Drive through towns and villages near Ivanovo

"Our little Suzdal" - this is how the people of Ivanovo often call the ancient village of Dunilovo, where in one street there are ten churches of the XVII-XIX centuries.
You will see the revived Holy Dormition Nunnery, around which all the life of the village is concentrated now. Revived in 1991, the monastery today is a model cloister, where not only the monastic life flourishes, but also a lot of work is done on the spiritual and moral education. The Orthodox female boarding school established by the monastery is one of the best not only in the Ivanovo region, but also in Russia as a whole.

Visit a local bakery, where dough is kneaded by hand and baked in a wood-fired oven.
In Dunilov bakery, they bake a special bread, the taste of which you will never forget: fragrant, airy, with tender crumb and crispy crust. Word of the amazing bread attracts tourists and pilgrims. People come from Vladimir, Kostroma, Moscow and even St. Petersburg especially for Dunilov bread.
In this place, bread is still baked in a huge Russian oven, which is not heated with chopped wood, but with whole tree trunks, just like in Tsarist times. Back then, baking bread was considered a responsible and honorable business.

The village of Vvedenye is 10 kilometers from the town of Shuya and 32 from Ivanovo. Through its territory flows the Molokhta River. The main attraction of the small picturesque village of Vvedenye is a male monastery Nikolo-Shartomsky.
The formation and development of the village is associated with Nikolo-Shartom Monastery. The first documentary source of its existence dates back to 1425.
You will see located on its territory the overgate church of Transfiguration, St. Nicholas and Kazan churches, bell towers, brotherhood building and household yard.
The exact time of the foundation of the monastery is not established, there are several legends. According to one of them, the monastery got its name from the river, the former name of Shartoma (Shahma), flowing away from the monastery into the Molokhta River. At its confluence with the Teza River, the monastery is situated. Another legend says that in the second half of the XII c. a runaway smerd of Prince Yuri Dolgorukii, Nikola Shartom, with his companions Fedos, Sidor and others settled down on the bank of a nameless river, which they called Shartoma and soon built a monastery, with its founder becoming the first hegumen. In the spiritual charter of the Nizhny Novgorod appanage Princess Maria, there is a legend that the monastery was built in honor of an icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker found on the bank of the Chartoma River before the reign of Vasily the Dark, the Grand Prince of Moscow.

Shuya is a beautiful, compact Old Russian town, which is the former center of the Shuya Principality. Today the settlement is considered part of the Ivanovo region and is famous for its rich history. It is part of the Golden Ring of Russia and features a unique colorful, picturesque landscapes.
The city was named succinctly after the Shuya River. There are several versions of its Slavic origin. The meaning of the city sought to analyze back in the 18th century. The first attempt to do so was made by the famous historian N.N. Boltin.
He spoke of the Sarmatian origin of the name, in translation from which Shuya means capital. Discussing this topic, scientists conducted an analysis of Samoyedic and Finno-Ugric languages. In historical documents the town is referred to as Shuya and Borisoglebskaya Sloboda. The construction of the settlement in ancient times was carried out according to the traditional project for that period: a fortress and a settlement.

Staying in the city for a while, you can have a great time away from the hustle and bustle of civilization. In Shuya you will walk along the "local Arbat", visit the territory of the former Kremlin and see the ancient Resurrection Cathedral, famous for its 106-meter bell tower and the Shuisko-Smolenskaya miracle-working icon of the Mother of God.

Gavrilov Posad is a city of horse breeding traditions, located in the heart of ancient Russia, in the Vladimir-Suzdal region. The modern geographical location is quite convenient: 30 kilometers to Suzdal, 90 to Ivanovo, and 200 to Moscow.
The coat of arms of Gavrilov Posad depicts a horse. The history of Gavrilov Posad and the surrounding villages is closely associated with the palace stud farm, according to legend, founded during the time of Ivan the Terrible. You can get acquainted with the history of this town and the role of the stud farm in its development in the local history museum.
Visit the small, but very soulful museum, which compactly represents life in the city. There is a layout of the town, restored from photographs by a local craftsman. Learn about the history of the city, about the stud farm.
Ask where to go to see the horse walk.
Be sure to visit the central square of the city next to the museum. In recent years it has been completely reconstructed and has become a new calling card!

Be sure to visit this complex. It was opened at the beginning of 2020 and is located on the territory of the former stud farm. There are 21 non-alcoholic and 6 alcoholic variants of Russian national drinks for tasting. You will be told about the history of appearance and peculiarities of making drinks.
There is also a store and expositions devoted to Russian Hussars and the "Russian heavy horse" breed. All in all, there are 6 expositions on the area of about 1 thousand square meters and about 3 thousand exhibits.

Suzdal is one of the most interesting preserved ancient Russian cities. It is famous for its ancient architecture: elegant white-stone churches and monuments of wooden architecture. Every year thousands of tourists come here.
Before checking into the hotel, visit the restaurant "Russkoe Podvorye", which is located in the central part of Suzdal, near the Museum of Wooden Architecture.
You can use the free spacious parking lot, choose presents in the souvenir line and take away with you the culinary products of your own production: jams and smoked foods.

Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Russian antiquity in Suzdal. Outside the offered program take a walk by yourself around the evening city and feel its atmosphere. All main sights are within walking distance.