History

Ustyuzhna was first described by a chronicler in 1252. The history begins with the development of metallurgical industry on the territory of Rus. The remains of the ancient town and the amount of ironmongery found in the estuary of the Kat river testify to this fact. The town was rich in iron ore that was extracted on the Zheleznoye Pole (Iron Field). That is why the place was christened "Yustyug Zhelezny" (Iron Yustyug). And the town lived up to its name.

In the 15th-16th centuries Ustyuzhna Zheleznopolskaya became a major metallurgical centre in Rus. In 1567 the population of the town numbered over 6000 people. The most part of it was engaged in metal-working industry. At the beginning of the 18th century the Admiralty began to construct ironworks all over the country. Having lost all cannons in the battle at Narva in 1700, Peter I issued a special decree to use bell copper for casting cannons and mortals. More than 1000 puds of bell copper were sent from Vologda. Two ironworks were also built near Ustyuzhna (1702) and Belozersk to cast cannons and cannon-bells to get the Russian army prepared to start an all-out offensive against Sweden.

For many centuries, timbering was the most common building style in the district of Ustyuzhna, owing to the high cost of stone. In the late 17th century stone construction began, and by 1870 Ustyuzhna had 13 stone churches that changed the town's appearance. Two stately churches - The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin and the Kazan Church - are quite remarkable in its architecture and attract the visitor's attention. They remain active now. In 1781 at the order of Empress Catherine II the construction commission worked out the building plan for Ustyuzhna.

Later, with the advent of industrial revolution, the district focused on raw materials processing. Large deposits of quartz, limestone and chalk gave boost to glass manufacturing. The adundant nearby forests yielded an ample supply of building timber. The town had 7 sawmills and a match-producing factory.

The merchants of Ustyuzhna sold ironmongery, timber, bread and cattle. As history annals say, Ustyuzhna ranked fifth among the northern cities and towns engaged in trade.

The place affords a breath-taking panorama of the Mologa's mirror-like surface and, across the river, the expanse of still undeveloped fields and green coppices. The population of Ustyuzhna is 9700 people.