Belozersk , known as
Beloozero until 1777 (lit.
White Lake Town), is a town in
Vologda OblastVologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Area: 145,700 km²; population: 1,269,568...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, situated on the southern bank of the
Lake BeloyeBeloye is a lake in Vologda Oblast, Russia. It has a round shape, its diameter is approximately 46 km, maximum depth is . Main tributaries: Kovzha River, Kema River, Megra River. It is drained into the Rybinsk Reservoir of the Volga River by the Sheksna River. It is a part of the Volga-Baltic...
, from which it takes the name. Population:
First chronicled in 862, Belozersk was one of five original Russian towns (the other being
LadogaStaraya Ladoga , or the Aldeigjuborg of Norse sagas, is a village in the Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Volkhov River near Lake Ladoga. The village used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries...
, Novgorod, Polotsk, and
RostovRostov is one of the oldest towns in Russia and an important tourist centre of the so-called Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero in Yaroslavl Oblast, 202 km to the north east of Moscow. Population:...
). On several occasions, the settlement was moved from one bank of the lake to another.
In the 11th century, the region was still inhabited primarily by
Finno-Ugric tribesThe Finno-Ugric peoples is a historic linguistic group of peoples in Europe who speak Finno-Ugric languages, such as the Finnic and the Ugric peoples...
who fiercely resisted attempts at
ChristianizationThe historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once, also includes the practice of converting native pagan practices and culture, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar to Christian uses, due...
.
Belozersk , known as
Beloozero until 1777 (lit.
White Lake Town), is a town in
Vologda OblastVologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Area: 145,700 km²; population: 1,269,568...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, situated on the southern bank of the
Lake BeloyeBeloye is a lake in Vologda Oblast, Russia. It has a round shape, its diameter is approximately 46 km, maximum depth is . Main tributaries: Kovzha River, Kema River, Megra River. It is drained into the Rybinsk Reservoir of the Volga River by the Sheksna River. It is a part of the Volga-Baltic...
, from which it takes the name. Population:
History
First chronicled in 862, Belozersk was one of five original Russian towns (the other being
LadogaStaraya Ladoga , or the Aldeigjuborg of Norse sagas, is a village in the Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Volkhov River near Lake Ladoga. The village used to be a prosperous trading outpost in the 8th and 9th centuries...
, Novgorod, Polotsk, and
RostovRostov is one of the oldest towns in Russia and an important tourist centre of the so-called Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero in Yaroslavl Oblast, 202 km to the north east of Moscow. Population:...
). On several occasions, the settlement was moved from one bank of the lake to another.
In the 11th century, the region was still inhabited primarily by
Finno-Ugric tribesThe Finno-Ugric peoples is a historic linguistic group of peoples in Europe who speak Finno-Ugric languages, such as the Finnic and the Ugric peoples...
who fiercely resisted attempts at
ChristianizationThe historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once, also includes the practice of converting native pagan practices and culture, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar to Christian uses, due...
. In 1071, the local pagan priests rose in rebellion, which was put down by the Kievan commander
Yan VyshatichYan Vyshatich was a Kievan nobleman and military commander . The last known representative of the Dobrynya dynasty, Yan Vyshatich was the son of Vyshata and grandson of Ostromir....
. The
Primary ChronicleThe Primary Chronicle , or Russian Primary Chronicle, is a history of Kievan Rus' from about 850 to 1110, originally compiled in Kiev about 1113.- Three editions :The original compilation was long considered to be the...
reports that the dead bodies of priests were suspended from an oak tree, until they were torn to pieces by a bear (regarded by pagans as a holy animal).
Beloozero was the capital of a small princedom between 1238 and 1370. Its medieval monuments include the Assumption church (1552) and the Saviour cathedral (1668). The wooden shrine of St. Elijah was built in 1690. The neighbourhood is rich in old
cloisterthumb|250px|right|Cloister of Saint Trophimus, in [[Arles]], [[France]]thumb|250px|right|Cloister of [[Abbaye de Fontenay]], in [[Marmagne]], [[France]]...
s, such as
Kirillo-Belozersky MonasteryKirillo-Belozersky Monastery , loosely translated in English as the St. Cyril-Belozhersk Monastery, used to be the largest monastery of Northern Russia. The monastery was dedicated to the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos, for which cause it was sometimes referred to as the Dormition...
and Ferapontov Convent.