All the cities on the banks of the Volga are incredibly beautiful and cozy. Each has its own history and its own unique urban charm. And if you suddenly want to take a leisurely walk along the Volga along the embankment, your wish can be fulfilled in just 2-3 hours. The road from Moscow to Tver takes exactly that much time.
For the first time Tver was mentioned in 1208-1209. in the Laurentian Chronicle. Up to this point, the settlement already existed in the 9-10th centuries, but did not have a clear name and status. The Tver lands were divided between the Vladimir, Novgorod and Smolensk principalities. Only after they passed to Alexander Nevsky, and from him, in turn, to his brother Yaroslav, did Tver become a large and strong principality. The favorable geographical position of Tver allowed the city to quickly develop trade relations, but Tver also experienced attacks by invaders more than once.
The historical center of Tver of those years has not survived. First, Tver was attacked by the Mongol Tatars. Then Ivan the Terrible in 1569 took up arms against the Novgorod lands and began his campaign with the defeat of the Tver possessions. During the Time of Troubles, Tver was repeatedly attacked by the Poles.
Constant wars drained the economy of Tver, and for some time it lost its influence. But the construction of St. Petersburg and the Vyshnevolotsk water system returned to Tver the role of a transshipment and port center. Under Peter, Tver was actively built up, many buildings have survived - the house of the merchant Arefiev, where Peter stayed when he came to Tver, the stone Church of the Assumption. But the Kremlin died from a fire in 1763, because the central part of the city was wooden. But in the same year, Catherine issued a decree to build up and improve the city.
The layout of the city repeats Petersburg and … Versailles - this architectural technique was used by the builders. Thanks to Catherine's decree, we see Tver today just like this - with a beautiful old center, wide promenade embankments, immersed in greenery. The main building of that time can be considered the Imperial Travel Palace, built according to the project of M. Kazakov.
The palace served as a resting place for tsars on their trips from St. Petersburg to Moscow. The Empress herself more than once gave receptions and dinner parties in the palace, which were attended by Prince Potemkin, Count Shuvalov, and foreign diplomats. Now the palace houses the Tver Regional Picture Gallery. But the building of the palace itself is in a deplorable state and the restoration work is not visible. The facade faded and collapsed, cracks along all the walls.
The interior of the former luxurious decoration has not survived either. During the war, the German headquarters was located in the palace, and during the retreat of the troops it was set on fire. And although the palace officially received the status of a museum in 1961, this, unfortunately, did not affect its restoration in any way. But you can visit the museum itself, the exhibitions there are very interesting.
Next to the palace is the building of the former real school, now the Tver State United Museum is located here. Be sure to visit it with your child. There is a very complete collection of exhibits, telling about the life and formation of the Tver region, excavated objects, fauna, all the milestones of ancient and modern history. The exposition is not boring, worthy and will be interesting even for a small child.
And when you are tired of museums, you can relax in the city park, which is located right behind the palace and the museum, on the waterfront. It offers a beautiful view of the Volga, bridges, temples. In the park itself, you can ride, for example, on the Ferris wheel - the view opens up bewitching. The attractions themselves are still of the Soviet era, but there are not many people, even on weekends, there are practically no queues. The lack of a normal cafe or restaurant can be a big disadvantage of rest.
There are only summer cafes in the park, where it is not clear what to feed the child with. In a side street next to a pizzeria and an Arab cafe. I won't say anything about the pizzeria; fortunately, Russian cuisine turned out to be in the cafe. Decent and budget, but for a kid, it is better to take ready-made baby food with you. Another little tip - in a cafe, you can use the toilet not only for visitors.
After lunch, after having gained strength, you can take a walk around the city center. Tver is so compact that almost all sights are concentrated in one place and are within walking distance. Leaving your car in the parking lot and taking a city map (you can buy it at any newsstand in Tver), it is a pleasure to walk around the city.
The adornment of Tver is the square on which the building of the administration of Tver stands - the former provincial government and the Treasury Chamber. Here Saltykov-Shchedrin served as vice-governor. The writer's museum is located on the outskirts of the city, in the house where he lived. An exhibition is open there that tells not only about his writing activity, but also about public service.
The region of Tver, which is located on the other bank of the Volga, is logically named Zavolzhsky. You can get to it via one of two bridges - old (1900) and new (1956). While walking along the embankment, you will surely notice a large and unusual monument on the opposite side. Having moved to the other side of the Volga, you will find yourself on another embankment, no less attractive.
The center of walks and a place for festivities for wedding corteges is the monument to Afanasy Nikitin. This famous merchant and traveler is an unspoken symbol of Tver. He is known for making a trip to India, thirty years before Vasco da Gama discovered this country. True, Nikitin succeeded by chance: during a regular trade trip, the Tatars attacked his ship and plundered all the goods.
Nikitin did not want to return home empty-handed and, wanting to sell the remaining goods, began to travel on other merchant ships bound for the East. He lived in Iran for two years before he learned about India and went there. The result of the trip was Nikitin's travel notes "Voyage across the Three Seas", in which he tells in detail and without bias about his adventures in India and about the customs and people of the country.
You can walk along the embankment to the River Station. From it river trams go on excursions. Do not miss the last opportunity to see all the beauty of the city from the board of a motor ship, because the navigation season on the Volga is short. By the way, another mooring place is the city park. You can also get on the excursion from it. Motor ships making a cruise along the Volga dock at the River Station.
Believe me, these huge liners will not leave indifferent any child. The station itself stands at the intersection of the Tvertsa rivers (from the name of which the name of the city came from) and, accordingly, the Volga. From the embankment, you can take beautiful pictures of the St. Catherine's nunnery and the Stepan Razin embankment with old buildings. In the Volga region there are also shrines - the Resurrection Church and the Assumption Cathedral. The construction of the monastery was associated with the name of the first Tver prince Yaroslav Yaroslavovich.
By the way, one stable expression is associated with this monastery, which we now use without thinking about its meaning. In the 15th century, the monastery served as a prison for those who disagreed with the policies of Ivan the Terrible. One of them was Metropolitan Philip Kolychev. From his imprisonment in the monastery, he wrote letters to Ivan the Terrible, in which he denounced the oprichnina and criticized the tsar. And these certificates were called "filkin". Since then, the expression "filkin literacy" has gone.
If you want to buy a souvenir with the symbols of the city as a souvenir, then you will have to look very well. For some reason, this is difficult and scarce in the city. You can see something only in the foyers of museums. Otherwise, a trip to Tver is a great option for a one-day adventure.
