Main page > Tourism and Sport > Tourism > Staraya Ladoga STARAYA LADOGA IS WAITING FOR TOURISTS
 Excavations in the ancient city have been carried out since 1972, and there are new discoveries every season. According to the head of the research expedition, Professor Anatoly Kirpichnikov, the discoveries of 1999 suggest that Staraya Ladoga is even more ancient than was previously through. In 1984, researchers used the modern carbon dating method to determine the exact construction date for the wooden buildings found at the excavation.
This area started attracting researchers in the 19th century. In the early 20th century, the excavation of one of the burial hills near the town on the Volkhov bank caused a sensation. The researchers found some items that suggested that the grave belonged to the legendary Oleg the Wise.
In ancient times, Staraya Ladoga was a large trade and craft center, and its citizens could afford to invite professional warriors to protect their town. The legendary Rurik, who started the first Russian ruling dynasty, headed one of such armies. He was obviously a bold and adventurous person, yet he could not expect that his personal success would make many generations of historians argue on how the Russian state was formed. As a result of this dispute, the ancient capital of Rus was completely forgotten. According to the Norman theory, the Russians were half -- wild tribes before Rurik settled his people in Novgorod. Novgorod was the center of Russian history before Kievan Rus. However, the excavation in Ladoga has refuted this theory. Although it was lost in time, Ladoga was the main trade center of Northern Slavs in the 10th through 12th centuries. According to Professor Kirpichnikov, it can be called the first window to Russia and Asia rather than to Europe. Ladoga was an international trade center that linked the East and the West.
Even after ten centuries, Staraya Ladoga is surprisingly beautiful and magnificent. The reservation includes:
• The Dormition Convent;
• The St. Nicholas Monastery (12th -- 19th century);
• The Ladoga Fortress (15th -- 17th century);
• An earth settlement (16th century);
• The Tuffet Land (8th -- 9th century);
• The Varangian Street, one of the oldest streets in the world, which was founded 10 centuries ago;
• The Victory Land (10th -- 13th century);
• The St. George Church (12th century);
• The Church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica (12th -- 17th century);
• The Church of the Nativity of St. John the Forerunner (17th century);
• The Church of St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea (17th century);
• The Transfiguration Church (19th century);
• The Plakun Land (9th -- 10th century);
• Schwarz' House (early 19th century);
• Merchant Kolyazin's House (second half of the 19th century);
• A chapel (late 19th century).
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