Dmitrov

Dmitrov (Дми́тров) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the north of Moscow. It is located on the Yakhroma River and the Moscow Canal, which connects the Russian capital with the Volga River. Population: 61,500 (2004 est.); 62,219 (2002 Census).

History


Dmitrov was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1154 deep in the woods at the site where his son Vsevolod was born. Its name is explained by the fact that Vsevolod's patron saint was Saint Demetrius.

In the 13th century, the town marked a point where converged the borders of Muscovy, Tver, and Pereslavl-Zalessky. The town itself belonged to the princes of Galich-Mersky, located much to the north, until 1364, when it was incorporated into Muscovy. Both Dmitry Donskoy and his grandson Vasily II granted Dmitrov as an appanage to their younger sons, so the town was a capital of a tiny principality. In 1374, it achieved town status.

The reign of Ivan III's son Yuri Ivanovich (1503–1533) inaugurated the golden age of Dmitrov. It is during his reign that the black-domed Assumption Cathedral in the kremlin and a smaller monastery cathedral of Sts. Boris and Gleb were built. Thereafter, the town passed to Yuri's brother, Andrey of Staritsa. In 1569, it was seized from Vladimir of Staritsa, added to the Oprichnina and consequently declined. The town suffered further damage during the Time of Troubles, when it was ransacked by the Poles.



In 1812, Dmitrov was briefly occupied by the Grande Armée but in 1941 the Wehrmacht soldiers were stopped on the outskirts of the town. The Anarchist prince Peter Kropotkin spent his last years there. In the 1930s, the local kremlin was excavated by Soviet archaeologists. Apart from the Assumption Cathedral, chief landmarks of the Dmitrov District are the cloisters of Sts. Boris and Gleb, of St. Nicholas on the Peshnosha River, and of the Virgin's Nativity at Medvezhya Pustyn', all three dating back to the 16th century.

Transportation
Dmitrov is a railroad junction of the Moscow (Savyolovsky terminal)–Savyolovo branch and the Dmitrov – Alexandrov branch. The railroad provides an efficient service to Moscow. Dmitrov is also a cargo port on the Moscow Canal.

Bus routes connect Dmitrov with Moscow (Altufyevo), Sergiyev Posad, Dubna, Taldom, Lobnya, Laryovo and others.

Twin towns — Sister cities
Dmitrov is twinned with:
 * 🇳🇱 Almere, Netherlands.
 * 🇧🇾 Maryina Horka, Belarus.
 * Rîbniţa, Transnistria.
 * 🇺🇸 Berkeley, California, USA
 * 🇨🇦 Spanish, Ontario, Canada
 * 🇩🇪 Schorndorf, Germany

Miscellaneous

 * Dmitrov's altitude above sea level is 179 m.
 * In a national competition in 2005, Dmitrov was recognized as the best-run town in Russia.
 * The Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin died in Dmitrov.