От Валдая до Старицы

How many interesting and fascinating things are sometimes hidden in small, inconspicuous Russian towns! They often store treasures that are not inferior to famous monuments of national culture. One can rightfully say about them in the words of V.G. Belinsky: “From these monuments alone one could read the history of Rus' in the main outlines.”

Let us also take a short trip to several of these cities. Three cities - Valdai, Torzhok and Staritsa - will become the place of our stay. Valdai and Torzhok are located on one of the central highways of our country - Moscow - St. Petersburg, only Staritsa lies to the side of it. This road is very ancient, connecting the eastern regions of Rus' with Novgorod and Western European countries.

Driving along the highway through the Valdai Hills, one cannot remain indifferent to its unusually picturesque places. And, probably, there is not a single person who does not know about the beauty of the Valdai region, about its dense cool forests with deep bowls of blue lakes, and has not heard about the Iveron Monastery.

Another city that we have to explore , is Torzhok, which has a thousand-year history of existence. Torzhok was once part of the possessions of Veliky Novgorod, from the 14th century it was seized by the Tver Principality, and in 1478 annexed to Moscow.

Staritsa was an important military trading post for the Great Tver Principality from the 13th century, guarding its borders to the south -west. Here, as in many ancient Russian cities, architectural monuments have been preserved - witnesses to the glorious pages of the history of our homeland.