfluve was one of the key factors that had a decisive influence on its history.
Most of the ancient cities of the Moscow region are mentioned in chronicles starting from the middle of the 12th century. The earliest chronicle mention most likely refers to the ancient Russian Dubna (1134, Novgorod First Chronicle). The second, under 1135, is Volokolamsk. List of dates of the first chronicle mentions of ancient Russian cities of the Moscow region (only cities first mentioned in pre-Mongol times are indicated):
1134 – Dubna
1135 – Volokolamsk
1146 or 1147 – Koltesk, Lobynsk
1147 – Moscow, Teshilov
1152 – Przemysl Moskovsky (according to V.N. Tatishchev)
1153 – Rostislavl
1154 – Dmitrov
1177 – Kolomna
1225 – Zaraysk (Sturgeon), possibly under the name Sturgeon – 1146.
1231 – Mozhaisk
1 Volokolamsk
Volokolamsk - Volok on Lama (Volok Lamsky). The ancient Novgorod city was located in the bend of the left bank of the Gorodnya River, at its confluence with the Lama River (a tributary of the Shosha River in the Volga basin), on the trade route connecting the Novgorod lands with the Volga-Oka basin. It was first mentioned in the chronicle in 1135. The cultural layer of the pre-Mongol period has been identified on the territory of the Volokolamsk settlement and the surrounding suburbs. Defensive structures of the 12th century were discovered in the lower layers of the rampart surrounding the fort, up to 6 meters high.
2 Dmitrov
Dmitrov, according to the chronicle, was founded in 1154 by Yuri Dolgoruky. Archaeological evidence confirms the existence of the city since the mid-12th century. The Dmitrov Kremlin, a fortified part of the ancient city, is located on the right bank of the Yakhroma River (a tributary of the Sestra River in the Volga basin). It is surrounded by a shaft up to 7 meters high. Numerous cultural remains of the pre-Mongol period have been discovered in the Kremlin and around it, on the territory of the suburbs.
Most experts consider the undoubted connection between the name of the city and the name of the Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessaloniki, which allows us to reasonably assume the appearance of the Demetrius Church here simultaneously with the creation of the city or in the first years of its existence. It is possible that it was in this church that the famous icon of Dmitry of Thessaloniki, originating from Dmitrov, was originally located, painted at the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th centuries.
3 Dubna
Old Russian Dubna was located on the right bank of the Volga, at the confluence of the Dubna River. Founded by Yuri Dolgoruky on the site of a previously existing Russian settlement. It was first mentioned in the chronicle in 1134, thus, it has the earliest mention of all the ancient Russian cities of the Moscow region. A small fragment of surviving defensive structures and individual areas of residential buildings were examined. In the immediate vicinity, on the right and left banks of the Volga, the left and right banks of the Dubna River, there are five villages, which are the remains of the settlements of the ancient Russian city.
One of them, the Pekunovskoe settlement, appears to have an earlier origin and contains numerous materials related to the functioning of the Volga trade route in the 10th-11th centuries. Probably this settlement was the historical predecessor of ancient Russian Dubna. In its vicinity there are two large burial mounds of the 11th-12th centuries, in which residents of the Pekunovsky village and the city of Dubna are probably buried. A somewhat later Christian cemetery of ancient Russian Dubna was located on the right bank of the Volga, on the slope of a sandy hillock near the southern outskirts of the city suburb.
Old Russian Dubna was a regional administrative, trade, military and spiritual center of the 12th – first third of the 13th centuries. Being at the first stage of its history a border fortress of the large Rostov-Suzdal principality, it later became part of the Pereyaslavl principality with its capital in Pereyaslavl Zalessky. Judging by archaeological research materials, customs inspection of goods transported along the Volga and Dubna rivers was carried out in the city; The local administration and garrison were located here, numerous artisans worked, and there was an Orthodox Church.
The city burned down at least twice during internecine wars - in 1149 and 1216, after which it was rebuilt. He died during the Mongol-Tatar invasion in January-February 1238. Subsequently, on the site of the city there was the village of Gorodishche (aka the village of Dubna) - the current Ratmino street in the city of Dubna, Moscow region, in the 15th-16th centuries. The medieval customs point “Dubenskoye Myto” also operated here.
4 Zaraysk (Sturgeon)
The city of Zaraysk (aka Zarazsk, in pre-Mongol times, may have been called Sturgeon) is located on the cape of the right bank of the Sturgeon River (a tributary of the Oka River). It was first mentioned in chronicles in 1225. A legend is associated with Zaraisk about the voluntary death of Princess Eupraxia, whose husband, Prince Fyodor Yuryevich, was killed in Batu’s camp. According to legend, Evpatiy Kolovrat gathered his militia near Zaraisk. The cultural layer of pre-Mongol Zaraysk was identified on the territory of the later Zaraisk Kremlin and in its environs.
5 Zvenigorod
Old Russian Zvenigorod was located on the cape of the left bank of the Moscow River, on the western outskirts of the left bank part of the modern city. Zvenigorod arose in the middle of the 12th century; by the time of the Mongol-Tatar invasion it was already a relatively large urban center. It was first mentioned in the spiritual charter of the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita around 1339. The remains of the fortified part of pre-Mongol Zvenigorod represent a large settlement with preserved sections of the 12th century rampart; Posads are located around it. Two birch bark documents were found in the cultural layer of Old Russian Zvenigorod. Both of them date from the first half of the 12th century.
One is a short excerpt of some letter with the words: “but I don’t need it,” the second is the fully preserved text of a letter from Govenova’s widow to Nezhenets with a demand to pay what Nezhenets owed the late Govenova, and a threat of legal prosecution: “From Govenova [widows] to Nezhenets. Give sixty kuna rook (i.e. per rook or per rook). [So] Gauvin said before his death (lit.: going to trial), and the priest wrote it down. Give [them] to Luke. If you don’t give it, then I’ll take the boy from the prince and come with [him] - it will be a big sum for you.”
6 Kolomna
Kolomna is located at the confluence of the Kolomenka River and the Moscow River. It was first mentioned in the chronicle in 1177 as a border town of the Ryazan principality. The cultural layer of the pre-Mongol period has been identified on the territory of the late Kremlin and in its environs. In 1237, in the Kolomna region, a major battle between Russian troops and Batu’s troops took place, which ended with the victory of the Tatar-Mongols, the capture and destruction of the city.
7 Koltesk
The city of Koltesk was located on the left bank of the Mutenka River, the right tributary of the Oka River. It was first mentioned in the chronicle under 1146 or 1147 in connection with the campaign of Svyatoslav “I came from Svyatoslav to the town of Koltesk.” The Koltovo settlement, which represents the remains of an ancient Russian town, was almost completely destroyed during the construction of a highway; the surviving sections of the cultural layer contain materials from the pre-Mongol period. Around the settlement there are several settlements - the remains of urban settlements. The city died during the Tatar-Mongol invasion.
8 Lobynsk
The city of Lobynsk (Lobynsk) was located on the cape of the left bank of the Oka River, at the mouth of its tributary, the Protva River. Currently, the village of Drakino is located on this site. The site of the monument was inhabited back in the 8th-10th centuries; the original settlement on this site dates back to the early Vyatichi. The urban cultural layer has been recorded since the 12th century. It was first mentioned in the chronicle in 1146 or 1147. In the 12th century. belonged to the Chernigov principality in the 13th century. - Ryazansky. The city perished during the Tatar-Mongol invasion, perhaps after which it was revived for some time.
9 Mozhaisk
Mozhaisk is located on the right bank of the Moscow River, at the mouth of the Mozhaika River. Founded in the 12th century, it was first mentioned in chronicles in 1231. The fortified part of the ancient Russian city has been preserved - the Mozhaisk Kremlin, surrounded by a rampart up to 3 m high. During archaeological research, numerous materials from the pre-Mongol period were discovered on its territory.
10 Moscow
Old Russian Moscow was located on the left bank of the river of the same name, on a cape at the confluence of the Neglinnaya River. Now this place is located in the southwestern part of the Moscow Kremlin. A Russian settlement on the site of present-day Moscow appears no later than the 11th century. The city was first mentioned in chronicles in 1147. Archaeological research has revealed the remains of a cape settlement of the late 11th century, located at the confluence of the Neglinnaya River with the Moscow River, and materials from a trade and craft settlement of the 11th-12th centuries that existed in the vicinity of the fortress.
Painting by Appolinary Vasnetsov "Founding of Moscow"
In the central part of the fortress there was a wooden church in the name of the holy prophet John the Baptist. In 1156, Andrei Bogolyubsky erected a new wooden fortress in Moscow, at the direction of Yuri Dolgoruky. In 1177, it was burned by the Ryazan prince Gleb Rostislavich, but then it was quickly restored. At the beginning of the 13th century, Moscow became the center of an appanage principality. In 1238, during the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the city was taken by storm, plundered and burned. The rise of Moscow and its establishment as the capital of the Russian state occurs during the period of the Horde yoke.
11 Perevitsk
The city of Perevitsk was located on the cape of the right bank of the Oka River, in the area of the modern village of Perevitsky Torzhok. The rectangular site of the fort is surrounded by a rampart up to 7 m high. Old Russian Perevitsk was part of the Ryazan principality. It is mentioned in the chronicle only in 1389, but archaeological research materials allow us to confidently attribute the foundation of the city to pre-Mongol times.
12 Przemysl Moscow
Przemysl Moskovsky was located on the cape of the right bank of the Mocha River (Moscow River basin), between ravines. Its remains are known as the Satino-Tatar settlement. The site of the fortified part of the ancient city is surrounded by a rampart up to 6 m high and a ditch up to 4 m deep; There are several unfortified villages around - the remains of a city settlement. The remains of houses and fortifications from the 12th-13th centuries have been excavated. According to V.N. Tatishchev, founded in 1152 by Yuri Dolgoruky. Some modern researchers have expressed doubts about the dating of the city's creation to pre-Mongol times and attribute it to a later period.
13 Rostislavl Ryazansky
Rostislavl, an ancient Russian city, located on the cape of the right bank of the Oka River, in the vicinity of the modern village of Poluryadenki. The settlement is bordered on the ground side by a ditch and a rampart up to 4.5 m high. The fortified part of the city is adjacent to the settlements. Founded, according to chronicles, by the Ryazan prince Rostislav Yaroslavich in 1153. Under later layers and structures, the remains of residential and defensive structures of the 18th and 3rd centuries were examined. A special group of ceramics of the “Rostislavl type” is distinguished, dating from the 12th-14th centuries.
The founding of Rostislavl is known from the Nikon Chronicle: “Prince Rostislav Yaroslavich Ryazansky created the city of Rostislavl near the Oka River in his name.” In May 1183, Rostislavl became one of the gathering points for a coalition of Russian princes for a campaign against Volga Bulgaria, led by Vsevolod the Big Nest.
In 1342, Prince Yaroslav Alexandrovich Pronsky moved the capital of the Ryazan principality from Pereyaslavl Ryazan to Rostislavl. Bloody events were associated with this. In 1340, the Ryazan prince Ivan Ivanovich Korotopol killed his relative Alexander Mikhailovich Pronsky in the heat of a struggle for power. Two years later, his son Yaroslav received from Khan Janibek a label for the Ryazan reign and the Tatar army.
In 1342, Yaroslav took Pereyaslavl and expelled his uncle Ivan from there. However, he did not dare to stay in the city, which he took with the help of the Tatars, and moved the capital to one of the largest cities of the Ryazan principality of that time. Rostislavl probably remained the capital for another two years, until the death of Yaroslav Pronsky in 1344.
With the annexation of the Ryazan principality to Moscow in 1521, Rostislavl lost its significance as a major center, losing it to neighboring Zaraysk, where by 1531 a brick fortress was built. During the fight against the Crimean Tatars, Rostislavl turned out to be one of the many fortifications along the Oka. Probably, at this time it was repeatedly bankrupt, as a result of which it fell into decay.
In 1874, the territory of Rostislavl was used by peasants as arable land. In the 20th century there were vegetable gardens of local residents, then an apple orchard. Currently, the site of Rostislavl is partially overgrown with forest, and most of its site is covered with grass. Archaeological work began in 1994. Since 2000, the Rostislav archaeological expedition has been working at the site every year.
14 Svirelsk
Mentioned in the chronicle under the year 1176, in connection with the campaign of the Chernigov prince Oleg Svyatoslavovich. The city was located on the territory of the modern Moscow region, apparently in the Oka River basin. The exact location of the city has not been established.
15 Teshilov
The city of Tashilov was located on the right bank of the Oka River, on an area between two deep ravines, near the modern village of Spas-Tashilovo. On the floor side of the fort, a rampart up to 6 m high and a ditch up to 4 m deep have been preserved. Mentioned in the chronicle under the year 1147. Numerous cultural remains of the 12th-13th centuries have been identified on the site of the settlement and the surrounding settlements - the settlements of the ancient Russian city. In 1237 it was burned by the Tatar-Mongols.
16 Tushkov
The city of Tushkov was located on the cape of the right bank of the Moscow River, in the area of the current village of Tushkov town. The settlement has been preserved, representing the remains of a fortified part of an ancient Russian small town that existed from the 12th-13th centuries, surrounded by a rampart up to 6 m high and a ditch up to 3.5 m deep. On the territory of the settlement, the remains of residential buildings, traces of blacksmith and jewelry production have been studied. To the south and east of the settlement there were settlements.
17 Khotun
The city of Khotun was located on the cape of the left bank of the Lopasnya River, the left tributary of the Oka River. The remains of a fortified settlement - a child of an ancient Russian city - are located near the southern outskirts of the village of Khatun. Most of the site is occupied by a modern cemetery. It was first mentioned in the spiritual charter of 1401-1402, however, archaeological research materials allow us to reasonably assume the existence of the city already in the pre-Mongol period.
Pekunovskoe settlement. Charges from the coastal cliff