Tourism in Russia > Tver

Tver city

Tver city is one of the most ancient cities of Russia which has throughout the whole history connected the two official capitals thereby building up the central axis of the Golden Way of Russia, the way between Moscow and St.-Petersburg. Already in the first third Of the 12th century a fortress was erected in the mouth ofTvertsa river which was actually a precursor of Tver. In 1246 Tver became capital of Tver princedom. The fire of 1763 became a starting moment in the formation of the shape of modern Tver. For four hours the city was almost destroyed, 852 of 900 houses burning down. Catherine II who reigned at that time commissioned one of the best architects of the country Peter Nikitin with building up the city anew. Taking advantage of a unique opportunity to create a city almost from nil the talented architect offered his architectural solution to a competent committee no later than a month afterwards. Designing the new Tver Nikitin and his team applied a three-beam approach (also characteristic of Rome, Versailles and St.-Petersburg). The restored Tver was declared a «smart transit city».The empress enjoyed staying here when traveling between the capitals. She considered Tver to be the most beautiful city in Russia after St. Petersburg.

The regular layout and original architectural ensembles made the new Tver similar to European cities.

The city started to boom late in the 19th century as manufactories were constructed and new factories opened. As of the beginning of the 20th century Tver developed into a city with a comprehensive and diversified industry.

In 1931, was renamed into Kalinin in honour of M. I. Kalinin (the Soviet prominent state and party figure) who had been born in Tver province. In 1990, the city was restituted its historical name and the arms.

The capital of the Upper Volga region is connected with names of such great art workers, as I. A. Krylov, A. S. Pushkin, F. M. Dostoevsky, M. Y. Saltykov-Shchedrin as well as with the name of an outstanding military leader I. V. Gurko.

The modern city is arrayed with numerous parks, boulevards and fountains. The historical center of Tver (in the City Garden) shows the rests of the ancient city wall. Also, Tver has preserved the surprising architecture of the old city: the former Fountain Place, Stepan Razin's quay, the Travelling Palace. Thanks to its location on the banks of three rivers, bridges are among places of interest of the city. The most famous of them is the lacy Starovolzhsky bridge founded on September8,1900. The project was designed by V.Tochinsky and L. Mashek.

Metropolitan cinematographers have taken fancy to Tver for since long ago. There are many unique architectural monuments and places with picturesque nature.The well-known movie «Scare-crow» and the legendary film «Chapaev», some scenes to themovie «State Counselor under Boris Akunina's novel as well as lots of soap operas, were shot in Tver.

Climate and natural resources

The climate of Tver is temperate continental, with transitions ranging from continental to a more damp climate of the northwest districts.

The rivers the Volga, theTvertsa, the Tmaka, the Lazur, the Sominka flow through Tver. The modern territory of the city comprises a number of natural forest parks: groves Komsomolskaya, Pervoayskaya, Bobachevskaya, Berezovaya and Sakharovsky park {declared wildlife sanctuaries in 1982).

Average temperature

July: +17,4°C, January: -10,3°C

Annual mean rainfall 640 mm a year.

Distance from Tver

To other cities: Tver — Moscow: 167 km. Tver — St.-Petersburg: 485 km. Tver — Velikiy Novgorod: 357 km. Tver — Yaroslavl: 300 km. Tver — Smolensk: 404 km. Tver — Vologda: 494 km. Tver — Pskov: 560 km.

Travel time from Tver to Moscow:

• By car: three hours
• Transit rapid trains: from 1 hour
• By bus: three hours