Visit Rostov for a Look Back at Medieval Russian Times
Rostov the Great (not to be confused with Rostov-upon-Don) acquired its name over 900 years ago in the days when Moscow was just a tiny wooden fortress. The current population of the city is 37,000.
Rostov is located on Lake Nero on the northern border of the Opolye district, a key area for agriculture. It was a large town that was eventually named the capital of its surrounding regions and contributed to the rise of other Central Russian cities like Yaroslavl, Belozersk and Kostroma.
If you visit Rostov, you will want to make sure to visit the kremlin and the monasteries that surround it. The structures represent the typical Russian towns of the 15th and 17th centuries. The cathedral of the Metropolitan remained in Rostov to become the center of the Orthodox Church in North-Eastern Russia.
Today the town of Rostov is not as well off as it once was. Many Rostov women and men are not well off financially. The main economy is tourism and state funding. This is a result of the Golden Ring travel route that was established in Russia in the 1960s which gave Rostov museum reserve status.
You can get to Rostov from Moscow by car, bus or train.
