Unzha

Unzha stood on a high bank of its namesake river, in the forested lands north of the Volga. It appears in chronicles in 1219 in connection with a Volga Bulgar campaign, and its fortified site marked an early frontier of the Vladimir-Suzdal lands. The river joined this northern town to the Volga and the settlements along its tributaries.

In the sixteenth century Unzha again served as a defensive centre against raids from Kazan. Its district encompassed villages along the river and its tributaries, recorded in surveys after the Time of Troubles. The town later lost its prominence to Makaryev, which grew beside the Makaryev-Unzha monastery farther downstream. In 1778 Makaryev replaced Unzha as the district town, leaving the older settlement to a quieter life on its riverbank.