Vologda

Vologda (Во́логда, ˈvoləɡdə) is a city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as a major transport hub of the Northwest of Russia. The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation has classified Vologda as a historic city, one of 41 in Russia and one of only three in Vologda Oblast. 224 buildings in Vologda have been officially recognized as cultural heritage monuments. The official founding year of Vologda is 1147, based on the 17th century "Tale of Miracles of Gerasimus of Vologda" and Ivan Slobodsky's 1716 "Chronicler", which tells the story of the arrival of the monk Gerasimus who founded the Trinity Monastery near the Vologda river. This date, which would make Vologda about the same age as Moscow, was introduced by the historian Aleksey Zasetsky in 1780. However, historians and archaeologists have expressed doubts on the official founding year, due to the age and secondary nature of the sources and also due to archaeological excavations dating no earlier than the 13th century. Instead, they believe that the city was founded in the 13th century with Vologda being mentioned in a 1264 agreement between the Novgorod Republic and the Grand Prince of Vladimir as an outlying possession of the Novgorod Republic. The nucleus of Vologda in the 13th century was not located in the area which is now the city center, but rather the area known now as "Lazy ground" (Ленивая площадка), close to the Resurrection church. This area was the center of Vologda up to 1565. Until that year, no stone constructions existed in Vologda; all of the city fortifications, bridges, houses, churches, and industrial enterprises were made of wood. The unique position of Vologda on important waterways connecting Moscow, Novgorod, and the White Sea (via the Northern Dvina) made it attractive for the Novgorod Republic, as well as for the princes of Tver and Moscow, who fought numerous wars between the 13th and the 15th centuries.