Saint Valdai on the lake shores

The Valdai Upland is famous not only for the delightful Valdai Lake and the stunningly beautiful landscapes around it. Glory to these places brought and the small town of Valdai, which arose about 500 years ago and became famous thanks to its inhabitants.

It was here that such crafts as blacksmithing and pottery developed to perfection. Products of the creators of unique colored tiles and Valdai wood carvers were valued not only in Novgorod, but also in many other Russian cities. And the “bell is a gift of Valdai” rang over the whole country. Bells for many Russian temples were cast in the factories of Valdai industrialists - merchants Stukolkin, Mitrofanov, Usachev, Smirnov. These bells became famous for their purest ringing. It was created in Valdai and many small bells - most often, they decorated the horse harness.

Another peculiar masterpiece of Valdai is sheep, which Pushkin and Radishchev mentioned in their notes. Many residents of the city baked the famous sheep, this occupation was considered quite profitable. Valdai sheep had their own peculiarity – they remained fresh for nine days.

Finally, to go on a trip to Valdai is worth to visit the Iberian monastery. This complex is located on Selvitsky Island, and the monastery was founded by Patriarch Nikon himself in 1653.