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Novgorod (Новгород)
Despite its name, "Novgorod the Great" is neither new nor particularly pretentious.
	Founded in 862 AD, this hamlet on the Volkhov River is one of the oldest Russian cities.

	Only Kiev — now capital of modern-day Ukraine — can rival Novgorod in ancestry.

	The founder of Novgorod, a Viking named Rurik of Jutland, went on to establish a dynasty that ruled Russia until the end of the 16th century.
Novgorod became independent in 1136, and soon joined the Hanseatic League of merchant city-states.			Unlike other Russian cities, Novgorod ruled itself more or less democratically, with its leaders elected by its citizens.

During this golden age, Prince Alexander of Novgorod defeated the Swedes in 1240 on the banks of the Neva River, earning himself the nickname "Nevsky".
Less than two years later, Alexander Nevsky overcame the Teutonic Knights on the ice of Lake Peipus.  In 1252, he was granted the title of Grand Prince of Vladimir.

	While the rest of Russia fell to the Mongols in the 13th century, Novgorod retained its independence.
It was spared the "Tatar yoke" in part by the marshy land surrounding the city.			Unfortunately, Novgorod was unable to withstand the growing power of Moscow.

Ivan III annexed Novgorod in 1478, and his successor, Ivan IV, completely destroyed the city and slaughtered tens of thousands of residents in 1570.
Deprived of its political independence, Novgorod declined into obscurity, while the founding of St. Petersburg undercut its commercial prosperity.

The medieval quarter of the city received a face-lift in the late 18th century, and was again restored after the Nazi occupation during World War II.

Nowadays Novgorod is capital of an up-and-coming region south of St. Petersburg which is attracting more than its fair share of foreign investment.

Practical Information

We took the train down to Novgorod over a 3-day weekend in November 2003.

• Hotel: The 3-star Hotel Volkhov, located mid-way between the train station and the Kremlin, offered a reasonable room by Russian standards, but the breakfast was a bit meager.
• Restaurants: For an authentic Russian dining experience, try the Restoran Detinets, which is built into the Kremlin walls.  Otherwise, the restaurant in our hotel was decent, with live music at night.

Karelia (Карелия)
The Russian "republic" of Karelia, located north of St. Petersburg, stretches north beyond the Arctic Circle.		This sparsely-populated region has been fought over for centuries by Russians, Swedes and Finns.
More than half the territory is covered by forest, and much of the rest consists of lakes and rivers.		In fact, the two largest lakes in Europe — Ladoga and Onega — are located in Karelia.

	To celebrate our 11th anniversary, we booked a 3-day river cruise aboard the "Rodina" ("Motherland") to lakes Ladoga and Onega.

	Valaam (Валаам)
	This archipelago lies at the northern end of Lake Ladoga.		It consists of 50 small islands about 14 miles from the shore.

	According to local legend, St. Andrew visited Valaam in the 1st century AD.  A monastery was founded some time later by Sergius and Herman, a pair of Greek monks who arrived in the region sometime between the 9th-14th centuries.

	After centuries of Swedish neglect, Peter the Great ordered the monastery rebuilt in 1720.

	The monastery reached its heyday in the 19th century, but again fell into disrepair after the Russian Revolution, first under Finnish, then Soviet, rule.  Reconstruction began in 1981, and the monastery was restored to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1989.

	Kizhi (Кижи)
	At the northern end of Lake Onega lies one of the first Russian sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Kizhi Island is home to a remarkable collection of traditional wooden architecture.  The centerpiece is the Kizhi pogost (enclosure), consisting of two multi-domed churches and a bell tower surrounded by a defensive wall.

	Unfortunately, the original 15th-century churches burned down during a 1694 thunderstorm.  However, the Church of the Transfiguration was rebuilt in 1714 in a radically different style, its original tent-shaped roof replaced by an astonishing 22 domes.
Afterwards, the architect of this church, one Master Nestor, supposedly threw his axe into the lake, pledging that there would never be another building like it.

The neighboring Church of the Intercession was rebuilt in 1764, again topped by a collection of wooden domes.  A new bell tower completed the ensemble in 1874.

After World War II, Soviet authorities decided to establish an open-air museum on the island to preserve the architectural heritage of the region.
Wooden buildings from throughout Karelia were reassembled here over the years, and today 70 monuments of traditional folk architecture grace the island.

Upper Mandrogi (Верхние Мандроги)

	This village in Leningrad Oblast is one of the most curious experiments in Russian free-market capitalism.  Located on the north bank of the Svir River, Upper Mandrogi was revitalized by a private entrepreneur as a center of traditional handicrafts.

The village has developed into a popular destination for cruise ships transiting between lakes Ladoga and Onega.  A tourist trap, perhaps, but worth a visit!

	One of the highlights of the village is the "Lukomorye" theme park.
		It features fairy-tale characters from Alexander Pushkin's famous poem.

Practical Information

We cruised up to Karelia for 3 days / 4 nights in late June 2005. 

• Transportation: We booked our cruise through VisitRussia.com, and picked up the tickets at a local travel agent.  The "Rodina" departed from the St. Petersburg river terminal near Proletarskaya metro station.
• Hotel: We stayed in a "deluxe" cabin, complete with queen-size bed, restroom and refrigerator.  It was a bit more expensive than the standard cabin, but at least we were comfortable!
• Restaurant: We ate almost all our meals onboard the ship in the "Panorama" restaurant, where we befriended a tour group from Michigan, the only other Americans onboard the ship.  A cruise also included a "picnic" lunch at Upper Mandrogi.
• Miscellaneous: Although speaking Russian really came in handy on this cruise, English-language tour guides were available at Valaam and Kizhi.

This page was first published 9 May 2005, and last updated 06 December 2005.