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Arts and culture in Novgorod, Russia

The oldest city of Russia, the cradle of Russian democracy, medieval centre of trades and crafts, boundless field for research by historians, architects and archaeologists - all this is Veliky Novgorod. This is a place where you can see with your own eyes the ancient stone temples, a place where you can stand on the very place from which, according to the legends, a pagan god Perun was thrown into the Volkhov river; you can participate in the battles of contemporary warriors and read the famous birch-bark scrolls. Troops started for battles from these ancient Kremlin walls, legendary merchant and musician Sadko used to sing his enchanting songs while sitting on the bank of the Ilmen Lake, and the Volkhov river was busy with numerous ships following the trading route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" and laden with various goods from foreign parts. Novgorodians always felt rather superior compared to their neighbours - they wore leather boots instead of traditional Russian lapti (bast shoes), they summoned and expelled princes whenever they pleased; streets of Novgorod were paved with wooden slabs, and local builders and icon-painters were famous throughout the lands.