Tver Oblast.

History

Torzhok is mentioned in the chronicles in 1139 as Novy Torg, a market on the route from Novgorod to Suzdal, while Tver is traditionally dated to 1135 as a small trading settlement. By the late 14th century the Principality of Tver was one of the richest and most populous Russian states, and from the 13th to the 15th centuries it rivalled Moscow. The Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin travelled to India in 1466–1472 and left one of the first European eyewitness accounts of the country. After a fire in 1763 Catherine the Great rebuilt Tver as a showpiece stop between the two capitals. The oblast was created in 1935 as Kalinin Oblast and took back the name Tver in 1990.

Culture & traditions

Tver's emblem is Catherine the Great's Travel Palace, designed by Matvei Kazakov, and since 1955 a monument to Afanasy Nikitin has stood on the Volga embankment. Torzhok is famous for gold embroidery; Pushkin passed through the town many times, and it now has a museum devoted to him. Gogol, Tolstoy and Turgenev also stopped here. The local landowner and architect Nikolai Lvov rebuilt the Boris and Gleb Monastery in neoclassical style, and his estate buildings were included in a proposed UNESCO nomination.

Nature

The Volga rises in Ostashkov district, and more than 800 rivers cross the oblast, with the Valdai Hills in the west. Lake Seliger, 212 km² in area, is a network of reaches joined by channels with about 160 islands; the Nilov Monastery stands on Stolobny Island. The Central Forest Nature Reserve, founded in 1930 and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1985, protects conifer forests and bogs in the upper Western Dvina. Tver itself stands where the Tvertsa flows into the Volga.

Sport

The oblast is better known for outdoor recreation than for big sporting traditions. Ostashkov on Lake Seliger is one of the most popular resorts in central Russia, and the lake welcomes visitors all year round.

Food & drink

The oblast's most famous dish is the Pozharsky cutlet from Torzhok. It was created at the inn of the coachman Yevdokim Pozharsky and made famous by his daughter Darya; in 1826 Pushkin advised a friend to dine at Pozharsky's in Torzhok and try the fried cutlets. Nicholas I liked them so much that Darya was repeatedly invited to cook for the court. A popular legend links the dish to Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, but the name really comes from the innkeeping family.

Practical information

The main Moscow–Saint Petersburg railway runs through the oblast via Tver, as do the M10 and M9 federal highways. There are three civilian airports, but most visitors arrive by train or car from Moscow. The region keeps Moscow time (UTC+3). The climate is humid continental, with long snowy winters and warm summers; summer is best for Lake Seliger and the source of the Volga, while Torzhok and Tver are rewarding in any season.

What to see

• Lake Seliger — the 'European Baikal', with some 160 islands and the resort town of Ostashkov
• Nilov Monastery — a monastery on Stolobny Island in the middle of Lake Seliger
• Source of the Volga — the spot in Ostashkov district where the river is born
• Travel Palace in Tver — Matvei Kazakov's work for Catherine the Great
• Torzhok — gold embroidery, a Pushkin museum and Nikolai Lvov's neoclassical architecture
• Central Forest Nature Reserve — a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the Valdai Hills

Cities on the map

• Tver 416,216