Uglich

Uglich (English)
Углич (Russian)
-  Town[1]  -

Uglich in winter

Location of Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia
Uglich
Location of Uglich in Yaroslavl Oblast
Coordinates: 57°32′N 38°20′E / 57.533°N 38.333°E / 57.533; 38.333Coordinates: 57°32′N 38°20′E / 57.533°N 38.333°E / 57.533; 38.333
The coat of arms of Uglich, featuring Tsarevich Dmitry
Flag
Administrative status (as of December 2011)
Country Russia
Federal subject Yaroslavl Oblast[1]
Administratively subordinated to town of oblast significance of Uglich[1]
Administrative center of Uglichsky District,[1] town of oblast significance of Uglich[1]
Municipal status (as of December 2011)
Municipal district Uglichsky Municipal District[2]
Urban settlement Uglich Urban Settlement[2]
Administrative center of Uglichsky Municipal District, Uglich Urban Settlement[2]
Mayor Eleanora Sheremetyeva
Representative body Municipal Council[3]
Statistics
Area 26.6 km2 (10.3 sq mi)[4]
Population (2010 Census) 34,507 inhabitants[5]
Density 1,297/km2 (3,360/sq mi)[6]
Time zone MSK (UTC+03:00)[7]
Founded 937 or 1148
Postal code(s)[8] 152610
Dialing code(s) +7 48532
Official website
Uglich on Wikimedia Commons

Uglich (Russian: Углич; IPA: [ˈuɡlʲɪtɕ]) is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, which stands on the Volga River. Population: 34,507 (2010 Census);[5] 38,260 (2002 Census);[9] 39,975 (1989 Census).[10]

History

A local tradition dates the town's origins to 937. It was first documented in 1148 as Ugliche Pole (Corner Field). The town's name is thought to allude to the nearby turn in the Volga River.

Uglich had been the seat of a small princedom from 1218 until 1328 when the local princes sold their rights to the great prince of Moscow. As a border town of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, it was burned several times by Lithuanians, Tatars, and the grand prince of Tver.

Grand Duke Ivan III of Moscow gave the town to his younger brother Andrey Bolshoy in 1462. During Andrey's reign, the town was expanded and first stone buildings were constructed. Particularly notable were the cathedral (rebuilt in 1713), the Intercession Monastery (destroyed by the Bolsheviks) and the red-brick palace of the prince (completed in 1481 and still standing).

Reign of Ivan the Terrible

During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the town passed to his only brother, Yury. Local inhabitants helped the Tsar capture Kazan by building a wooden fortress which was transported by the Volga all the way to Kazan. Throughout the 16th century, Uglich prospered both politically and economically, but thereafter its fortunes began to decline.

Death of Tsarevich Dmitry

After Ivan's death, his youngest son Dmitry Ivanovich was banished to Uglich in 1584. The most famous event in the town's history took place on May 15, 1591 when the 10-year-old boy was found dead with his throat cut in the palace courtyard. Suspicion immediately fell on the tsar's chief advisor, Boris Godunov. Official investigators concluded however that Dimitriy's death was an accident. They cut a "tongue" from the cathedral bell that rung the news of Dimitriy's death and "exiled" it to Siberia.

Exiled bells of Uglich in Tobolsk, 1885[11]
The Monastery of St. Alexis (1620s)

As Dimitry was the last scion of the ancient Rurik Dynasty, his death precipitated the dynastic and political crisis known as the Time of Troubles. People readily believed that Dmitry was alive and supported several False Dmitrys (see False Dmitry I, False Dmitry II, False Dmitry III) who tried to grab the Muscovite throne. During the Time of Troubles, the Poles besieged the Alexeievsky and Uleima monasteries and burned them down killing all the populace who had sought refuge inside.

The Romanov Tsars made it their priority to canonize the martyred Tsesarevich and to turn Uglich into a place of pilgrimage. On the spot where Dimitry had been murdered the city in 1690 built a small Church of St. Demetrios on the Blood, which appears on the horizon with its red walls and blue domes as one sails north on the Volga. The palace where the prince lived was turned into a museum. The image of Tsesarevich with a knife in his hand was adopted as the town's coat of arms.

Later history

In the first third of the 18th century the kremlin cathedral and its remarkable bell-tower were demolished and rebuilt. Other 18th-century landmarks include the Smolenskaya, Korsunskaya, Kazanskaya and Bogoyavlenskaya churches. The most important edifice of the 19th century is the ponderous cathedral of the Theophany Convent, consecrated in 1853.

Church of the Theotokos of Kazan (1777)

The modern town did have a famous watch manufacturing plant now closed (see Chaika watches), a railway station, and a hydroelectric power station. In November 2008 was opened a new Nexans cable mill. Actually, Stalin's decision to create the Uglich Reservoir led to severe flooding of the town's outskirts.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Uglich serves as the administrative center of Uglichsky District, even though it is not a part of it.[1] As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the town of oblast significance of Uglich—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.[1] As a municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Uglich is incorporated within Uglichsky Municipal District as Uglich Urban Settlement.[2]

Architecture

The Transfiguration Cathedral in the Uglich kremlin

Apart from the kremlin, the city center features other nice samples of old Russian architecture. Particularly notable are the Alexeievsky and Resurrection monasteries.

The Assumption three-tented church (1628) of the Alexeyevsky Monastery is considered a true gem of Russian medieval architecture. "Marvelous" is an epithet that common people gave to their church and which became a part of its official name. Located nearby is the more conventional Church of St. John the Baptist (1681).

Closer to the bank of the Volga one may see the Resurrection Monastery with its huge cathedral, refectory, belfry and summer church. All these buildings stand in a row and date back to 1674-77. Opposite the monastery is the graceful Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. It was built in 1689-90 by a local merchant to commemorate the spot where his son had drowned.

More old architecture may be seen in the vicinity of Uglich, including the 17th-century Uleima Monastery and a fine church in Divnogorye.

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Law #12-z
  2. 1 2 3 4 Law #65-z
  3. ↑ Муниципальный Совет
  4. ↑ РОССТАТ Территориальный орган Федеральной службы государственной статистики по Ярославской области Ярославская область в цифрах 2012. Краткий статистический сборник. г. Ярославль 2012 год
  5. 1 2 Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  6. ↑ The value of density was calculated automatically by dividing the 2010 Census population by the area specified in the infobox. Please note that this value may not be accurate as the area specified in the infobox does not necessarily correspond to the area of the entity proper or is reported for the same year as the population.
  7. ↑ Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №271-ФЗ от 03 июля 2016 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #271-FZ of July 03, 2016 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
  8. ↑ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (Russian)
  9. ↑ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров" [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ Kennan, George (1891). Siberia and the Exile System. London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co. pp. 420–422,427.

Sources

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Uglich.
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