Travel Guide Verkhotourie ())

Among the many municipalities in the Sverdlovsk Oblast that are trying to diversify their economic activity by opening up to tourism, this town of 8,700 inhabitants, located 170 km from Nizhny-Taguil (300 km from Ekaterinburg), is one of the most interesting. Founded in 1598, it was only a fortress guarding the trade route linking Solikamsk to the Upper Tura. It seems to be one of the oldest settlements in the region. It was also an advanced fur trading post in the forests of the eastern Urals and was equipped with one of the first foundries in the Urals, which fortunately did not develop. Verkhoturia, established on the banks of the River Tura, has a town centre made up of old buildings and religious edifices dating back to Christianization by the Romanovs. In recent years, the town has been trying to restore its historic monuments, in particular its imposing Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the third largest in Russia after Christ the Saviour (Moscow) and St Isaac of Dalmatia (St Petersburg). For those who love peace and nature, the locality, where there are many ruins, is quite rural. It is surrounded by woods and forests: the road is pleasant, but if you are travelling by car, you will have to watch out for the many wild animals that are not used to being visited. From Ekaterinburg, you come by train by the railway line that passes through Nizhni-Taguil and reaches, further north, Severouralsk. Every night, trains leave for Severouralsk and stop at Verkhoturia station.