Novgorod

Novgorod is known as "Russia's oldest city" and is located in northwest Russia, on the Volkhov River near the point where it leaves Lake Ilmen. Veliky Novgorod was a key point on the trade route that ran from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, linking Scandinavia with the Byzantine Empire. The magnificent architectural monuments of Novgorod earned it the name “museum city” until World War II, when it was held by the Germans and suffered great damage. Many of the damaged buildings and old frescoes have since been restored. Visitors are now drawn year round to this historic town studded with tall churches and whitewashed walls of these medieval places.