Today, Vytegra is a small town (since 1773) with a population of about 10,300 people standing on the banks of the Vytegra River, 337 km north-west of Vologda, the capital of Vologda Oblast.

This is a unique opportunity to see what this place looked like 116 years ago – in 1909. This is possible thanks to the unique color photographs taken by Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky, a Russian chemist and photographer known for his pioneering work in color photography. Source.

General view of Vytegra and the Vytegra River.

back to the past

Tags: Russian Empire · Vologda oblast

The Ferapontov Belozersky Nativity Monastery is a monastery of the Vologda diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church located in the village of Ferapontovo, Vologda Oblast, about 119 km north-west of Vologda.

This is one of the oldest monasteries in the Russian North founded in the late 14th century. The monastery has survived to our time in the buildings of the 14th-17th centuries and in the wall paintings of the famous icon painter Dionysius. In 2000, this monastery was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Ferapontov Monastery on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful old Russian monastery

Tags: churches · Vologda oblast

Veliky Ustyug is a town with a population of about 31 thousand people located in the north-east of Vologda Oblast in the north of the European part of Russia, about 446 km from Vologda.

First mentioned in 1212, it is one of the oldest Russian towns with a rich cultural heritage. There are 28 preserved churches of the 17th-18th centuries in Veliky Ustyug. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

picturesque old Russian town

Tags: Vologda oblast

The Galsky Estate is a picturesque noble estate built in the provincial classicism style on the bank of the Sheksna River in the early 19th century. This monument of history and culture of federal significance is located in the city of Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast.

In addition to the main sky-blue house, all the household buildings have also been preserved here. The museum offers interactive excursions, classes on painting, clay modeling, and making folk dolls. The equestrian section is open to children and adults. The Galsky Estate on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

magnificent noble estate

Tags: Cherepovets city · museum · Vologda oblast

The Brianchaninovs’ Estate is a noble estate of the early 19th century located in the village of Pokrovskoye in Vologda Oblast, about 25 km south of Vologda. Built in the style of early classicism, it is a historical and cultural monument of federal significance and a monument of landscape gardening art of regional significance.

The estate includes the main house with wings and galleries (1809-1810), the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (1811), the Brianchaninovs’ necropolis (the 19th century), a park with a pond (the early 19th century), a stable (the second half of the 19th century), and a cellar (the second half of the 19th century). The Brianchaninovs’ Estate on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

beautiful preserved noble estate

Tags: Russian Empire · Vologda oblast

Veliky Ustyug is a town with a population of about 30,000 people located in the northeast of the Vologda region, 446 km from Vologda. In 1999, it was declared the birthplace of the All-Russian Father Frost.

Founded in 1147, Veliky Ustyug is one of the oldest towns in the Russian North that has preserved a rich cultural heritage, a popular tourist center. Covered with snow, the town looks especially picturesque on a clear sunny day. Veliky Ustyug on Google Maps. Photos by: Marina Lystseva.

walk around Veliky Ustyug

Tags: Veliky Ustyug city · Vologda oblast

Nelazskoye is a small village with a population of about 200 people located in the Cherepovets district of the Vologda region, about 30 km north-west of Cherepovets.

The main attraction of the village is the Church of the Assumption of Our Lady – a wooden church of unique shape built in 1694. Nelazskoye on Google Maps. Photos by: Denis Spirin.

beautiful monument of wooden architecture

Tags: Cherepovets city · churches · Vologda oblast

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, situated on the shore of Lake Siverskoye in the town of Kirillov of the Vologda region, is the largest monastery in ​​Europe.

In the 15th-17th centuries, it was one of the largest and richest monasteries in Russia, the spiritual center of the Russian North. In 1924, the monastery was turned into a historical, architectural and art museum-reserve. Photos by: Vadim Razumov.

fly over the monastery

Tags: Vologda oblast

Architectural and Ethnographic Museum of the Vologda region “Semyonkovo” invites you into the world of the Russian village of the late 19th – the early 20th centuries. Here you can learn more about the traditions, cultural background, and mentality of the Russian people.

The museum was opened in 1979. It is a monument of national value. The museum covers an area of 12.7 hectares and has a lot of monuments of wooden architecture of the middle 19th – the early 20th centuries. Photos by Denis Spirin

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Tags: museum · Vologda oblast

Belozersk is one of the oldest towns in Russia. It was first mentioned in 862 as Beloozero (“White Lake”). The town was located away from the present day Belozersk, on the northern shore of Beloye Lake, near the village Kisnema.

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Tags: churches · Vologda oblast