Staraya Ladoga celebrates 1250th anniversary

On Saturday, August 16, the town of Staraya Ladoga celebrates its 1250th anniversary.

The celebration program includes a public prayer in the Church of Nativity of St.John the Forerunner, a theatrical procession and concerts by amateur folk artists.

A theatrical performance in honour of the city's 1250th anniversary will be held near the Church of St.George on the grounds of the local museum reserve.

After that, Pskov's Pushkin Academic Drama Theatre will use the same stage to present its `Prince Alexander Nevsky` production.

The celebration will be attended by foreign guests representing Leningrad region's twin regions and provinces abroad and delegations from various regions and cities of the North Eastern Federal District as well as from Russia's major old cities.

On Friday, the town welcomed participants in the scientific conference "Staraya Ladoga - 1250 Years at Trade Crossroads". Leading Russian, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian researchers spoke at the conference held as a major event on the celebration's agenda.

Co-operation agreements were signed at the conference between the Leningrad region and Poland's province of Lower Silesia and Czech Republic's province of Southern Moravia.

Chronicles first mentioned Staraya Ladoga, located on the banks of the Volkhov River, in the VIII century. A fortress with stone-and-earth walls was set up on the site then.

By the IX century Staraya Ladoga had become a major trade and industrial centre in the area, a milestone on the famous Greek-Varangians Way connecting northern and southern Europe. According to the Russian Primary Chronicle "Povest Vremennykh Let" ("The Tale of Bygone Years"), Prince Ryurik, the legendary founder of Russia's first royal dynasty, was invited to Staraya Ladoga in the year 862.

The town's unique architectural complex has survived to our time and includes the ancient fortress, the Church of St.George, the St.Nicholas monastery and the Uspensky (Assumption) Convent.