Старица қаласының тарихы мен географиясы

Town in Tver Oblast, Russia

In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanlandia Governorate (since 1710 known as Saint Petersburg Governorate), and in 1727 Novgorod Governorate split off. 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 1796 was transformed to Tver Governorate. In 1775, Staritsky Uyezd was established, with the center in Staritsa. Much of the area of the district belonged to Staritsky Uyezd. The southern part of the District belonged to Zubtsovsky Uyezd, also established in 1775. On 3 March 1924, Staritsky Uyezd was abolished and split between Novotorzhsky, Rzhevsky, and Tverskoy Uyezds. On 12 July 1929, governorates and uyezds were abolished, and Staritsky District with the administrative center in the town of Staritsa was established. It belonged to Rzhev Okrug of Western Oblast. On August 1, 1930 the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were subordinated directly to the oblast. On 29 January 1935 Kalinin Oblast was established, and Staritsky District was transferred to Kalinin Oblast. As an administrative division, it is incorporated within Staritsky District as Staritsa Urban Settlement. As a municipal division, this administrative unit also has urban settlement status and is a part of Staritsky Municipal District.

Main industries in Staritsa are a clothes factory, a flax manufacturing factory, as well as mechanical and vegetable food factories.

A railway connecting Torzhok and Rzhev has the Staritsa railway station, located about a dozen kilometers northeast of the town of Staritsa. A paved road connecting Tver to Rzhev crosses the district and passes through Staritsa, where there is a bridge over the Volga. Another road connects Staritsa with Torzhok via Bernovo. There are also local roads with bus traffic originating from Staritsa. The Volga is navigable but there is no passenger navigation.

The town is split by the river into two parts: the larger left and the smaller right. There are numerous old abandoned limestone quarries in the town's vicinity, explaining an abundance of old limestone buildings in the town. In the right part of a town a site of an old settlement can be clearly traced, with huge mounds and ground walls. On the opposing left bank of the river stands the Assumption Abbey, with a limestone cathedral from 1530 and a tented refectory from 1570. There are also several churches from the 18th and 19th centuries. The cathedral of Sts. Boris and Gleb is a ponderous Neoclassical edifice erected from 1805 to 1820. It replaced a many tented cathedral built in the 1560s by the same masters as worked on the famous St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. It was said that Moscow and Staritsa cathedrals were two sisters, just like the rulers of two towns, Ivan and Vladimir, were two brothers. Staritsa contains 37 cultural heritage monuments of federal significance and additionally 121 objects classified as cultural and historical heritage of local significance. The federal monuments include, in particular, the ensemble of the center of Staritsa (with Dormition Monastery) The Staritsa District museum, open in the town, concentrates on the history of the area.

Staritsa is also noted among speleologists for its 18th–19th century quarries. The quarries were created by local people, without any general plan, so they are sometimes very tangled and can be used as a smaller model for horizontal cave labyrinths. The longest quarries have a total length of passages of about The passages are clean and dry, which is unusual for this region. A campaign is ongoing to try to have the quarries recognized as a local heritage site. In the meantime, they are gradually degrading due to lack of supervision.