Monument to the founder of the city, Prince Yaroslav the Wise

The modern monument to the founder of the city, Prince Yaroslav the Wise, is located on Epiphany Square in the center of Yaroslavl. At the beginning of the 19th century, Yaroslavl already had a monument in honor of the founder of the city, dismantled on the instructions of Nicholas I as irrelevant. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was planned to build a new one, money was raised, but in the end it was spent on celebrating the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov.

Already in the 20th century, Yaroslavl had long planned to erect a monument to the founder of the city. We chose the most suitable place. The Strelka (the place where Kotorosli flows into the Volga), where the city was founded, was considered as an option. And also Medveditsky ravine (where, according to legend, Yaroslav's duel with the bear took place). However, one of the central squares was chosen – Bogoyavlenskaya. Here Yaroslav the Wise seems to welcome guests from the capital, symbolizing his close ties with it.

Yaroslav the Wise holds a sword in one hand and a mock–up of the future city in the other. This decision shows a prince who is a creator and builder, but at the same time able to protect his city. The lowered sword symbolizes the peaceful policy of the prince. The bas-reliefs of the pedestal depict the coat of arms of Yaroslavl, the duel of Prince Yaroslav with the bear, the legend of which formed the basis of the coat of arms, Yaroslav at work, holding the text of the law, or one of the books of his richest library at that time, or an agreement with one of the European monarchs. Any option is acceptable, since under Yaroslav the Russian Truth code of laws was created, the largest library appeared, and he married his daughters to European kings in order to strengthen ties with other countries.

The creators were sculptor Oleg Komov (he died in 1994, this is one of his last works, in total he created more than thirty monuments) and architects N. I. Komova and A. R. Bobovich. The monument was opened on October 23, 1993 with the participation of the first President of Russia Boris Yeltsin.