Rostov Velikiy
Rostov (or Rostov Velikiy, Rostov Yaroslavski, Cyrillic Росто́в, pop. 36,000) is one of the oldest towns in Russia and an important tourist centre of the so called Golden ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero in Yaroslavl Oblast.
First mentioned in the year 862 as an already ancient settlement, by the 13th century Rostov became capital city of one of the most prominent Russian principalities. It was incorporated into Muscovy late in the 15th century.
Even after it lost its independence, Rostov was still an ecclesiastic centre of utmost importance (from 988 it was the see of one of the first Russian bishoprics). In the 14th century the bishops of Rostov became archbishops and late in the 16th century, metropolitans. It is to one of those metropolitans, Iona (Jonah) Sysoevich (ca. 1607-1690) that the town owes its main landmark, the kremlin that many regard as the finest outside of Moscow.
Ravaged by the Mongols in the 13th-14th centuries and Poles in 1608, Rostov is now little more than a sleepy village. The metropolitan see was transferred to Yaroslavl late in the 18th century. Apart from its history Rostov is renowned for its enamels.
While the official name of the town is Rostov, it is better known to Russians as Rostov Velikiy, i.e. Rostov the Great. This name is used to distinguish it from Rostov on Don, which is now a much larger city. Rostov Yaroslavski is the official name of its railway station (due to its position in the Yaroslavl Oblast); the town itself is hardly ever called so.
