Vologda Kirillov and Belozersk

Monasteries, broad lakes and quiet northern roads in a coherent heritage route.

Open this ride in the planner →

Why this ride

Monasteries, broad lakes and quiet northern roads in a coherent heritage route. The road: A119 and regional roads. Distance and riding time are estimates from the checkpoints until the road is measured on this page.

Roadbook

1. Vologda start

   Vologda is a city of wooden lace curtains, church domes and slow rivers, and it has an air of unhurried self-respect that you do not find in bigger Russian places. About three hundred thousand people live here, on the Vologda river in the north of European Russia, and the city has been important since the sixteenth century, when Ivan the Terrible considered making it his capital. He built the Cathedral of St Sophia here, a great white building with five domes that still dominates the riverbank, and began a kremlin, though it was never completed to his plans.

   The town's famous products are lace, butter and woodwork. Vologda lace, made on bobbins in patterns of flowers and geometric forms, has been known for centuries and is still made by hand, and you can buy it from craft shops. The butter was exported across Europe in the nineteenth century and the name is still used as a mark of quality. Wooden houses with carved window frames, called nalichniki, line the older streets, in shades of blue and green and bright white trim, and many have been restored.

   Vologda was also a place of exile. Over the centuries the authorities sent a number of political prisoners here, including some who went on to become famous. Peter the Great visited and used the Vologda river as a route for shipping to the north, and a small house he used is preserved as a museum. The railway came in the nineteenth century, and the city remains an important junction.

   As a ride, Vologda is a staging post. The roads out to the north lead to Kirillov and the monasteries beyond, a gentle country road through flat forest and farmland, with long straights and few curves. The surface can be broken by frost heaves, so watch for dips, and heavy trucks are frequent on the main route. The river and the ponds are surrounded by willows and birches.

   Everything is in the city, from fuel and mechanics to hotels and restaurants. The local food is northern and rich, with fish pies, mushroom soup, dairy products and honey cake, and the tea is strong and well served. Summer evenings are long and warm, with church bells carrying across the river, and in winter the whole city sits under snow and the domes glitter in the cold.

2. Kirillov stop

   Kirillov is a quiet town of about seven thousand people in the Vologda region, and its whole reason for existing is the monastery that rises beside the lake. The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, founded in 1397 by a monk named Kirill, grew over the following centuries into one of the largest and richest in Russia, with massive walls and a ring of towers enclosing a whole collection of churches, bell towers and cells on the shore of Lake Siverskoye. In the medieval period, it was a fortress as well as a place of prayer, and tsars including Ivan the Terrible visited and sent people there in disgrace.

   Inside the walls, the monastery has the atmosphere of a small walled city, with the white stone of the Assumption Cathedral shining against the dark water and sky. Today it is mainly a museum, with a famous collection of icons and old manuscripts, and some monastic life has returned. Walking along the ramparts gives a view over the lake and the gentle, wooded countryside, where mist often rises in the early morning. It is a quiet place, with few crowds outside the main summer season.

   The surrounding land is flat and wet, with forest, bog, small rivers and big lakes, part of the region the Russians call the Russian North. The road from Vologda passes through villages with wooden houses, carved window frames and painted shutters, some of them in poor repair and some well kept. Ferapontovo, about twenty kilometres away, has another monastery with frescoes painted by the master Dionisy in 1502, a UNESCO site and among the finest surviving works of medieval Russian art. The colours, soft blues, ochres and greens, are still clear.

   The riding is easy and unhurried, on narrow roads with moderate traffic, long straights and gentle bends. The surface can be rough, especially away from the main route, with patches and potholes that appear suddenly, and spring thaw makes it worse. Distances are long and the countryside is empty, so allow plenty of time. Summer evenings are very long, with a pale light that lasts until late, while in winter the roads are covered in snow and ice.

   Kirillov has a few fuel stations and shops, and small cafes serving soup, pancakes and fish from the lakes. Goritsy and Kuzino, nearby villages, have fewer services, so top up in town before exploring. The monastery grounds have a small entrance fee, and the best light for photographs is in the late afternoon.

3. Ferapontovo stop

   Ferapontovo is a village of a few thousand people in the forest country of Vologda, and it holds one of the great treasures of Russian art. The Ferapontov Monastery, founded in the late fourteenth century by a monk named Ferapont, stands on a low hill between two lakes, and the white walls and golden domes of its cathedral are reflected in the water. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the reason is inside: the walls of the Nativity Cathedral are covered in frescoes painted in 1502 by Dionisius, the most celebrated icon painter of his age.

   The frescoes are unlike most Russian church painting. Dionisius used light, airy colours, soft blues, pinks, and greens, and long, graceful figures that seem to float. The effect is calm, luminous and almost musical, and many visitors find it moving even without knowing the stories. Photography is restricted, and the cathedral is small, so visits are short and the light inside is dim, so give your eyes a moment. A museum on the site tells the story of the monastery, which was closed in the Soviet era and later restored.

   The ride here is a gentle one through the north Russian taiga. The roads run through flat, wooded country with birch and spruce, wide skies, small villages of weathered wooden houses with carved window frames, and glimpses of lakes. Surfaces vary from decent asphalt to patched and potholed, and trucks use the main road, so take care on blind rises. The white nights of June, when the sky never gets fully dark, are magical, but mosquitoes in summer can be a nuisance, and winters are long and bitterly cold.

   Kirillov, about fourteen kilometres away, is the nearest town with a proper range of services and has fuel and shops. It also holds the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, a huge fortified complex founded in 1397, with thick walls and towers beside a lake. Belozersk, further north, is another old town worth seeing. Local food includes rich Vologda butter and fish from the lakes. Foreign visitors should check carefully what is currently possible before planning a trip.

4. Belozersk finish

   Belozersk sits on the southern shore of Lake Beloye, the White Lake, and it is one of those Russian towns whose age is difficult to grasp. The chronicles say that Sineus, a brother of the legendary Viking chief Rurik, ruled here in the ninth century, and while historians treat the story with care, the town has certainly been important since the Middle Ages. In the fourteenth century it was the capital of a small principality, and the earthen ramparts built then still circle the old centre.

   The ramparts are remarkable, high grassy walls thrown up around the town with a ditch in front, and they are among the most impressive earthworks of their kind in Russia. They enclose a quiet area of wooden houses, churches and a museum, with the lake spreading out beyond. A small white church stands on top of the wall, and walking along the rampart on a summer evening, with the water gleaming and the town behind you, is one of the nicest things to do.

   The nearby monasteries are the real draw. The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, a huge fortified complex beside a lake, was once one of the richest and most powerful in Russia. Even more special is the small Ferapontov Monastery, whose cathedral is covered inside with frescoes painted around 1502 by the master Dionisy, in glowing, delicate colours of blue, pink and white. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and the paintings have survived in remarkable condition. They are worth the ride from almost anywhere.

   The roads here are quiet and open, running through forest and fields with views of the lake. Surfaces vary, and there are patches of rough asphalt and gravel on the smaller roads. Traffic is light, but trucks use the main route, and the occasional cow or horse can wander onto the road in the villages. The Volga-Baltic waterway, a canal system linking the Volga to the Baltic, passes nearby, and long barges move slowly along it.

   Belozersk has fuel, shops and a few cafés, and the local speciality is fish from the lake, especially smelt, which are caught in great numbers and fried or served in a clear fish soup called ukha. Summer is short and green, with long evenings, while autumn colours arrive in September, and winter freezes the lake solid.

Where this sits

Other rides by starting-point distance