Mass Media Overview
Vologda-the capital of butter and lace
04.07.2012 13:11
http://english.ruvr.ru/
Dan Moody
Apr 17, 2012
Butter. Photo: Flickr.com/litlnemo/cc-by-nc-sa
So, welcome back listeners, on today’s show we’re going to looking at the town of Vologda. As usual I’ll be trying to paint you a bit of a picture of what the town is like, how to get there and be filling you in a bit on the history.
Like always, we’ll be starting with the train, the true hardened traveler’s choice of transport! Now from Moscow there about seven trains a day which take about seven to nine hours and somewhere in the region of 3-4 from St Petersburg taking about 12-13 hours. Naturally there are trains from other towns to Vologda too, but I’ll have to presume that the majority of potential Vologda tourists won’t be departing from Archangelsk or Murmansk!
As for the plane, from Moscow you can fly there from Vnukovo, which is Russia’s internal airport. Last I remember, flights were twice a week although in any case they’re not daily so you’ll need to check well in advance.
Vologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of the Vologda region and is located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia and is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage that we’ll be taking a bit of a look into later.
Vologda is about 450km northeast of Moscow and is a nice provincial city with a lot of churches and monasteries, plenty of lovely parks and a decent amount of 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses. It’s nice and tranquil in summer but while you’re relaxing you may be disturbed by its mosquitoes, so make sure you stock up on that anti mosquito spray and nets!
Now as listeners may know, many a region has its claim to fame, and Vologda is no exception. Vologda is none other than Russia’s butter capital! That’s right, the town is famous for its dairy products and all you need do is mention butter and quality together and every Russian will invariably reply "Vologda butter." Vologda butter is a traditional Russian product, with is said to be really great tasting.
In addition to irresistible dairy products, Vologda is also renowned for its incredible lace productions. It’s really quite tough to describe in words what Vologda lace looks like, but essentially in Vologda they produce incredibly detailed lace picture scenes. The material is so fine that it has almost a spider’s-web effect to it. This together with some of that Vologda butter would really make a great set of souvenirs since they are things you really don’t come across all that often in the West.
As for the climate of Russia’s butter capital, Vologda is humid continental. Winter is long but not severe and lasts for five months so you can visit most times of year without being in any temperature extremes, which is great seeing as there is a lot that you’ll want to see here.
In fact, Vologda is included in the list of the Russian cities of especially valuable historical heritage. It is one Russia’s most preserved big cities. Architecture-lovers and photographers will definitely enjoy the harmonious combination of stone monuments and wooden architecture. The town has 193 monuments of architecture and history of federal significance.
Now although we won’t have time to mention them all, we will take a look at some of the main ones worth checking out.
The city definitely has plenty of things to see and do in the way of museums and churches, house museums and alike. I suppose a good recommendation to start with though, would be the Vologda Kremlin which, as you can easily imagine, is the city's historical centerpiece. Essentially it’s a 17th-century fortified enclosure of churches, archbishop's chambers and other cool buildings. It was built as a church administrative centre to accompany St Sofia's Cathedral next door, whose domes and bell tower greatly enhance the beauty of the Kremlin’s courtyards and make for a great postcard or snapshot.
After investigating the Kremlin you can head over to Vologda’s oldest museum which is the Peter the Great house museum. Now, when you hear Peter the Great and house museum, you probably start to think large palace, but unfortunately this one is a tiny, late-17th-century stone house that supposedly hosted Tsar Peter I during his visits to Vologda. It first opened back in 1885. Exhibits you can find there include Peter’s death mask and red tunic, underlining his remarkable height. (So the great part wasn’t just an ironic nickname or anything).
Another interesting museum that might take your fancy is the Museum of Forgotten things. This is actually quite a cool place that is housed in a restored home with period furniture. It’s an interactive museum that aims to give an understanding of Russian life in the 19th century. Guests are encouraged to attempt to set the dining-room table with imperial china, play period music on a gramophone and learn the complicated norms of receiving guests. This is something really unique, since after all, where else can you try the Russian guest experience, 19th century style?
On a more religious note, you could go see Sofia’s awe-inspiring 5-dome cathedral and bell tower the interior fully covered with beautiful 1680s frescoes. You could almost call it a combination art, or religious art at least, and history.
Before moving on from the traditional churches and museums, I should really point out the town’s monuments of wooden architecture. Of 116 historical cities of Russia only 16 have monuments of wooden architecture, and as luck would have it for a potentially interested visitor, Vologda is among them.
As usual, you can finish your day with a trip to one of the many local cafes or maybe even decide to go try a beer down at the authentically wood-furnished Bochka beer bar, which means barrel in Russian.
And the year 1147 is considered to be the foundation date of Vologda. Vologda takes its name from the Vologda River which flows through the city. Its name means "the pure one" in the language of indigenous Finno-Ugric population.
The advantageous geographical location at the intersection of waterways made the city of Vologda an apple of discord in the 13th and 15th centuries. Late in the 14th century Moscow's grand prince Vasily Dmitrievich annexed Vologda to his possessions. Since then Vologda became an appanage of Moscow's princes.
Having taken Moscow's side against all comers seemingly from its inception, Vologda was rewarded by Ivan the Terrible, who deemed the quaint city perhaps worthy of his living there (in fact some Volga-born residents are firm in their belief that the city was a contender for Russian capital), and a perfect site for a grand cathedral.
So under Ivan the Terrible led to the rapid expansion of Vologda. Vologda grew and quickly became one of the most important trade centres of Russia. At that time the city dealt with Siberia with England, Holland and other countries where the navy routes were laid through the White Sea.
Actually, up to the 17th century Vologda was an important centre of industry, commerce and arts - Vologda lace is still a coveted luxury item - but with the development of Arkhangelsk and then St Petersburg, Vologda was pushed into the background. At the start of the 20th century, many political undesirables (like Josef Stalin and religious philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev) were exiled here. And, for a few months in 1918, Vologda became the diplomatic capital of Russia.
And there’s some of the history, but coming back to the Vologda of today, we can see a town rich in history, architecture. Vologda's highly skilled workers of today are mainly employed in industrial plants, service, education, medicine and culture. The city's enterprises Produce is in high demand in Russia, and even has a ready export market in the USA, Finland, Holland, Germany, England and other countries.
It may not have become the Russian capital under Ivan the terrible, but Vologda is definitely as worth a visit as it ever was!