Kargopol is a city in the Russian Federation, the district center of the Arkhangelsk region. The city is located on the Onega River, 5 km from its source from Lake Lacha. Population of 11.5 thousand inhabitants (2001). The first chronicle mention of Kargopol dates back to 1380, when the Kargopol prince Gleb appeared with a squad on the Kulikovo field. In the 15-16 centuries, the first monasteries were founded in the vicinity of the city - the Strokina desert, the Assumption Monastery, in 1453 the Alexandro-Oshevensky Monastery was laid. At the same time, thanks to the favorable geographical location, the economic prosperity of Kargopol begins. There was a crossroads of trade routes between Novgorod, Vologda, Belozersk lands and Pomorie. Through the city passed the main trade of salt and fish from Pomerania.
Art crafts and crafts were widely developed in Kargopol. Gold and bead sewing products were made to order and sold throughout the region. In Kargopol, potters, carpenters, weavers and dyers of fabrics worked. Painters of icon-painting workshops painted icons for temples and on orders of the inhabitants with a kind of “northern letter”.
The construction in 1562 of the Khribradestvensky Cathedral begins stone construction in Kargopol. Since then, the white-stone appearance of the city has been formed. In 1678-1680, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin was erected, in 1682-1692 - the Annunciation Church, which, together with the surrounding buildings, constituted a single architectural ensemble of the New Trade Square, which has survived to our days.
From ancient times, the remains of an earthen rampart have been preserved in the city, on which until the early 18th century there were wooden walls with nine chopped towers, covered tents. In 1612-1614, this fortress withstood several sieges by Polish invaders and bandits. With the beginning of Peter’s transformations and the transfer of the center of active life to the Baltic, Kargopol, having lost its economic importance, gradually fell into decline.
In 1776 Kargopol became a county town of Olonets province. Due to the fact that the Northern Railway passed 90 km east of the city, the industry did not develop here. Residents of Kargopol and its environs continued to engage in traditional crafts, among which a special place belongs to pottery (Kargopol toy). In 1967, a branch of the enterprise "White Sea Patterns" was opened in Kargopol. The city has an art school where children are taught and sculpting toys.
