Ostashkov

Ostashkov ( ) is a town and the administrative center of Ostashkovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, on a peninsula at the southern shore of Lake Seliger, west of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:

Ostashkov ( ) is a town and the administrative center of Ostashkovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, on a peninsula at the southern shore of Lake Seliger, west of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:

History

Early developments

The island of Klichen was first mentioned in a letter sent by Grand Duke Algirdas of Lithuania to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in 1371. After the island was pillaged by Novgorod pirates several years later, two of Klichen's surviving inhabitants, Ostashko and Timofey, moved to the mainland, where they founded the villages Ostashkovo and Timofeyevo, respectively. The former belonged to the Moscow Patriarchs, and the latter to the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery. In 1770, both villages were merged into the town of Ostashkov. Ostashkov is commonly regarded as one of the finest Russian provincial towns. Its main streets were laid out in Neoclassical style after the plans of Ivan Starov (1772). Local landmarks include the Ascension Church (1689), the Trinity Cathedral (1697), the Monastery of the Sign (1673, 1730s, 1880s), and the mid-18th century Zhitny Cloister. There is also a fanciful column erected by the people of Ostashkov in 1787 to mark a spot where a wooden fort (1587) used to stand. The town's pleasant architecture and attractive setting by the lake combine to make Ostashkov one of the most popular resorts in Western Russia. The well-known Nilov Monastery is on Stolobny Island, about north from Ostashkov. It was the place where the Ostashkov Special Camp of the NKVD was and where roughly 6,300 Polish policemen and prisoners of war were kept before they were executed in Tver. Approximately 4,300 of their comrades, held in Kozelsk, were around this time executed in Smolensk Oblast at Stalin's order in April and May 1940, in what is now known as the Katyn massacre. In 1772, Ostashkov was granted town status, and Ostashkovsky Uyezd of Novgorod Governorate was established, with the seat in Ostashkov. In 1775, Tver Viceroyalty was formed from the lands which previously belonged to Moscow and Novgorod Governorates, and the area was transferred to Tver Viceroyalty, which in 1796¹ was transformed to Tver Governorate. On 1 October 1929, governorates and uyezds were abolished, and Ostashkovsky District with the administrative center in Ostashkov was established. It belonged to Velikiye Luki Okrug of Western Oblast. On August 1, 1930, the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were subordinated directly to the oblast. On January 29, 1935 Kalinin Oblast was established, and Ostashkovsky District was transferred to Kalinin Oblast. In February 1963, during the abortive administrative reform by Nikita Khrushchev, Kirovsky and Penovsky Districts were merged into Ostashkovsky District.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Ostashkov serves as the administrative center of Ostashkovsky District. As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Ostashkovsky District as Ostashkov Urban Settlement. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban settlement status and is a part of Ostashkovsky Municipal District.

Economy

Industry

The main industrial enterprise in Ostashkovsky District is Ostashkov Leather Factory. Additionally, enterprises of timber, textile, and food industries are present.

Transportation

The railway connecting Bologoye with Velikiye Luki runs through Ostashkov. There are daily suburb trains to Bologoye and Velikiye Luki (except for Monday and Wednesday). There is also regular(on Saturday) steam locomotive train connection with Bologoe(station located on the Moscow - Saint Petersburg railway). Such move of promoting local tourism by using old steam locomotive and old time - styled train cars, with ticket price equal to ordinary suburb train, was first of its kind in Russia. There are also suburb trains going to Kuvshinovo twice a week (on Monday and Friday). There are infrequent trains to Saint Petersburg and Moscow, mostly during summer touristic season. Ostashkov is connected by road with Torzhok via Kuvshinovo. This road has access to M10 highway, connecting Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Ostashkov is further connected with Staritsa via Selizharovo, with Andreapol via Peno, and with Demyansk and Maryovo. There are also local roads, with bus traffic originating from Ostashkov.

Culture and recreation

Ostashkov contains 125 cultural heritage monuments of federal significance and additionally 118 objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. Essentially, the whole center of Ostashkov consists of listed buildings. Ostashkovsky District Museum was founded in 1889¹ and is in Ostashkov. It has displays on local history and ethnography.

Twin towns and sister cities

Ostashkov is twinned with: Maardu, Estonia

References

Notes

Sources

External links

Unofficial website of Ostashkov Map of Lake Seliger Towns.ru. Ostashkov Photos of Ostashkov in 1910 and 2003

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1375137049 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.