Volzhskaya embankment

Volzhskaya Embankment is one of the most beautiful walking streets in the city. Picturesque river landscapes, ancient mansions and romantic gazebos create its unique mood.

The history of Yaroslavl began from here, from Strelka, the confluence of the Volga and Kotorosli. The suburbs and fortress towers of the young city overlooked the riverbank. There were marinas where ships with merchant goods docked. Since the 17th century, stone temples and residential buildings began to appear on the embankment, some of them have survived to the present day.

The most ancient buildings that you will see walking along the embankment are the Metropolitan Chambers and the Arsenal Tower. They were erected in the second half of the 17th century: the chambers – as the residence of the metropolitan, and the tower – to protect the city from the enemy. Today you can look into both of these ancient buildings: in the former bishop's chambers there is a Museum of Ancient Russian Art, in the tower there is a small cafe.

The rest of the buildings that have been preserved along the shore are mostly merchant mansions. These elegant houses began to appear here when Yaroslavl residents built the embankment and it turned into one of the most prestigious places to live in the city.

There is a whole constellation of museums in the embankment area. In addition to the storage in the Metropolitan Chambers, these are Historical and Art Museums housed in beautiful merchant houses. You can also visit the Music and Time private Museum with one of the best antique collections in the country.

The bronze poet Nekrasov also looks at the Volga – his monument appeared here in 1958. A very interesting story is connected with the Bolkonsky House. It is believed that Leo Tolstoy placed the characters of his novel there – Natasha Rostova, who takes care of Prince Andrew, who was mortally wounded in the Battle of Borodino.

Walking along the embankment, you will definitely see several observation gazebos that look similar to each other, they have long been symbols of Yaroslavl. There are four of them in the city: two on the banks of the Volga River, two on the shores of Kotorosli. The very first of them was built in the 40s of the XIX century, it is located near the Myakushkin descent. This rotunda is often called the "Governor's gazebo": it is said that local mayors drank tea from a samovar here on Sundays and treated everyone. Another popular name for the rotunda is "Gazebo of Love." Therefore, newlyweds and other lovers constantly come here: on the openwork fence you can see dozens of castles in the form of hearts, symbolizing a strong and lasting union.