Few people know that the city of Veliky Novgorod, mentioned in historical documents, has nothing to do with modern Novgorod: the chronicles are talking about another ancient Russian city - Yaroslavl. Particular confusion was caused by the fact that many historical documents concerning ancient Yaroslavl were not carefully and not professionally interpreted in the 16-18 centuries.
In the 17th century, Yaroslavl was considered the second (after Moscow) largest and most important Russian city (by the way, Kostroma was the third). Yaroslavl was founded by the great Rostov prince Yaroslav the Wise in 1010, giving the city-fortress its name. The prince set as his goal, founding a new city, with its help to protect the approach to the greatest northeastern Russian city - Rostov the Great. In the past, on the territory of modern Yaroslavl, there was a small pagan settlement called Bear's corner. The population was made up of the descendants of Finnish and Slavic tribes. They mainly lived by hunting, fishing and growing edible plants. There were about 12 similar ones near this settlement. The legend says: in order to subjugate the local population, Prince Yaroslav had to fight a bear, which the villagers considered a sacred animal. The place for the defensive structure was chosen by the prince very well: the steep Volga banks and deep ravines formed a natural protective cape. In the 11-12 centuries Yaroslavl became a reliable armed outpost protecting the Rostov-Suzdal principality.
Yaroslavl reached a tremendous rise during the reign of Prince Konstantin Vsevolodovich. These times are often mentioned in chronicle records. In 1218, the prince divided his patrimony between the children: Yaroslavl went to Vsevolod, and Vasilek became the prince of Rostov.
The new Yaroslavl prince enthusiastically set about strengthening the principality. At this time, Yaroslavl was a small wooden serf woman, in which leaning huts huddled to each other, and in the middle there was a princely palace. During the reign of Vsevolod, the first stone buildings appeared in Yaroslavl, including majestic temples and monasteries. Yaroslavl became cramped behind the Kremlin walls, and he began to hastily grow. At this time, the Yaroslavl Spassky Monastery became the most important center of the entire region. The monks kept and copied the ancient manuscripts. Until now, this monastery houses the Gospel of the Savior, dating from the 13th century! Local icons are of great value due to the unique school of icon painting.
The beginning prosperity of the Yaroslavl principality was interrupted by the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In 1238, many Russian cities, including Yaroslavl, were devastated by the Horde. According to eyewitnesses, the invaders set fire to the gates of the city and, when they collapsed, a horde rushed into the streets of the burning city. Swords rang around, horses wheezed, the Horde dealt with the wounded and burned defenders of the city, finishing them off with clubs and flails, chopping them with sabers, sparing neither men, nor women, nor children. The Horde did not even plunder the burning city - they were in a hurry to attack the next Russian city.
Only a month later, after these terrible events, people returned from nearby villages, who managed to hide there from the Horde in time. Not only houses, but also temples turned into ashes. People buried the dead: neighbors, relatives. There was no one to dig graves, so the bodies of children and women were put in a pit near the former cathedral (where they were looking for salvation), and the bodies of the dead defenders of the city were laid near the fortress walls. The fallen were covered with earth and coal. The new Yaroslavl prince - Vasily helped to bury people. His father Vsevolod Konstantinovich died in the battle defending the city of Vladimir, helping his uncle, Yuri. Perhaps the fact that the prince with part of the squad left Yaroslavl on the eve of the attack of the Horde, became the reason for the fall of the city and the death of its defenders. But this is already an assumption about an alternative historical branch of the event, and as you know,history does not tolerate the subjunctive mood.
Despite the cruel attitude of the invaders towards the population, the Yaroslavl people did not break down and repeatedly raised uprisings against the enemy. The bloodiest was the uprising of 1257, in which the inhabitants of the city fought to the death with the conquerors. Since then, one of the hills began to be called Tugovaya (in translation from Slavic - Sorrowful). But the failures did not break the spirit of the city's defenders. In the Battle of Kulikovo, which finally broke the back of the Tatar-Mongol invasion, the Yaroslavl squad stood on the flank of the army, led into battle by Dmitry Donskoy.
It is perplexing that the chroniclers failed to tell the truth about the Yaroslavl massacre. The chronicle seems to bypass the tragic events of Yaroslavl, already in those days it was believed that the city was surrendered without a fight, or the townspeople successfully bought off the enemy. The chronicle records only mention that 14 Slavic cities were attacked by the Tatar-Mongols. Only thanks to legends, epics, sayings, a good memory of the defenders of the Yaroslavl fortress was preserved and the horde of Batu was covered with shame. By the way, the popular rumor in its own way inflicted an insult on the Tatar-Mongols. Until now, the word "horde" means a disorganized gang, and the word "barn" means a rickety wooden building in the backyard.
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Today, some scientists are trying to rewrite Russian history in their own way, proving with foam at the mouth that the Tatar-Mongol conquerors brought good to the territory of Russia (for example, they conducted a population census). And, at the same time, they argue that there were no massacres and numerous murders - "well, we had a fight like a neighbor, who doesn't happen to?" Moreover, seven centuries later, no one made the slightest effort to find evidence of the cruel devastation of numerous Russian cities: Yaroslavl, Torzhok, Ryazan, Vladimir, Moscow.
For example, from the pre-Mongolian Ryazan, only the ramparts overgrown with grass remained, and the city itself is now in a different place. But after the expulsion of the enemy, many cities were able to recover and disappeared from the map of Russia.
The legend about how, under the leadership of the young prince Vasily, the defenders of Kozelsk held back the assaults of the horde for more than two months, amazes with its details: "… and during the conquest of the Russians, Kipchakov not only did not take a single Russian or Kipchak, but he did not even get a goat's hoof" … (The fortress itself in the plan really looked like a goat's hoof.)
In 1463 the Yaroslavl principality became part of the Moscow one. Yaroslavl began to be considered the personal fiefdom of the sovereign. The Moscow government spared no expense for the construction of facilities in Yaroslavl, including new cathedrals, which became the pride of all of Russia. In the basement of the Transfiguration Cathedral there is a burial vault of princes. In the northern part of the temple, a book depository was equipped. The researchers are sure that it was in it that the manuscript "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" was kept. Today the frescoes of the cathedral are the most valuable examples of monumental art of the 16th century.
Fortified Yaroslavl became an outpost of the Russian army, when the Pozh lands were annexed to the Russian state. Since 1550, in the Spassky Monastery built of stone, the "sovereign's treasury" was kept. The Yaroslavl fortress became the most powerful in Russia.
Behind the strong walls of the monastery the headquarters of Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky are located, forming, on the territory of the Yaroslavl Kremlin, the people's militia to fight the conquerors. It was in the Spassky monastery of Yaroslavl that Mikhail Romanov began his journey to the throne, sending from here a message about his consent to be crowned king.
From the 16th century, Yaroslavl became a junction point through which important trade routes from Europe to the East passed. At the same time, various crafts developed in the city, the inhabitants were successfully engaged in fishing on the Volga.
A very interesting legend about the creation of the Tolgsky monastery within the city limits of Yaroslavl. In the 14th century, the Rostov bishop Tryphon, stopping with his entourage for the night, saw a radiant light on the other bank of the Tolga River (today it no longer exists). A luminous bridge stretches across the river at the feet of the bishop. Crossing it, the priest saw the image of the Virgin. The next day, the bishop himself and his assistants laid the foundation for a temple at the place where the face appeared. And the icon, which miraculously appeared on the banks of the river, is still located within the walls of the Tolga monastery.
It is known that the search for the library of Ivan the Terrible has been going on for a long time. So far, not a single book that was in the library has appeared, which means there is hope that the collection of unique books is still waiting for its "savior". And Yaroslavl remains a very likely place where they could be transported to the library, since many of the treasures of the Russian sovereigns were kept outside the walls of the Yaroslavl fortress. Today there is a version that, like any other, requires its own research. Its essence is that the library was burned down by the first Romanovs to hide the facts of history "inconvenient" for the reigning house.
Years and centuries passed. Wars swept over the ancient Russian city of Yaroslavl, fires destroyed the works of many generations, but the city's status as a treasury of ancient Russian art remained unchanged. And perhaps, historical and architectural searches will reveal many secrets of this beautiful old city.