The legend of the Cossack Don - the village of Starocherkasskaya: history and modernity. Stanitsa Starocherkasskaya attractions
Souvenir sellers lined the alleys. You can buy products made of ceramics, wood, and metal.
What we liked most were these souvenirs:
Walking along the shady streets past souvenir shops, we came to the main attraction - the Resurrection Military Cathedral.
A little history
This is the main architectural landmark of Starocherkassk - the first stone cathedral on the Don. It was built from 1706 to 1719. Until 1805, the Resurrection Cathedral was the main temple not only of Cherkassy, but also of the entire Don Army.
This is a nine-domed temple built by an unknown architect in the Ukrainian Baroque style. The temple was erected during the decree of Peter I, which prohibited the construction of stone buildings everywhere except St. Petersburg. However, due to political necessity, Peter himself contributed to the construction, helping with money, utensils, specialists and, allegedly, personally taking a symbolic part in the construction (as stated on the memorial inscription, made, however, already in the 19th century). The interior of the cathedral is striking in its decoration, which contrasts with its restrained appearance. The unique five-tiered gilded carved iconostasis measuring 19x23 meters contains 149 icons from the mid-18th century, made using wood carving techniques.
Among the unusual details, the metal plates in front of the altar attract attention, where there are cast inscriptions stating that Russian emperors and grand dukes once prayed at this place.
And at the entrance to the temple, on the wall hang massive shackles and chains, in which Stepan Razin was supposedly shackled before being sent to execution.
Not far away, in the gallery, behind a metal plate, there is the ashes of that man - military ataman Kirill Yakovlev - who treacherously betrayed his godson Stepan to the tsarist government... Near the temple there is a two-tier tented bell tower 45.8 meters high. This is the only building of this type in Southern Russia.
The bell tower consists of a basement, a quadrangle, an octagon and a tent topped with a cross. Now it, like the Resurrection Cathedral, is under the jurisdiction of the Donskoy Starocherkassky Monastery.
There is an entrance fee to the bell tower. Climbing the narrow stone stairs, panoramic views of the Don steppes open up.
Next to the bell tower, trophies captured in the Azov Seat are laid out, such as: the leaves of the fortress gate, two gates and the yoke of trade scales.
After passing by the stalls we came to the Church of Peter and Paul.
The Church of Peter and Paul was built on the square of the former Pribylyanskaya village. The wooden church that previously stood on this site is mentioned in the charters of the Don Army back in 1692. After another fire that occurred in 1744, it was rebuilt, but from stone. construction took place from 1749 to 1751 on the initiative of Ataman Danil Efremov. There is information that Empress Elizaveta Petrovna provided assistance in construction and even sent a master builder and ten plasterers and masons from Moscow. In 2005, the church was under reconstruction:
It is also interesting to visit the Ataman Compound.
This architectural complex contains architectural monuments of the 18th - 19th centuries - the estate of the Efremov atamans with the Don House Church.
The farmstead, located on the territory of the former Srednyaya Stanitsa, belonged to one of the most famous and richest Cossack families - the Efremovs. The beginning of prosperity was laid by Ataman Danila Efremov, who at the end of his life owned shops, taverns, mills, herds of horses and huge plots (most of which were communal lands he captured).
At first the courtyard was built Ataman Palace, built on the model of metropolitan aristocratic houses. In its final form, the palace has 21 rooms, and its total area is more than 1000 m². In 1756 - 1761, the house church of the Efremovs was built in the name of the Don Icon of the Mother of God, named, accordingly, Donskaya Church. Behind the eastern side of the church is the Efremov family cemetery.
There are also souvenir shops and attractions on the territory of the compound.
The courtyard is surrounded by fortress walls.
There is also a museum located here.
You can also visit the Church of the Transfiguration (1740) with an ancient cemetery, located in the Ratny tract. In 2005 it was under reconstruction. The photo shows what form it was in.
There is also the Anninskaya Fortress - the only earthen fortress preserved on the territory of Russia. It is located five kilometers northeast of Starocherkassk, almost on the banks of the Don. Unfortunately we did not visit it.
In 2010, we attended the celebration of the 440th anniversary of the village. A reconstruction of the Bulavinsky uprising against the troops of Peter I was carried out.
The monument was also unveiled:
Here is a short story about the glorious capital of the Don Cossacks.
October 6, 2013 2:43
WAS 05.10.13. LOVED IT. DESPITE THE WEATHER, THERE ARE A LOT OF TOURISTS. SCHOOLCHILDREN. THIS IS OUR STORY. THAT'S WHY WE DID NOT REGRET WHAT WE VISITED THE TEMPLES. ATAMAN COMPOSITION. REALLY LIKED THE OLD TOWN COMPLEX. HOTEL AND RESTAURANT. VERY GOOD. I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT IN THE SUMMER. WORTH A VISIT
30 May 2013 8:02
It’s a good place, an interesting story, but in the museum the caretakers behave disgustingly. It’s impossible to stop and look at the exhibits carefully. They rush like Cerberus, they straight up kick you out. Sorry, I paid the money, behaved civilly. What kind of disgrace is this?!
The village of Starocherkasskaya is located in the Rostov region, on the right bank of the Don River, 30 km east of the city of Rostov-on-Don. The village of Starocherkasskaya delights its guests with folklore festivals, which are attended by ensembles from all over Russia; the festivals “Volnaya Stanitsa” and “Salute to Russia”, the Festival of Ukha, as well as a festival of Cossack culture dedicated to the celebration of the Don Icon of the Mother of God are held here.
Festive events include theatrical performances and master classes, fairs and tastings of Cossack dishes, mass reenactments of Cossack battles and fireworks.
The region is famous for its original culture and the color of the Don landscapes. The ataman of the Don Cossacks, Kondraty Bulavin, lived here and General Matvey Platov, an associate of Alexander Suvorov, a participant in all Russian wars of the 18th - early 19th centuries, was born. At different times, Tsars Peter I and Alexander I, artists Vasily Surikov and Ivan Krylov, poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and writer Mikhail Sholokhov visited here.
From 1644 to 1805, the village of Starocherkasskaya was the capital of the Don Cossacks.
How to get to Starocherkassk
- To get to the village, you need to get to the city of Aksay, located 16 km from Rostov-on-Don. From Aksay to Starocherkassk take a regular bus or minibus
- By car, also get to Aksai, and then follow in the direction of Novocherkassk, and in the Bolshoi Log area turn to the village.
- By boat from the river station in Rostov. However, it should be noted that there is no regular traffic to the village.
Name
According to the Soviet historian Boris Lunin, the name of the city is associated with the residence of Cossack Cossacks, immigrants from the Dnieper region, since the Tatars called the Cossacks Cherkassy.
From the history
The first mentions of Cherkassk appeared in historical essays in 1593, although some scientists believe that the city was founded by Zaporozhye Cossacks even earlier - in 1570. The village became famous for the fact that it was from these places and the Monastic town, located 7 km down the Don, that the Cossacks’ campaign against the Turkish fortress of Azov began. Its capture and retention from 1637 to 1641 was called the “Azov Seat.”
After the Cossacks left the Azov fortress, the Turks took revenge on them by destroying Cherkassk and the Monastic Town. Despite this, in 1644 the city was restored and became the capital of the Don Army.
Stepan Razin was born in Cherkassk and in 1667 it was here that the Don Cossacks rebelled and the uprising began. Emelyan Pugachev visited the village more than once.
In 1805, Ataman Matvey Ivanovich Platov, despite the objections of many Cossacks, founded Novocherkassk - the new capital of the Don Cossacks, and Cherkassk was renamed Starocherkassk. The reason for moving the capital of the Don Cossacks was explained by frequent floods in the spring and fires during the rest of the year.
Sights of the village of Starocherkasskaya
One of the main attractions of the village is the Starocherkassk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve, formed in 1970 on the initiative of the writer Mikhail Sholokhov.
The museum-reserve occupies an area of 180 hectares, on which there are more than 100 monuments of civil and religious architecture of the central part of the village, as well as several historical territories in its surroundings. Among the most famous historical and architectural monuments:
- The architectural complex “Ataman Compound”, which includes buildings of the mid-18th century - the Ataman Palace of Danila Efremov and the Don House Church, located opposite the palace, as well as utility buildings and the Efremov family cemetery
- The Military Resurrection Cathedral was erected in 1650 on one of the most elevated places on the island. Initially, it was a wooden temple, next to which there was a wide square - the Maidan, where Military Circles gathered to solve important problems. The wooden temple burned several times and after one of the devastating fires the cathedral was rebuilt in stone. The work was carried out from 1706 to 1719. A bell tower 45 meters high was built next to the nine-domed temple. Until 1805 it was the main cathedral of the entire Don Army
- House of Kondraty Bulavin - military ataman of the Don Cossacks
- Since the beginning of the 17th century, the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was located in the Ratny tract, in the city cemetery. In this church they served a memorial service for the dead and those killed in the war; from here, when going to a foreign land, they took a handful of Don soil with them. In 1740, the Ratnaya Church was rebuilt in stone
- The stone church of the apostles Peter and Paul was built on the market square in 1749-1751
- The Zhuchenkov House, a striking example of Cossack residential architecture of the 18th century
- The monument “Stone of Cossack Glory” was opened at the crossing of the Don River in honor of the 440th anniversary of the Cossack village in 2010.
In addition to monuments and festivals, the village of Starocherkasskaya is known as one of the best places in Russia to play professional golf. A large resort and sports complex Don Golf Resort has been built here, the pride of which is a magnificent 18-hole golf course. For beginning players, including children, there is an opportunity to learn the secrets of this sport. The village of Starocherkasskaya is an excellent option for a trip out of town or for those who have already seen everything
What is Don famous for? The region of Donskoy is famous for its poetic legends, songs, brightness and originality of traditions and rituals carried through centuries. This is a land of strong, proud and at the same time very kind and open people who work from dawn to dusk, wanting to make their native land even more beautiful.
There are many historical monuments and cultural centers in the Rostov region. They are the landmarks of our region. One of them is the village of Starocherkasskaya, the former city of Cherkassk, the capital of the Don Cossacks. It is difficult to find such a protected corner on the Don, where you can breathe antiquity, where everything so vividly resembles the historical past. The old city attracted travelers precisely with this aroma of antiquity, crooked streets and alleys, and Cossack kurens.
June 8, 1820 The village was visited by A.S. Pushkin and General N.N. Raevsky, who wrote in a letter to his daughter: “This demoted city is flooded with water even more than usual. There are 700 houses left in it, including several old names of officials. In a word, Old Cherkassk will remain forever a monument: for both Russian and foreign travelers.”
As the capital of the region of the Don army, the “old city” ceased to exist on May 9, 1806. On this day, Ataman M.I. Platov, during the spring flood, moved the military office to New Cherkassk, which was built on a bare Aksai hill. This decision was made due to a number of circumstances.
By the beginning of the 19th century, when Russia strengthened its position on the shores of the Azov and Black Sea regions, Cherkassk lost its former military-strategic importance. Because every year the city was subjected to a devastating flood, which for several months turned it into a floating village, called by foreign travelers the “Venice of the Don”. In 1801 Italian engineer Antonio Ludwig de Romano developed a project to protect the city from floods, but it was not accepted because it required large expenses: the city had to be rebuilt on an artificially constructed embankment.
The Russian government has long wanted to abolish Cossack self-government. And using the pretext of moving the capital to another place, they hoped to carry out their plan. After all, Cherkassk was a hotbed of anti-feudal movements for 17-18 centuries. All this together decided the fate of Cherkassk.
Since 1970, the capital Starocherkasskaya has been turned into a historical and architectural museum-reserve. The village came to life. Churches and buildings have been restored. In the summer, a huge number of tourists visit the village.
The emergence of Cherkassk dates back to the end of the 16th century. The first mention of the city is found in the chronicles of the reign of Ivan the Terrible: “The Cherkasy people came from across the Dnieper to the Don with Prince Vishnevetsky and, having settled there, they built the city of Cherkasy.” Gradually, the population of the Don was continuously replenished by refugees from Ukraine and Great Russian peasants. This explains the unbreakable alliance of the Don Cossacks and Ukraine with the Cossacks.
The island chosen for the settlement, protected on all sides by water, was a reliable refuge for the Cossacks. At the very beginning, the city consisted of narrow streets and crowded kurens and dugouts. The only decoration was the chapel and the tower - the tower, on which the Cossacks carried out guard duty.
Fires often occurred in the wooden city, but it was rebuilt again.
The Turks carried out frequent raids and destroyed everything to the ground. In 1643 They ravaged the towns of Manych and Cherkassy, and burned the town on Monastyrsky Yar. Later, the Turks, Tatars, and Nagais unsuccessfully tried to take possession of the city.
Sources from the 18th century say that the city of “Cherkasy is fairly built and fortified in the ancient way, with peals and towers.” The fortress is located on an island formed by the Don, the Tankinsky Erik and the Channel, separating it from the steppe plain. On the rampart there were walls with a double row of oak polygardens filled with earth inside. The fortress was complemented by wooden towers and a ditch filled with water.
Inside the city is a fortress, divided into: Cherkasskaya, Pribylyanskaya, Durnovskaya, etc. The names of the villages come from the kurens or villages from which the Cossack army was formed. A. Rigelman drew up a plan where, in addition to the walls, Cherkassk was additionally fortified on the outside with one large one - the Danilovsky raskat and ten smaller ones.
The Cherkassy fortress in the 17-18 centuries was a formidable structure, indicating that the Cossacks had firmly settled in this place and were not going to leave it.
The fortifications and ramparts have now disappeared, and in their places are memorial obelisks with cast iron cannons. On our way to the village we will meet the first Ivanovo peal.
Guests' attention will certainly be attracted by the fences and wooden smoking areas, which have preserved their ancient layout to this day. Carved platbands, corner pilasters and shutters, highlighted with white paint, give them a picturesque and elegant look.
Kureni appeared on the Don in the second half of the 17th century, when the life of the Cossacks became more sedentary. Previously, they lived in hastily made dugouts, which they left and left in case of danger. In the life of a Cossack, peace was temporary; anxiety was the Cossack’s companion. “Having maintained long-term peace, we remain barefoot and hungry,” they wrote to the king, but nevertheless, the comfortable dwellings were appreciated. The kurens were built on high stilts, which protected the living rooms from flooding. The rooms were accessed by stairs to a “galdarea”, which was the name given to a balcony closed on all sides. The lower floor (omshanik) was used as utility rooms for storing various household equipment. De Romano wrote: “All wooden houses, without exception, have a gallery along the facade and on one side: people sleep on them in the summer. These external galleries are ready-made bonfires during fires: the streets are so narrow that you can shake hands from opposite galleries.” Therefore, fires burned the city to the ground. The kurens that have survived to this day date back to the second half of the 19th century. They were richly decorated with wide, openwork carvings.
A wide, openwork carved board, which was nailed to the eaves above the overhang of the hipped roof, gives special expressiveness to the façade of the smoking area.
The dwellings of the Cossacks went through a long path of development - from huts to a multi-room house, which was divided into an entrance hall and an upper room, to which were adjacent a canopy, a closet and a “galdarya”.
Kureni are still found in Starocherkassk; they form the architectural background of the city. True, already rickety, many have lost their carved decoration, but nevertheless they carry the memory of the past.
Perhaps that is why in Starocherkassk the tradition of holding folklore festivals, which take place in the summer, every third Sunday of the month, has been preserved.
It has become a good tradition in our family to visit the village of Starocherkasskaya once a year during such celebrations. The most vivid and memorable trip was on August 20, 2005, when I visited the 355th anniversary of the village.
A celebration was held on the banks of the Don, at the pier. There were about 20 thousand invited guests alone. Folklore ensembles from different republics, cities, villages and farmsteads, from Kuban, Zaporozhye, Orenburg, etc. came here. Folk craftsmen came from different places in the Rostov region to show what was created with their hands. There are wood carvings, beadwork, jewelry, wicker furniture, icons, paintings, bas-reliefs and figurines. And when you look at them, you involuntarily feel a sense of pride for your fellow countrymen, that in such difficult times they create real masterpieces. It is impossible to pass by without buying something. I also bought several souvenirs as souvenirs.
The concert program began at 10 a.m. and lasted until midnight. Amateur artists showed scenes from the life and everyday life of the Cossacks: seeing off a soldier to service, a wedding, etc. The folk ensembles “Ivan Kupala” and “Russian Song” came to congratulate the Starocherkassians. Nadezhda Babkina's performance caused a storm of applause. The deputy ataman of the Don army presented the icon of the Mother of God as a gift to the artist.
The Cossacks gave rides to those who wished. Colorful kites and balloons soared into the sky. I witnessed a huge balloon being launched.
The holiday ended with fireworks.
Of course, I also visited the Military Resurrection Cathedral. I was greatly impressed by the decoration of the cathedral: especially the graceful baroque five-tiered iconostasis, where ancient icons are entwined with beautiful carvings in the form of grapevines and grapes, covered with gilding. It seems like precious lace against the clean background of whitewashed walls. The choirs depict 35 fragments from the Old and New Testaments, and under each picture there is an explanatory caption, as in the composition of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise:
“And startled by God’s menacing voice,
And, having gone into hiding, I realized my sin.”
The cathedral still amazes with its grandeur and beauty. While at such monuments, poets compose poems:
Like a song the temple flows high,
He rushes upward, solemn and slender,
The stone is inspired by the singing power -
Built for God or not for God,
But he was raised by man,
And there is no hypocritical humility in him,
An unknown architect, daring and bold,
He himself became a creator and gave wings to stones
And he imprinted his pride on them.
And you're standing on a stone threshold,
And your soul is proud of people -
Gods come and gods go
But man is immortal forever.
Upon entering the cathedral, I was struck by a landmark: the shackles of Stepan Razin, in which he was supposedly shackled in the ancient wooden cathedral before being sent to Moscow. Later, these shackles and chains were displayed as a warning to the rebellious and free Cossacks. Not far from the chains, a slab is walled up in the wall, behind which is the ashes of the military chieftain Kornil Yakovlev. Next to the cathedral there is a two-tier bell tower, built in 1725 - 1730. This is the only tented bell tower of the 18th century in the south of Russia (its height is 45.8 m). From the top platform of the bell tower there is a wonderful view of the village and the Don River.
On the cathedral site - the Maidan - Azov cannons, the fortress gates, the yoke and the arrow of trade scales are displayed - symbols of the conquest of Azov and the Cossacks' mastery of trade routes and the mouth of the Don. Here, in Cherkassk, on August 31, 1696, for the first time in the history of Russia, fireworks were produced in honor of the victory of Russian weapons near Azov. Yes, cowards were not tolerated on the Don! Bravery was recognized as the highest virtue. Cossack proverbs and sayings speak about this as follows: “A Cossack would rather die than leave his native land”, “Cossack courage will destroy any fortress”, “And there is only one warrior in the field, if he is cut like a Cossack”, “It is better to lay down your head, yes Cossack honor cannot be lost.” Here, in 1670, Stepan Razin called on the naked people to march on Moscow. On the Maidan, on the military circle, on May 9, 1708, military ataman Kondraty Bulavin was elected and after a while, right there on the square, he was executed.
A landmark of Starocherkassk is the architectural complex of the 18th – 19th centuries, the courtyard of the military chieftains of the Efremovs, which was surrounded by a stone wall. The first building was a palace; a house church was erected opposite. After restoration, one of the exhibitions of the Starocherkassk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve was placed there. Then a two-story stone building was built, where the Monastery Hotel now exists. In Starocherkassk there is a functioning monastery, on the territory of which there is an exhibition “The Old City of Cherkassk 16th – 20th Centuries”, which tells about the history of the Don Cossacks and their capital - Cherkassk. You can enter the territory of the monastery through the holy gates, which are unique in their architecture.
I walked around all the buildings of the museum-reserve. I saw a lot of interesting things: military regalia, weapons, clothes of the Nekrasov Cossacks, fishing gear. The museum preserves items that were part of the decoration of the house of a wealthy Cossack and the ancient Cossack kitchen.
The shopping area is decorated with decorative signs.
Talking about Cherkassy antiquity, I would like to remember that Cherkassk is the birthplace of many military leaders of the Don who took an active part in the wars of Russia: Krasnoshchekov I.M., Frolov V.F., Denisov A. and M.I. Platov.
Atamans for the battle for freedom
Raised the Don Cossacks
And the earth groaned under my hoof,
The steppe shook from the trampling.
Cossacks, irrepressibly rebellious,
They fought bravely for freedom and honor.
An ancient cemetery has been preserved around the Church of the Transfiguration. Some atamans of the 17th – 19th centuries are buried there: ataman Danila Efremov, ataman Orlov (participant in the assault on Izmail), ataman I.M. Krasnoshchekov (participant in the war with the Swedes). Many generals and officers who took part in the Patriotic War of 1812 are buried here. They promised to create a memorial complex for the glory of Russian weapons at this cemetery.
My roots are on the Don,
Holy land of my ancestors.
They defended with their lives
From enemies, my native land.
Without history there is no future. One of the philosophers wrote: “Hoary antiquity, under all circumstances, will remain an extremely interesting era for future generations, for it is the basis of later progress.” The village of Starocherkasskaya and its surroundings are replete with monuments and memorable places. There is no other place in the south of Russia where monuments created by the skillful hands of many generations would be provided in such quantity.
Leaving the village of Starocherkasskaya, we will admire the beauty of the surrounding landscape for a long time, the beacons of its churches against the backdrop of the flat steppe landscape. And we feel pride in the Don Cossacks who lived many years ago and gratitude to those who preserved all the monuments for us, the younger generation.
I am a Cossack. I bequeath to my sons
Protect and love our Don region.
If you have to fight with enemies,
Conclusion
Without knowing the past of your homeland, you can neither understand nor appreciate our present day, nor imagine the future.
The Cossacks treated the nature of their native land with filial care, calling the steppe “Mother” and the Don “Father”, and preserved folk traditions. They understood that this was their life, the future of their children and grandchildren.
Caring for the history of our region and its traditions is the sacred duty of each of us. And sing about our land, as our grandfathers and fathers did:
“The native land is like a mother’s caress, like her tender call over the cradle, the magical sound of familiar words trembles in the heart with warmth and joy: I love you, dear land And the sedge of your quiet waters, and the silver of sandy spits, the cry of a lapwing in a green bush, the song of round dances at dawn and on holiday the noise of the village Maidan, and the dear old Don - I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
The current village of Starocherkasskaya has known more worthy times. Once upon a time it was the capital of the Don Cossacks - Cherkasy. Then, after the capital of the Don Army was moved to Starocherkassk, and now it is completely excluded from the list of Russian cities. In recent decades, interest in the Cossacks has grown significantly. Both from the side of the country's leadership (decrees on the Cossacks are replaced by decrees, which give way to concepts...), and from the side of ordinary citizens, who, unfortunately, are still the majority in the country. Here and there you can observe with interest a man in a bright military uniform with stripes on his trousers. Trousers with stripes in our country have always evoked respect (which was not automatically transferred to their owners), because only an officer who belonged to the command staff of the Armed Forces could afford such decoration. In order to better and more fully understand what the Cossacks are, the best thing to do is to go to the place of its origin and prosperity, because What you see with your own eyes is, after all, more objective than films on this topic and even television reports.
The path to Starocherkassk, both before and now, lies through the city of Aksai, the name of which many of our citizens will independently translate as White Water. Aksai was built right on the banks of the Don.
One of the first houses we saw in the city (the railway station is located in the old city. The new one is quite modern and is located a little further) made us remember godfather Pumpkin from the fairy tale about Cipollino. The house was so tiny that the owner, who was in his home, had his legs sticking out.
Some events from Aksai's life are reflected in his monuments.
Heroes of the Great Patriotic War. Next to this alley there is a memorial in honor of all the city residents who died and disappeared during the war.
There were fierce battles for crossing the Don.
Chernobyl victims are not forgotten.
The fact that this is the land of the Cossacks is also reminded by the flag over the small house.
Judging by the work schedule, the staff of the Cossack structure is considerable. Apparently, such a thing as the revival of the Cossacks cannot be accomplished by a small number of people.
The main tourist attraction in the city is, without a doubt, the Postal Station Museum.
“...I was once here too...” Let’s change Pushkin’s line a little. (Without permission, counting on the well-known generosity of the Poet...).
It looks like a fishing camp in the depths of the Karelian Isthmus.
Samples of vehicles.
Summer option.
And winter. Now we are only changing tires...
Nearby is a church. But she is almost invisible because of the trees.
There is another museum. Customs of yesteryear. It is located very inconveniently. At one time, we were unable to look into the future in order to better determine the location. It is unlikely that there will be curious tourists who will look for it (and few locals know about it). Probably the most correct thing is to move it to the city center to make it accessible. In the end, it is possible to indicate that it once stood in a different place. But not necessarily. In the meantime, the girl who is now in charge of customs was very surprised when she saw the visitor.
Moreover, there is little interesting architecture in the city. Houses like those of the local appraiser are rare.
But there is a House of Happiness.
Another Aksai church. It can be seen that practical business executives of the Soviet era attached some kind of workshop to it. We built socialism with God's help...
The first thing that greets the guest of Starocherkasskaya is the Military Cemetery. Many famous residents of Cherkasy are buried there. The Transfiguration Cathedral is located near the cemetery. All military campaigns of the Cossacks began from him
Starocherkasskaya is small. There are only two streets, one of which is an alley. The houses are mostly typical for settlements of this type.
The condition of some of them is also familiar.
It has its own ruins. No one can answer what happened here before.
The strong owners who have always been on the Don still exist. Although these could simply be dachas of wealthy citizens from Rostov-on-Don.
One of the signs of civilization is the telephone.
Sberbank branch. Only open three days a week. And even that is a lot, because... potential clients are not visible at all.
And a hotel. For some reason, almost all websites about Starocherkasskaya indicate that there is nowhere to spend the night in the village.
Church of Peter and Paul. The future ataman Matvey Platov was baptized in it.
The house of Kondraty Bulavin, the leader of one of the Cossack uprisings against the central government. The expression “Kondratiy (kondrashka) was enough” is about him. They say that the ataman was fierce. Some sources say that he shot himself in this house so as not to surrender. Now exhibitions are held here.
There is a library in the village. It is located in this building.
In a small square, apparently a former trade square, there are wooden sculptures of the inhabitants of old Cherkasy.
Behind the Cossack woman is the market. Today it is completely empty.
Monument to those who died in the Great Patriotic War.
The seal of the Don Army is a reminder of past greatness.
In almost the entire village the lights were not turned off during the day. Apparently, the Cossacks do not pay attention to such trifles.
The Resurrection Military Cathedral looks majestic. The square in front of it bears witness to many important and dramatic events of that time.
Nearby is a monument to the most famous native of the village - Ataman Matvey Platov.
And trophies brought from military campaigns.
The fortress gates. And the yoke of commercial scales.
The most interesting museum in Starocherkassk is the Ataman Compound.
Of course, it contains the Ataman Palace.
Goats roamed freely outside the gates.
It’s not often that a city dweller has the lucky chance of seeing these now rare animals. The Goat Lord turned to me. An inspired look, a wedge beard, horns... A fairly common type these days... Not a hint of any fear. It was clear that he would stand for his ladies to the end. In short, he behaved in the best male traditions. And why did this word “goat” become a dirty word among people? Do they envy his endurance and courage?
A memorial stone was erected not far from the shore.
You can get to the other side of the Don by ferry.
A lonely boat splashes on the waves, waiting for its owner. But there is almost no one around.
Only a monk from the monastery came to fish. Probably, today the restaurant's diet will include fish soup. We talked. He seemed balanced to me, without any fanaticism or bitterness. Why did you decide to break away from the usual life for all of us? Or has a person become like this already here?
The return bus from Starocherkasskaya to Aksai arrived already in the dark. A light breeze was blowing over the Don. The weather was clearly conducive to reflection... I tried to understand whether I had learned anything new about Cossack life? Are the Cossacks being revived anywhere other than in reports?
And is this real...?
The village of Starocherkasskaya is located approximately 15 km from Rostov-on-Don, on the banks of the Don.
1. You can get there by taking a minibus that runs from the Nakhichevan market. It takes almost an hour to travel, because the minibus stops at the suburb of Rostov - Aksai.
You can also get there as part of an excursion group, by boat from the central embankment of Rostov. But it will cost much more.
Starocherkasskaya (Starocherkassk, until 1805 - Cherkassk), a village in the Aksai district of the Rostov region.
Known as the capital of the Don Cossacks. In the center of the village is the Starocherkassk Museum-Reserve.
Currently, the village has been turned into a tourist place, which is a must-visit for anyone who comes to Rostov and who is interested in the history of these places.
Interesting information from Wikimapia:
“The first written mentions found about the “Cherkasy town” on the Don date back to 1593. At the same time, according to V. N. Tatishchev in his “Russian History from the Most Ancient Times” and N. A. Markevich in the “History of Little Russia”, the village was founded - under the name "city of Cherkassy" - by the Cherkasy people under Tsar Ivan the Terrible, during an expedition led by the Cherkassy headman, Prince M.A. Vishnevetsky, to help Astrakhan besieged by the Turks in 1569.
From 1644 to 1805 Cherkassk was the capital of the Don Cossacks.
Here the wooden Ascension Cathedral is being built and Military Circles gather on the Maidan.
Cherkassk is the birthplace of General Matvey Platov and many other Don heroes. It was in Cherkassk in 1667 that the uprising of Stepan Razin, a Cossack from the village of Zimoveyskaya, began, and in 1708 the leader of another uprising, Kondraty Bulavin, was killed in his kuren."
2. If possible, everything in the village has been preserved as it looked in the 19th century. There are old Cossack houses preserved here, one of a kind.
3. On the territory of the historical and cultural reserve there are such sculptures of Cossacks from different eras.
4. Due to some misunderstanding, the main street of the village still bears the name Sovetskaya.
After all, it had some other name before 1917?
On the right you see the territory of the Starocherkassk Efremovsky Holy Don Monastery. The monastery was founded in 1836
5. Part of the monastery territory is occupied by a museum complex.
7. A shop for tourists, where you can see many old Cossack household items and souvenirs.
8. You are allowed to take pictures and touch here, even if you don’t buy anything.
9. Interesting pre-revolutionary map of the Don Army Region. In the north-west it covers part of the territory of present-day Ukraine and borders on the Kharkov province.
10. Overlay of the map of the Don wax region, abolished by the Bolsheviks, on modern administrative boundaries. You can see how it is capturing part of Ukraine. Even the current Donetsk (Yuzovka) is part of it. Also, a significant part of the current Volgograd region was part of it.
The administrative center was not Rostov, as the largest city in the region, but Novocherkassk.
13. On the territory of the Ataman Compound museum. This is the estate of the Efremov atamans (architectural monuments of the 18th-19th centuries).
15. Temple of the Don Icon of the Mother of God. 1761
16. Once upon a time Cherkassk was on an island and was prepared for all-round defense. It was surrounded by a moat with water, and from the south it was washed by the Don River.
After all, the Turks and the Caucasus were in the neighborhood for centuries.
17. A brief history of this Cossack settlement is outlined on these three shields.
20. Former Ataman Palace.
"The Ataman Palace, built on the model of the capital's aristocratic houses. In its final form, the palace has 21 rooms"
21. The style is quite reminiscent of temples on the territory of present-day Ukraine (Little Russia). And they bear little resemblance to the churches of central, and even more so northern, Rus'.
24. In a part of the monastery closed to outsiders. They let me in here to take a couple of pictures.
25. Along Sovetskaya Street we are approaching the main church of the village.
26. At the beginning of April, spring was in full swing here, which made me extraordinarily happy, having arrived from St. Petersburg.
27. Military (Resurrection) Cathedral.
Year of construction 1706 - 1719. This is the main local architectural landmark. Until 1805, the Resurrection Cathedral was the main temple of the Don Army. They write that this is generally the first stone temple on the Don.
Interesting fact: Wikipedia indicates the architectural style of this cathedral as “Ukrainian Baroque”.
It is absolutely certain that some kind of invisible connection with everything Little Russian is present here. Historical sources indicate that in 1569 the local population was replenished by Cossack Cossacks, who moved from the Dnieper to the Don.
The temple is really very similar to those that I met somewhere in the Chernigov region.
28. And its bell tower. It’s simply amazing how all this was preserved in the 20th century, especially considering the fact that the bulk of the Don Cossacks desperately resisted the advent of Soviet power.
29. Modern monument to Ataman Platov.
30. Antiques.
31. On the floor of the cathedral there is a tablet like this, which has been preserved since the 19th century.
32. View of the cathedral from the side of the road that leads to the bank of the Don, which is literally 500 meters from it.
33. Quiet Don near the village of Starocherkasskaya. Wide and beautiful.
Looking at these beauties one feels something poetic.
“In the spring, the Don floods regularly flooded the city. It was because of the constant floods and fires that Ataman M.I. Platov decided in 1804 to found a new capital of the Don Army Region, and in 1805 it was moved to Novocherkassk. After why Cherkassk began to be called Starocherkassk, and by the end of the 19th century lost the status of a city."
34. There is a ferry on this side.
35. View of the village of Starocherkasskaya from the Don River.
36. Monument "Stone of Cossack Glory" on the banks of the Don near the ferry. Installed in 2010.
“It is a huge granite block, where the coat of arms of the Don Cossacks and a memorial plaque are installed to all the Cossacks - the founders of the village, who bravely fought in battles with the Turks and Tatars, defending their Fatherland.”
38. Another temple in Starocherkasskaya, although inactive, is the Church of Peter and Paul.
39. How strongly all this resembles the architecture of Little Russia! It was as if I had visited my native land.
40. The house in which, according to legend, the leader of the peasant war of 1707 - 1709, Kondraty Bulavin, lived and died.
41. Private houses in the village. In addition to the museum and the monastery, people still live here.
43. A characteristic detail is that the first floor is made of stone, due to possible floods on the river.
44. Stop of the Bolshoi Log train on the main route Rostov - Voronezh. We crossed this place by minibus over the bridge, but I got out to take a photo and maybe wait for the train.
45. It was not possible to return to Rostov by train then. They don't run that often, so I had to walk some distance and then catch a minibus.