Sernur

Sernur grew from the village of Makarsola, founded in the early sixteenth century. Its Mari name combines the name of the Sherdezh River with the word for a field. Construction of a church began in 1749, and the settlement became a church village. Its population was predominantly Mari: in the 1811 census, 163 of the 167 recorded persons were Mari and four were Russian. Names preserved in the census recall the families who lived in this rural community on the river.