Yuryev-Polsky

Yuryev-Polsky (Russian: Юрьев-Пóльский) is an ancient town in the northern part of Vladimir Oblast. While the town isn't one of the Golden Ring towns, it has likewise sights from the Middle Ages including a unique white-stone monument, the 13th-century Cathedral of St. George.

Geography
Yuryev-Polsky is in the field region (Vladimirskoe Opolye) on the banks of the tiny river Koloksha, the left tributary of the Klyazma. The land near the town is almost flat. There are no natural fortifications, and the spot is quite unpractical from the medieval point of view. The choice of this location was motivated by the agricultural importance of the region and the huge trading activity during the Middle Ages: the roads from Vladimir, Suzdal, Pereslavl Zalessky, and Rostov Veliky crossed here. The town has lost its hub position. It stands on a minor railway line, far away from any big roads. Yuryev-Polsky is in the geographical center of the Golden Ring, but the lack of transport connections prevents most travellers from visiting the town.

History
Yuryev-Polsky was founded in 1152 by Prince Yury Dolgoruky. The name of the town is related to the founder (Yuryev) and to the location (Polsky or Polskoy, this means "standing in the field" and has nothing to do with Poland). The town was situated in the agricultural region of Vladimir Fields, at the crossing of several trading roads. This advantageous location led to the rapid development. In 1212, Yuryev-Polsky became the center of the small principality that appeared after the defragmentation of Vladimir-Suzdal state. The importance of the town was emphasized by the construction of the white-stone Cathedral of St. George. However, the decay started already in 1238 when the town was destroyed by Batu Khan. Yuryev-Polsky also suffered from further Mongol invasions in 1382 and 1408.

The shift of the capital to Moscow changed the trading activity, and the location of Yuryev-Polsky became less advantageous. Since 14th century, Yuryev-Polsky was considered as a minor settlement on the outskirts of Moscow principality. The town was entrusted to foreign rulers subordinated to Moscow princes. Since 17th century, Yuryev-Polsky is a regular provincial town, standing away from any important roads. The only active road passed from Moscow to Suzdal, but it decayed after the construction of railways, and the town turned to its present, sleepy state. Yuryev-Polsky is recorded in the well-known 1968 Russian film The Golden Calf, after the satiric novel by Ilf and Petrov.

Orientation
Yuryev-Polsky has a pretty simple rectangular layout. The river flows from north to south and slightly disturbs the regular arrangement of streets and houses. The road from Vladimir comes from the east, the road to Alexandrov and Moscow goes to the south-west, and the road to Pereslavl Zalessky leaves the town in the northern direction. The railroad passes along the southern boundary of the town. The historical center is quite compact and is on the left (eastern) bank of the river. The main square is named Советская площадь (Soviet square). The Trading rows and the monastery of Archangel Michael are found right on this square. The cathedral of St. George is hundred meters away, behind the monastery. The monastery and the cathedral lie within the well-preserved, picturesque ancient ramparts.

Get in
Transport connections to Yuryev-Polsky are rather inconvenient. If you do not have a car, the best starting points are Moscow, Vladimir, Alexandrov, and Ivanovo.

By plane
The nearest international airports are in Moscow.

By train



 * The only direct train from Moscow is the night train to Kineshma. Yuryev-Polsky is at the middle of the route, and as such the stops will be in the middle of the night making this an inconvenient alternative. There are local trains from Alexandrov (1 daily, 2 hr travel time) and Ivanovo (2 daily, 2½ hr travel time), which much more frequent connections to Moscow, but even by these routes, daytrips by train are far from convenient. The train from Alexandrov arrives in the evening, and the trains from Ivanovo arrive in the morning (but departure from Ivanovo is about half past four in the morning) and even later in the evening.

By bus



 * Bus services are more frequent than train. From Vladimir there are buses every two hours, travel time 2 hr. From Alexandrov there are five daily buses, travel time 2 hr. From Moscow there are four daily buses via Kolchugino and Kirzhach (travel time 3½-4 hr) or almost hourly buses to Kolchugino from where you can take a taxi for the remaining 30 km. However, traffic jams are common along the highway from Moscow so the bus trip can take longer than scheduled. There are no intercity bus services from Yaroslavl and Ivanovo, but you can get in by route taxi (marshrutka) from there.

By car
Coming by car, there are picturesque roads through the fields from Vladimir and Kolchugino.


 * From Moscow: 160 km along A103 (via Kirzhach and Kol'chugino). Upon entering the town, pass three or four crossings, turn right, and cross the river (there is no road sign). From Moscow, you may want to take the road towards Yaroslavl and via Alexandrov rather than via Scholkovo and Kirzach as the crow flies — it's about 30 km longer but the road is much better.
 * From Vladimir: 70 km along R74. Upon entering the town, you will pass under a railway bridge. Turn left on the next crossing.
 * From Alexandrov: 77 km (via Kol'chugino).
 * From Ivanovo: via Suzdal - Obraschiha or Vladimir only. There is no adequate road from Yuryev-Polsky to Ivanovo Oblast. The road from Gavrilov Posad to Yuryev-Polsky via Osanovec and Skomovo while exists and paved, contains several segments of extremely bad pavement. (Video footage of the road's condition can be seen here, the worst part begins at timestamp 7:10.)
 * From Pereslavl Zalessky: 70 km along R74. The road from Pereslavl-Zalessky (the north) is of varying quality, the same goes for the road from Gavrilov Posad.
 * From Suzdal: 65 km via the villages Obraschiha or Staryi Dvor.

In Yuryev-Polsky, there is a lot of space for free parking. In the daytime the central square may be crowded due to the market. Additionally, the street along the monastery of Archangel Michael (towards the cathedral of St. George) is closed for traffic.

Get around
The historical center of Yuryev-Polsky is very small and can be easily explored by foot. The hotels and places to eat are also nearby, while walking to the train and bus stations should not be difficult as well. Inside the town, there is a regular (every half-hour) minibus service. Additionally, long-distance buses make a stop in the historical center.

Religious buildings








Secular buildings
Secular buildings are rather unremarkable and present the general provincial style of the 19th century. The buildings are concentrated along ulitsa Pervogo maya (ул. 1 мая, north from the central square), Krasnooktyabr'skaya ulitsa (Краснооктябрьская ул., north from the central square), and Vladimirskaya ulitsa (Владимирская ул., east from the central square). Notable ones include:










 * The 19th-century building of the Trading rows (see below), built in classicism style with the unusual awning, is on the central square.

Museums and memorials



 * Art gallery (church of John the Evangelist) – Russian art from 16th–19th century.
 * Cathedral of St. George (interior) – original carved stones from the 13th century, and 17th-century wall paintings.
 * Observation platform and the exhibition of monk's cell (bell tower). The exhibition is rather boring, while the platform offers a nice view on the town and on the surrounding fields.
 * Peasant life and agriculture – the regular life of the region.
 * The life of Bagration. Bagration was a famous military leader during the war of 1812. In the end of his life, he lived in the neighboring village Sima (see the Get out section).
 * Weaving manufacture – the history of the textile industry and local embroidery.
 * Wooden carving (cathedral of Archangel Michael) – unusual wooden sculptures from the 15th–19th century.



Do




Buy
All the necessary shops can be found at Soviet square (Советская площад). Daily goods can be bought in the market arcades and on the market square in the front of them. The market area continues towards the Lenin monument and Krasnooktobrskaya ulitsa. In addition there are many grocery stores around town. There are no huge department stores in Yuryev-Polsky, and overall it's not a shopping destination — head to Vladimir for a larger selection.





Eat
There used to be only two cafés in the whole city, and visitors had a hard time finding a place to eat as one was often reserved for private events and the other wasn't particularly inviting. The situation is better now with several eateries around, but places are still rather basic.









Sleep










Post office
The postal code of Yuryev-Polsky is 6018**.

Internet access
Internet access is supposed to be available in the central post office (Советская пл. 1a). However, this part of the post office is permanently closed (2008). Most likely, there is no public internet access in Yuryev-Polsky. Russian mobile operators have 3G and 4G networks.

Nearby
General remark: there are few local buses in Yuryev-Polsky, and their schedule is somewhat irregular and intricate. If you want to visit the neighboring villages, it is certainly advisable to hire a taxi.













Further away
Obvious choices to go next are Vladimir, Suzdal and Pereslavl Zalessky, with a similar heritage, or Alexandrov which was the capital of Ivan the Terrible's private police, the oprichnina. If you've already seen these, the countryside is beautiful and has many things to see from estates to early Soviet architecture, though you would really need a car to get around these places.


 * Vladimir – the center of the region and the ancient city. Vladimir preserves several fine 12th-century monuments of white-stone architecture and a number of later buildings, along with numerous options for accommodation, eating, and entertainment.
 * Alexandrov – an old town with a monastery from the 16th century, the country residence of Russian princes during the Middle Ages.
 * Kirzhach – a small and lovely town notable for its 16th-century monastery and a nice location on the steep bank of the river.
 * Pereslavl Zalessky – one of the ancient towns of the Golden Ring. Numerous old churches and monasteries and the picturesque location near the lake.
 * Suzdal – another popular town of the Golden Ring. Suzdal is entirely touristy place, a kind of stark Russian history.
 * Teykovo – a town in the neighboring Ivanovo Oblast. Teykovo presents a vast choice of secular and industrial architecture from the early 20th century.