Yaroslavl' Things to Do

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Dont miss to take a closer look at the great frescos of the winter-church of the Church of Iliya Prorok / Prophet Elias Kirche. The winterchurch is ment for the cold winters, so it is more easy to heat up the room with just a very low ceiling. All of these great frescos and paintings in russian-orthodox churches were ment in order to show the stories of the holy bible to the people and it follows certain rules, where to find what scenery !
In this wintercapel you will be able to listen to some great performance of the a-capella-singers - see them in my 2nd pic on the left.

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In russian orthodox churches the iconostasis is always deviding the altar , (that is a part of the church that only the priest is allowed to enter, and tourists will never be able to see) and the part of the church that is ment for the believers, and where the service will be held. The iconostasis of Prophet Elias church in Yaroslavl was made of solid gold with great ornaments and decorations and next to it there are 2 extra baldachines, that were made for the Tsar and his wife, who had to stand there just like the ordinary believers (see it in my 4th photo) .

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These are the wonderful frescos of the main church of Prophet Elias in Yaroslavl. All of the columns, the ceiling and the walls are paited in the most unique way and you wont find any empty spot, not telling stories of the holy bible to the audience of believers, who are standing there during the russian-orthodox church-service, and while in ancient times most of them were not able to read the bible, they were able to see the scenes at the walls and remember them that way.

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The entrance-hall of the Prophet Elias Church is the first sight of this great church that you will see as a tourist : Wide arcades decorated all over by excellent and colorful frescos by the russian painters Sila Savin and Gury Nikitin in the beginnings of the 18th century. This entrancehall is behind the cashier-box, so you cannot see its wonderful decorations, except you are willing to pay the moderate entrance-fee of 30 rubles for the whole church + 100 rubles for a photo- and video-permission !

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The Church of Iliya Prorok / Prophet Elias Kirche is in my opinion the most important sight for all tourists coming to Yaroslavl. You will find it in the city-centre, on the large Sovietskaja-square.
The church dates back to the year 1647, it was built by a rich merchant and it is a museum nowadays.
So you have to pay an entrance-fee of 30,- Rubles (that is less than 1 euro) and 100 rubles (3 euros) you will have to pay for taking videos of photographs, and once that you have payed that fee, you may also use the flash or tripod without problems !
From outside this church does not look very special, but from inside it is simply great with lots of frescos and an excellent iconostasis - see my next 4 tips about different parts of that church !

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This old church is part of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery inside of the Kremlin-walls and the tower next to it is the belfry,that was unfortunately under reconstruction while I had been there in May 2008.
Here on VT you will read that the view from the tower is spectacular, but unfortunately it was closed while I had been there. Also the church is closed for visitors, but at least you may get a look through the windows and fences at some places and might see some of the old, great frescos - see my 3rd and 4th photograph !
In front of the belfry you will see some bells, arranged like inside the belfry, and there you will be able to see and listen to the chimes in public performances during the day - read more about it in my local customs tip !

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The Feodor Volkov Regional Drama Theatre is the pride of Yaroslavl, because it was there, where for the first in Russia a theatre-performance was done in the russian language and that was back in the year 1750. The theatre building of that time does not exist anymore and the one that you see today dates back to the early days of the 20th century.
My last photo does not show the theatre, but another building closeby that was buildt in a similar kind of architecture.

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The Kremlin of Yaroslavl is really very impressive with all of its strong walls and various towers still standing there like in ancient times. You will be able to enter the Kremlin against a fee and you will find some museums there inside of the Kremlin-walls, the cathedral and the belfry with the chimes, that are both under restoration at the moment (2008) and there is something special as well : the chimes of the belfry are placed now on the ground, in front of the belfry and you will be able to watch and listen, while the chimes are played - read more about this in my "local-custom" - tips !