Yaroslavl

Yaroslavl is a city of nearly 800,000 people that is located about 4 hours north of Moscow. For the first of May holiday, I went with two other teachers to visit the town which is known for its many churches ... We walked around the city all weekend - enjoying the sun, eating, relaxing and looking at church after church.

Because next year is the city's 1000th birthday, the churches' interiors and exteriors are in the process of being spruced up. The frescos inside these churches were fantastic and covered the interior walls from wainscoting to ceiling. Unfortunately, because of the cost of taking photographs inside, you will have to close your eyes and imagine beautiful blues, reds, oranges, and yellows depicting various Biblical stories. These walls truly served a didactic purpose, educating the people and allowing them to reflect on stories they couldn't otherwise read.


First Photo in Yaroslavl.




Many of these churches are red brick and include decorative ceramic tile with various images of flowers, birds, or in this case grape vines. Yaroslavl churches are known for this tile and red brick.


This is the church in the center of the city in Yaroslavl's red square.










This church was definitely the most memorable with a daunting exterior, decorative painting, though faded, on the brickwork outside. The interior of the building was chilly, even on a hot summer day.