Verkhovazhsky District

The area is located in the remote northeast district of Vologda Oblast, on the border with Archangel Oblast. The center of the area is the village of Verhovazhye which is 230 km away from Vologda. In present borders the area exists since 1929.

77 % of the territory is occupied by coniferous and mixed woods, rich with mushrooms and berries, known for its hunting grounds – mating places of wood-grouse, elk pasture and fish resources.

Verkhovazhye and its neighboring territories are closely connected to the destinies of the Vaga lands belonging to Zavolochye. The first settlements on the Vaga were not very numerous – they belonged to the Finno-Ugric tribes engaged in hunting and fishery, who did not know agriculture, did not have written language. By the XI century A.D. these lands had been inhabited by Slavs-Novgorodians.

Subsequently Verkhovazhye became a rather large center of trading. The merchants traded not only at the local markets, but also in other territories. The Alekseevskaya fair which on a regular basis took place in Verkhovazhye was widely known in trading circles. Nowadays the tradition of fairs is being revived.

In the beginning of the XX century the first public library was open in Verkhovazhye. It was created on the basis of a small book fund of the local college; Obnorsky, the resident of Verkhovazhye, was its first manager.

Big spacious two-storeyed houses of rich merchants (some of them were built in brick) are really the pride of the local architecture, but the pearl of architectural design has always been the Dormition Cathedral which celebrated its 200-anniversary in 1998.