Dmitrov

Dmitrov stands in the valley of the Yakhroma north of Moscow, its old centre enclosed by high earthen ramparts. Founded by Prince Yury Dolgoruky in 1154, it was named for his newborn son Vsevolod’s baptismal patron, St Demetrius. The rivers north of the town linked it with the upper Volga, making it a centre of trade as well as princely power.

Dmitrov passed several times to younger members of the Moscow princely house as an appanage. Its rulers held a town whose merchants could send goods down the Yakhroma and Sestra to the Dubna and Volga. At Rogachyovo, downstream, cargo from larger vessels was transferred to smaller boats able to reach Dmitrov. This route brought produce from northern lands toward Moscow, while the fortified town watched over the approaches from the north. In 1569 Ivan IV took Dmitrov from Vladimir of Staritsa and incorporated it into the oprichnina. The town suffered decline and later endured the upheavals of the Time of Troubles. Overland routes through Yaroslavl and Vologda grew in importance as commerce with Europe through the White Sea expanded, diminishing the old river route’s prominence. Yet Dmitrov’s ramparts and cathedral remained visible reminders of its centuries as a princely town.