Kostroma

For other uses of "Kostroma", see Kostroma (disambiguation).

Kostroma (English) Кострома (Russian)
-  City  -
Fire-observation watchtower in Kostroma (1825-1828)
Location of Kostroma Oblast in Russia
Kostroma Location of Kostroma in Kostroma Oblast
Coordinates: 57°46′N 40°56′E
	Coat of arms
Administrative status (as of February 2011)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Kostroma Oblast
Administratively subordinated to	city of oblast significance of Kostroma
Administrative center of	Kostroma Oblast, city of oblast significance of Kostroma
Municipal status (as of December 2011)
Urban okrug	Kostroma Urban Okrug
Administrative center of	Kostroma Urban Okrug
Mayor[citation needed]	Alexander Kudryavtsev[citation needed]
Representative body	City Duma[citation needed]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census, preliminary)	268,617 inhabitants
- Rank in 2010	69th
Population (2002 Census)	278,750 inhabitants
- Rank in 2002	68th
Time zone	MSD (UTC+04:00)
Founded	1152[citation needed]
City status since	1719[citation needed]
Postal code(s)	156XXX[citation needed]
Dialing code(s)	+7 4942[citation needed]
Official website
Kostroma on WikiCommons

Kostroma (Russian: Кострома́) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian towns, it is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma Rivers. Population: 268,617 (2010 Census preliminary results); 278,750 (2002 Census); 278,414 (1989 Census). It is served by Kostroma Airport.

History

Under the Rurikids

The city was first recorded in the chronicles for the year 1213, but historians believe it could have been founded by Yury Dolgoruky more than half a century earlier.^{[citation needed]} Like other towns of the Eastern Rus, Kostroma was sacked by the Mongols in 1238. It then constituted a small principality, under leadership of Prince Vasily the Drunkard, a younger brother of the famous Alexander Nevsky. Upon inheriting the grand ducal title in 1271, Vasily didn't leave the town for Vladimir, and his descendants ruled Kostroma for another half a century, until the town was bought by Ivan I of Moscow.

As one of the northernmost towns of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Kostroma served for grand dukes as a place of retreat when enemies besieged Moscow in 1382, 1408, and 1433. In 1375, the town was looted by Novgorod pirates (ushkuiniks). The spectacular growth of the city in the 16th century may be attributed to the establishment of trade connections with English and Dutch merchants (Muscovy Company) through the northern port of Archangel. Boris Godunov had the Ipatiev and Epiphany monasteries rebuilt in stone. The construction works were finished just in time for the city to witness some of the most dramatic events of the Time of Troubles.

Kostroma was twice ravaged by the Poles; it took a six-month siege to expel them from the Ipatiev monastery. The heroic peasant Ivan Susanin became a symbol of the city's resistance to foreign invaders; several monuments to him may be seen in Kostroma. The future Tsar, Michael Romanov, also lived at the monastery. It was here that an embassy from Moscow offered him the Russian crown in 1612.

Under the Romanovs

It is understandable why the Romanov Tsars regarded Kostroma as their special protectorate. The Ipatievsky monastery was visited by many of them, including Nicholas II, the last Russian Tsar. The monastery had been founded in the early 14th century by a Tatar prince, ancestor of the Godunov family. The Romanovs had the magnificent Trinity Cathedral rebuilt in 1652; its frescoes and iconostasis are a thing of beauty. A wooden house of Mikhail Romanov is still preserved in the monastery. There are also several old wooden structures transported to the monastery walls from distant districts of the Kostroma Oblast.

Town status was granted in 1719.^{[citation needed]}

In 1773, Kostroma was devastated by a great fire. Afterwards the city was rebuilt with streets radiating from a single focal point near the river. They say that Empress Catherine dropped her fan on the city map, and told the architects to follow her design. One of the best preserved examples of the 18th century town planning, Kostroma retains some elegant structures in a "provincial neoclassical" style. These include a governor's palace, a fire tower, a rotunda on the Volga embankment, and an arcaded central market with a merchant church in the center.

Administrative and municipal status

Administratively, it is incorporated as the city of oblast significance of Kostroma—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. Municipally, the city of oblast significance of Kostroma is incorporated as Kostroma Urban Okrug.

Sights and landmarks

Ipatiev Monastery gives its name to the Hypatian Codex of the Russian Primary Chronicle

The Resurrection Church (1652) is a superb example of the 17th-century Russian art. Color photograph by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii in 1910 (Library of Congress)

Built in 1559-1565, the five-domed Epiphany Cathedral was the first stone edifice in the city; its medieval frescoes perished during a fire several years ago. The minster houses the city's most precious relic, a 10th-century Byzantine icon called Our Lady of St. Theodore (Russian: Федоровская Богоматерь). It was with this icon that Mikhail Romanov was blessed by his mother when he left for Moscow to claim the Russian throne. They say that just before the Revolution the icon blackened so badly that the image was hardly visible; it was interpreted as a bad sign for the Romanov dynasty.

The Ipatyevsky monastery survives mostly intact, with its 16th-century walls, towers, belfry, and the 17th-century cathedral.

Apart from the monasteries, most of the city churches were either rebuilt or demolished during the Soviet years. The only city church that survives from the 17th-century "golden age" is the of gold instead. He resolved that the unearned gold was the devil's gift and decided to spend it on building a church, beautiful within and without. Two other 17th-century temples, of rather conventional architecture, may be seen on the opposite side of the Volga.

Among the vestiges of the Godunov rule, a fine tent-like church in the urban-type settlement of Krasnoye-na-Volge (formerly an estate of Boris Godunov's brother) may be recommended.

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia

Twin towns and sister cities

Kostroma is twinned with:

• Aachen, Germany
• Durham, United Kingdom
• Durham, North Carolina, United States
• Hyvinkää, Finland
• Berane, Montenegro
• Cetinje, Montenegro
• Samokov, Bulgaria

References

Sources

• Костромская областная Дума. Закон №112-4-ЗКО от 9 февраля 2007 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Костромской области», в ред. Закона №42-5-ЗКО от 28 февраля 2011 г «О внесении изменений в Закон Костромской области "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Костромской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "СП — нормативные документы", №10(70), 28 февраля 2007 г. (Kostroma Oblast Duma. Law #112-4-ZKO of February 9, 2007 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Kostroma Oblast, as amended by the Law #42-5-ZKO of February 28, 2011 On Amending the Law of Kostroma Oblast "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Kostroma Oblast". Effective as of the official publication date.).
• Администрация Костромской области. Постановление №184-а от 24 июня 2008 г. «Об утверждении реестра населённых пунктов Костромской области», в ред. Постановления №392-а от 31 октября 2011 г «О внесении изменений в Постановление Администрации Костромской области от 26.06.2008 №184-а». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "СП — нормативные документы", №31(155), 11 июля 2008 г. (Administration of Kostroma Oblast. Resolution #184-a of June 24, 2008 On the Adoption of the Registry of the Inhabited Localities of Kostroma Oblast, as amended by the Resolution #392-a of October 31, 2011 On Amending the Resolution of the Administration of Kostroma Oblast of June 26, 2008 #184-a. Effective as of the official publication date.).
• Костромская областная Дума. Закон №237-ЗКО от 30 декабря 2004 г. «Об установлении границ муниципальных образований в Костромской области и наделении их статусом», в ред. Закона №177-5-ЗКО от 29 декабря 2011 г «О внесении изменений в Закон Костромской области "Об установлении границ муниципальных образований в Костромской области и наделении их статусом"». Вступил в силу по истечении 10 дней со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Северная Правда" ("Документы: СпецВыпуск"), №8, 26 января 2005 г. (Kostroma Oblast Duma. Law #237-ZKO of December 30, 2004 On the Establishment of the Borders of the Municipal Formations and on Granting Them Statuses, as amended by the Law #177-5-ZKO of December 29, 2011 On Amending the Law of Kostroma Oblast "On the Establishment of the Borders of the Municipal Formations and on Granting Them Statuses". Effective as of after 10 days following the official publication date.).

External links

• Kostroma
• City map
• Kostroma Vurtual Tour
• http://www.mykostroma.ru/
• (Russian) History and sights of Kostroma
• http://kosinfo.ru Kostroma Info
• Kostroma city beautiful architecture views