Kostroma sits where the Kostroma river joins the Volga, and its position at the confluence made it a significant town for nearly nine centuries. The founding is attributed to Yuri Dolgoruky in the twelfth century, and from the Middle Ages it was a prosperous trading town, famous for its linen and flax. The Volga here is wide and slow, with long sandbars, and the waterfront is lined with a tidy promenade where people stroll in the evenings.
The great moment in Kostroma's history took place at the Ipatiev Monastery, a fortified complex with white walls and a tall bell tower on the river bank. In 1613 a delegation of nobles came here to ask the young Mikhail Romanov to accept the Russian crown, ending the Time of Troubles and starting the dynasty that ruled until 1917. The monastery is a vivid place, with a remarkable collection of old wooden buildings brought from the countryside gathered in an open-air museum nearby. The story of Ivan Susanin, a peasant who is said to have led a Polish force astray in the forest to protect the young tsar, is told in the town, and a statue of him stands in the main square.
Kostroma is also the home of the Snow Maiden. The playwright Alexander Ostrovsky set his fairy tale play there, and the town has adopted the character, with a small themed house for visitors. The older streets are lined with merchants' houses, and the central square has a fire tower from the early nineteenth century in the style of a neoclassical lookout, reminding you of the dangers of a wooden town.
The riding around Kostroma is mostly a matter of flat plains and slow river views. The road along the Volga to Plyos, a charming small town beloved by painters, is one of the best in the area, with views from the high bank over the river. Surfaces vary, and trucks, local buses and cattle are common on the smaller roads. In the summer there are plenty of mosquitoes near the water.
The city has everything for the traveller, including fuel, repair shops and good places to eat. Local dishes include fish from the Volga and the cheese that gave Kostroma a reputation across the country. Evening light on the water is lovely, and the best seasons are late spring and early autumn.