Golden Ring

This article is about the Golden Ring of Russia. For other uses, see Golden Ring (disambiguation).

The Golden Ring (Russian: Золото́е кольцо́) is a ring of cities northeast of Moscow, the capital of Russia. They formerly comprised the region known as Zalesye.

These ancient towns, which also played a significant role in the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church, preserve the memory of the most important and significant events in Russian history. The towns have been called "open air museums" and feature unique monuments of Russian architecture of the 12th–18th centuries, including kremlins, monasteries, cathedrals, and churches. These towns are among the most picturesque in Russia and prominently feature Russia's famous onion domes.

Cities included

Kotorosl River in Yaroslavl

St. Euthymius Monastery, Transfiguration Cathedral, and Belfry (Suzdal)

The Resurrection Church of Kostroma (1652) is a superb example of the 17th-century Russian art (color photograph, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, 1910, Library of Congress)

There were eight cities originally included into the tourist route of Golden Ring, but many more more are associated with it now (original ones are highlighted):

• Sergiyev Posad
• Pereslavl-Zalesskiy
• Rostov Velikiy
• Yaroslavl
• Kostroma
• Ivanovo
• Gus-Khrustalny
• Suzdal
• Vladimir
• Rybinsk
• Uglich
• Myshkin
• Alexandrov

Many of these cities are to be found along the M8 highway or can be reached from Yaroslavl Railway Station in Moscow.

External links

• Golden ring of Russia: photos, guide, maps (Russian)
• Golden Ring travel overview
• Jeffrey Tayler, Escape to Old Russia: The Golden Ring, northeast of Moscow, offers a respite from the capital and an immersion in the past, The Atlantic, October 2006.
• Golden ring of Russia un English & Russian
• Golden ring of Russia: Sergiev Posad (Russian)
• Golden Ring travel guide from Wikitravel