Rostov Veliky - an impressive cruise stop

Rostov Veliky is one of the oldest towns in Russia; its history dates back to 862 year. Situated on a shore of the Nero Lake, Rostov was the most influential town, and for over a hundred of years it was a capital of the Northern Rus . But, after the fire in the 13th century, town has slowly lost its influence and had fallen under the control of Moscow. Nonetheless, between 18th and 19th century, Rostov still was a big trade zone and its fair was 3rd largest in the country. Nowadays, the population of the town is approximately 31 thousands of people; its economy is built around tourism, optomechanical plant, enamel and coffee factories. The crafts from enamel - is one of the local attractions, the production of enamel has been mastered here in 18th century and since then was continuously practiced.

The biggest attraction of the town is Kremlin of Rostov, its 5 churches, and the Dormition Cathedral. Kremlin - is a term used to describe a fortification of the city, or it can also refer to a city surrounded by the defensive walls with arrow-loops and towers. The Kremlin of Rostov was constructed between 1670 - 1683 years. At the time when it was built, the fashion for fortifying the cities has already passed, therefore the defensive walls of the Rostov Kremlin were having a symbolic purpose and had been constructed in order to show the authority of the Metropolitan of Rostov (Metropolitan - is a bishop that has authority over other bishops in the region).

The construction of the Rostov Kremlin has been started under the supervision of Metropolitan Iona (Jonah) Sysoyevich. Even though, the Kremlin has been originally planned as a residence of the Metropolitan, its inner yards also had a number of civil facilities. The inner territory of Kremlin is normally crowded with tourists, especially during the summer months, but if you go away from the typical group routes, you will be able to discover very quiet spaces of the inner Kremlin.

Inside the Kremlin, you are able to visit so called Water Tower - it is a view point of the Kremlin. In order to access it, you need to purchase an extra ticket for the entrance. Only ten people can be at the view point at a time, and this rule is strictly followed by the museum's keepers. From the Water tower, you are able to enjoy a spectacular view of the Nero lake, the Kremlin and Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery (Monastery of St. Jacob Saviour). It is also possible to climb up to the Kremlin's walls. They were arranged in a way that would allow access to any construction without a need to go down from the wall, what was especially convenient in case of the bad weather.

The Dormition Cathedral, another landmark of Rostov, is located outside the Kremlin's walls. The current cathedral is already 5th on this spot. It was constructed in the beginning of the 15th century and resembles the cathedral of the same name in Moscow's Kremlin. The famous bell tower of the cathedral was built in two stages between 1682nd and 1687th. The bell-ringing of Rostov's bell tower is well-known among those who were interested in history of Rostov or the Golden Ring. Many famous tunes of bell-ringing - such as "Ioninskt", "Georgievsky", "Kolyazinsky"- are still possible to hear in Rostov.

Among other attractions, which one should visit in Rostov, are: Monastery of St. Jacob, Borisoglebsky Monastery, Abramiyev Bogoyavlensky Monastery, The museum of enamel and variety of churches.