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🏰 Stariza: An Ancient White-Stone City on the Volga

Friends, today we are travelling to Tver Oblast, to a small, ancient town on the Volga. Here, history is literally carved in stone, while kilometres of labyrinths in old quarries are hidden underground.

Welcome to Stariza!

🛡️ A Fortress on the Volga

Stariza was founded in 1297 by Tver Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich as a fortress on the southwestern borders of the Principality of Tver, to protect the waterways and land routes leading to Tver. It was intended to protect the waterways and land routes that led to Tver.

For a long time, the settlement was known as “Gorodok on the Stariza” — named after the small river that flows into the Volga here. Over the following centuries, the fortifications were expanded further.

👑 A Principality Close to the Moscow Throne

Stariza became particularly close to high politics in the 16th century, when the town became the centre of its own appanage principality.

At first, it was ruled by Andrei Ivanovich, the youngest son of Ivan III, and later by his son Vladimir Andreyevich, a cousin of Ivan the Terrible.

Ivan the Terrible also stayed in Stariza several times. During the Livonian War, the town even temporarily became an important residence of the tsar. In 1581, negotiations were held here with the papal envoy Antonio Possevino, who was supposed to mediate between Russia and Poland-Lithuania.

🛏️ The Underground Labyrinths of “Stariza Marble”

However, the town’s true geological and economic capital lay underground. For centuries, white limestone was extracted in the surrounding area and was often referred to as “Stariza marble.”

The stone was easy to work with and was transported along the Volga to other cities. It was used as a building material for churches, public buildings and decorative elements.

After large-scale extraction came to an end, extensive underground galleries remained around Stariza. Today, these old quarries form a complicated system of passages and chambers that primarily attracts speleologists and lovers of unusual places.

⛪ White Stone Above the Volga

It is also difficult to imagine Stariza’s townscape without this stone. The white churches on the green hills above the Volga are particularly impressive.

The Stariza Dormition Monastery is one of the oldest monastic complexes in the region. According to monastic tradition, its history dates back to the 12th century.

The surviving Dormition Cathedral was built in 1530 under Prince Andrei of Stariza. The monastery looks especially beautiful from the opposite, high bank of the Volga: below, the river winds through the valley, while the white walls and churches rise along the shore.

🔨 Forges Like Small Fortresses

Another unusual landmark of Stariza is its old, white-stone forges from the 18th century.

They stand at the foot of the historic rampart and differ markedly from ordinary wooden workshops. With their small windows, thick walls and massive stone walls, the buildings look like miniature fortresses.

There were once numerous forges in this area. Only some of these historic buildings have survived to this day — yet they serve as a reminder that Stariza was not only a city of princes and monasteries, but also a city of stonemasons, craftsmen and blacksmiths.

Here, several centuries of history meet within just a few kilometres: a medieval fortress, the Principality of Stariza, white churches above the Volga and kilometres of quarries deep underground.


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📍 The coordinates of the place are available here

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