Gorokhovets: history preserved in the Russian heartlands1 min read
Gorokhovets sits at a riverbank, practically unchanged from the twelfth century. One hundred and fifty seven kilometers east of Vladimir and one of the oldest cities of the Russian heartlands, the architecture of Gorokhovets speaks more of its brave past as a fearless little fortress than to the dwindling population of twenty-first Russians that live within the city walls.
First a Finno-Ugric settlement, then a Slavic stronghold, then a fortress of the Russian troops against Volga Bulgaria, and later, a besieged city that belonged to the Poles and then Circassians; this city stood firm and flourished into the seventeenth century. While the golden age of Gorokhovets has come and gone, the inhabitants carry on with varying affinity to its glorious past. The Russian government has undergone extensive lengths to preserve this historical environment. Locals say the best time to take in their local forts (on foot, of course) is in the summer.
Travel guides may list Gorokhovets as an afterthought, a destination only for the true Slavic thistory devotees. But for the modern residents of Gorokhovets, life goes on.
Description by Katherine Leung
