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🏘 Ostashkov: The small town that wanted to live by big-city rules

Friends, today we are traveling to Lake Seliger, to a town that was remarkably progressive for a small Russian provincial town in the 18th and 19th centuries. While many district towns led a rather quiet life, Ostashkov opened a theater, founded a bank, and organized one of Russia’s first volunteer fire brigades.

Welcome to Ostashkov.

📐 A town laid out as if with a ruler

In 1770, under Catherine II, Ostashkov was granted the status of a district town. Shortly afterward, the town received a regular urban development plan.

The old, winding layout was replaced by a new system of straight streets, regular blocks, and spacious squares. The town’s special location on a peninsula was taken into account, so its orientation toward the water was preserved.

This historic layout can still be clearly seen in Ostashkov’s old center today.

🏛 An astonishing number of institutions for a small town

The large number of public institutions that Ostashkov possessed despite its small population was particularly remarkable.

Schools and educational institutions, municipal healthcare, a public bank, a library, and even a municipal theater were established here at an early stage.

By the beginning of the 19th century, Ostashkov thus had urban infrastructure that was unusually well developed for a small Russian district town.

🔥 One of Russia’s first volunteer fire brigades

Ostashkov was particularly proud of its fire brigade. Its history dates back to the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Over the course of the 19th century, it developed into an organized volunteer fire brigade that was among the earliest of its kind in Russia.

As early as 1809, the town’s community, with the participation of the merchant Kondrati Savin, decided to raise money for a powerful fire pump and the necessary equipment.

There was a fire chief and an organized crew. Later, the volunteer firefighters even received special uniform elements and certain benefits.

The Ostashkov fire brigade became known far beyond the town. Its members helped fight fires not only in Ostashkov, but also in the surrounding area.

🐟 What the town lived on

Despite its remarkably developed public life, Ostashkov’s economy was not based on large-scale industry.

The main occupations included leather processing and shoemaking, blacksmithing, and, of course, fishing on Lake Seliger.

The locally made boots from tanned leather were particularly well known and were sold far beyond the borders of the region. The lake, meanwhile, provided a livelihood for numerous families and was also one of the town’s most important transport routes.

🏝 A town that looks like an island from the water

The historic part of Ostashkov lies on a peninsula that extends far into Lake Seliger.

From the water, the old town therefore looks almost like an island: churches, low houses, and straight streets are surrounded by the lake on several sides.

The historic churches of the old center rise above the rooftops, while the regular urban layout dating back to the 18th century is still clearly visible today.


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📍 The coordinates of the place are available here

💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

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💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

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