Valday or Valdai is a city (since 1770) in Russia, the administrative center of the Valday urban settlement and the Valday district of the Novgorod region. Population - 14,379 people. (2017). Valday is an old (first mentioned in 1495), although not very remarkable city, is the center of one of the main resort areas of North-West Russia. The location of Valday on the post road between Moscow and St. Petersburg contributed to the prosperity of the city and the development of bell-casting. Valday is the starting point for visiting the Valdaisky National Park.
Valdai Iversky Monastery of the Holy Monastery, Selvitsky Island.
Open from 7 to 21. Located on Selvitsky Island in the middle of
Valdai Lake, 10 km from the center of Valdai. The monastery was
founded in the middle of the 17th century by Patriarch Nikon,
several original buildings remained: the Assumption Cathedral
(1655–1656, one of the largest buildings of the 17th century in
Russia), the Church of James Borovichsky (1702), the later Epiphany
Cathedral and the Church of St. Michael the Archangel. The monastery
is perfectly visible from the city and due to the location features
it seems a bit submerged in water. The monastery can be reached by
car (on the M10 Valdai — Vyshniy Volochek, exit from the highway in
the direction of Borovichi).
Church of Catherine, st. Truda, 2A.
Open from 10 to 18, weekends - Tuesday and the last Monday of the
month. The magnificent rotunda, designed by N. A. Lvov at the end of
the XVIII century. Now in the church is a museum of bells.
Trinity Cathedral, pl. Freedom. Rough baroque building, built in
1744.
Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin in the
Church of the Lord, pl. Svobody. Another Baroque monument; in the
worst condition and without domes.
Roadside chapel of James
Borovichsky, Komsomolsky Avenue. Chapel in the name of James
Borovichsky. Built in 1826 in memory of Emperor Alexander I.
Peter and Paul Church, city cemetery, st. Lunacharsky. The red brick
church was built in 1858 through the efforts of the local merchant
Vasily Kolobov. During World War II, the church was closed, its
building was first used as a dyeing shop, and then the military
telegraph was located here. The iconostasis and church values were
lost during a fire in 1943. The church was revived by father Nikolay
Listov, now his grave is located near the church. The iconostasis
for the reviving temple was brought from the destroyed church of the
village of Lamerie, Krestetsky district.
Museum of
bells, st. Truda, 2A. Open: from 10 to 18, weekends - Tuesday and
last Monday of the month. The only museum of bells in Russia, one of
the main attractions of the city. You can ring some of the bells on
display.
County Museum, st. Lunacharsky, 7. Open 10-18, closed -
Monday.
The oldest mention of the name "Valdai" is contained in the
Novgorod birch bark letter No. 740, dated 1140-1151, which refers to
a debt or tax from Valdai of 15 kunas; we are probably talking about
the region as a whole, and not about a specific settlement, which
was first definitely mentioned in 1495 as the village of the Valdai
settlement. The name is given by the location at Lake Valdai.
Until 1654, it was a palace village, then, until secularization
in 1764, it belonged to the Iversky Monastery. At that time the
village was called Bogoroditsyno.
Alexander Nikolaevich
Radishchev, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, Nikolai Alekseevich
Nekrasov, Vladimir Alexandrovich Serov, Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin
visited Valdai.
May 28, 1770 Valdai received the status of a city. The location of
Valdai on the postal route between Moscow and St. Petersburg contributed
to the prosperity of the city and the development of various crafts in
it. Valdai craftsmen, who cast large bells and small bells, were famous
throughout Russia.
Such concepts as "Valdai bells" and "Valdai
bells" have become entrenched in the Russian language.
Russian
coachmen considered it an honor to have Valdai bells under the arch of a
draft horse and highly valued them for their special “crimson” ringing.
The sound of the Valdai bells had countless shades and variations, and
often the owner of the team was recognized by a special ringing of bells
that was different from others.
The large bells of Valdai were no
less famous, and monasteries and churches willingly acquired the
products of local craftsmen.
Valdai - the birthplace of the
Russian bagel
The researcher and connoisseur of Russian national
cuisine William Pokhlebkin, as a result of archival research, managed to
establish that the Valdai Territory, probably since the 18th century,
was famous for the production of bagels:
BARANKI. Choux pastry bread
products in the form of rings of various sizes, but not more than 1.5 cm
thick.
The word comes from the verb to scald. The birthplace of
bagels is the city of Smorgon in Belarus, where they first began to make
narrow flagella from custard (scalded) dough and bake scallops (products
from scalded dough) from them. They were called obvaranochki, abaranki
and, finally, bagels. Valdai was especially famous for such lamb - the
extreme north-eastern point where the lamb craft spread from Belarus to
Russia.
— William Pokhlebkin
Railway communication
The railway station
of the October railway on the line: Bologoye - Valdai - Staraya
Russa - Bottom
Long-distance trains: Moscow - Pskov,
Suburban
trains from Bologoe station, Staraya Russa.
Bus service
Valdai - Sacraments - Veliky Novgorod - St. Petersburg
Valday -
Borovichi
Valday - Vyshniy Volochek - Torzhok - Tver
Intracity transportation is performed by a municipal road transport company and several taxi companies.
1 Cafe "Bavaria", pl. Svobody, 15. ☎ +7 921 705-85-12. 10.00–01.00.
2 Flagman cafe, 27 Sovetsky pr. (in the eastern part of the city).
Previously, the cafe was called the Jolly Roger. The new owners made a
big restructuring, on the first floor there is a cafe, on the second
floor there is now a mini-hotel. The past of this place is reminded by a
metal bench at the entrance, made in a pirate style with the letters
"BP".
3 Cafe "Urartu", Oktyabrskaya st. 6a. ☎ +7 81666 2-48-77.
09.00–02.00.
Cozy interior, delicious food, business lunch 160 rub
4 Restaurant “Dar Valdaya”, pl. Freedom. 10.00–22.00.
5 Restaurant
"Tropicana", st. Molotkovskaya, d.2. ☎ +7 81666 20146.
6 Pizzeria
"Chudu Pizza", Komsomolsky pr-t, 56 a. ☎ +7-905-239-33-43,.
7 Cafe
"Victoria", st. Oktyabrskaya, 37.
8 Cafe-bar "Lukomorye", st.
Lomonosov, 70. ☎ +7 921–207–23–53.
9 cafe "Delight", st. Lenina, d.
24/48. ☎ +7 816 662 6816.
10 Cafe "County", st. Truda, d. 5 a.
33.25442
1 Tourist complex "Valdai Dawns", st. Molotkovskaya, 2. ☎
+7-(81666)-22-140, 20-146. Double room: from 3500 rubles (2009). The
hotel complex is located in the city on the shores of Valdai Lake, next
to the Solovyovsky Park. Private beach 70 meters from the building
(chaise lounges, umbrellas in summer). The hotel has a residential
five-story building and an administrative complex.
2 Valdai Hotel,
st. Lunacharsky, 20. ☎ +7-(81666)-22-075. Double room: 1400 rubles
(2009). Tourist and hotel center "Valdai" is located in the heart of the
city of Valdai. To the railway station 600 meters, to the bus station
1.5 km. The lake is 400 meters away. Nearby there are several cafes at a
distance of 200-300 meters.
3 Valdaisky Dvor Hotel, Vyskodno-2, 7.a.
✉ ☎ +7 81666 24359. A small year-round hotel for 30 people. Located in a
picturesque area of the resort area of the Valdai National Park. It is
located 3 km. from the center of the city of Valdai, on the highway
between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
4 Hotel of the National Park
"Valdaisky", st. Victory d.3. ✉ ☎ +7 81666 21217. The hotel complex is
located in the city on the shore of the Valdai lake, next to the
Solovyevsky park. Private beach 70 meters from the building (chaise
lounges, umbrellas in summer). The hotel has a residential five-story
building and an administrative complex.
5 Mini-hotel "Marakanas", st.
Peschanaya d.
6 Flagman mini-hotel, 27 Sovetsky pr. Not far from the
mini-hotel is the Museum of Bells, Solovyovsky Park, the city beach, the
city stadium.
The city is located on the Valdai Hills, on the shores of Lake Valdai, 140 km southeast of Veliky Novgorod, on the 386th kilometer of the federal highway Moscow - St. Petersburg M10 (E 105).
The average annual air temperature is 3.5 °C
The average rainfall
is 701 mm
The emblem used by the Valdai urban settlement as an official symbol is a shield divided in two by a perpendicular line. In the geometric center of the left half of the shield there is an image of the Imperial golden crown against the background of ermine fur. On the right silver field in the lower half of the shield there is an image of a green mountain, symbolizing the mountainous location of the city of Valdai.
The flag of the Valdai urban settlement has the shape of a rectangular panel with a length-to-width ratio of 3:2. The top half of the cloth is white and the bottom half is blue. In the upper left corner of the cloth there is an image of the approved coat of arms of the Valdai urban settlement, which occupies 1/8 of the area of the flag field.
The municipal education system of the city is represented by
kindergartens, schools and a gymnasium:
Secondary school No. 1 named
after. M. Averina
Secondary school No. 2
Gymnasium
Institutions of secondary vocational education:
OAPOU "Valdai
Agricultural College"
Regional State Educational Institution "College
of Service and Management"
Valdai branch of the State Hydrological Institute.
The project for
the creation of an innovative scientific and technological center "Smart
Electronics - Valdai" Archived copy of April 28, 2021 on the Wayback
Machine
The healthcare system is represented by:
regional health care
institution GBUZ "Valdai Central District Hospital", which provides a
full range of medical services to residents of the city and surrounding
areas.
branch of the FGBUZ "Clinical Hospital No. 122 named. L. G.
Sokolova” to provide emergency specialized assistance to victims of
accidents on the Novgorod section of the federal highway M-10.
branch
of LLC "Medical Center "XXI century"
Providing cultural and leisure services to the population is
implemented by the following municipal cultural institutions:
"Valdai
centralized club system"
"Intersettlement Library named after. B. S.
Romanov of the Valdai Municipal District "
"Valdai House of Folk Art"
"Valdai Children's Art School"
Autoclub "Zabava"
Cinema and
Concert Hall "Dream"
Creative groups: Vocal group "Minstrel Song
Theatre", choreographic group "Tomorrow" and a number of others.
Youth center “Mesto. Valdai"
List of objects
The Kristall sports and recreation complex was
built under the Gazprom for Children program in 2011. Opened February
21, 2012. The structure includes: an ice arena of the "Canadian" type -
56 x 26 meters, stands for fans for 326 seats, an individual training
hall, a gym for exercise therapy.
Children and Youth Sports School
Karate club "Ronin"
Youth Center "Youth"
Sports club "Athlete"
Chess Club
Football teams
FOK "Youth"
The following operators provide communication services in the city:
Fixed-line services are provided by: Rostelecom branch in the Novgorod
and Pskov regions (FNPO), Eurasia Telecom Ru, Integral, NovLine.
Mobile telephony services are provided by cellular operators: MTS,
Beeline, MegaFon and Tele2.
Valdai is a popular tourist destination. The Museum of Bells is
located in the building of the palace church "In the Name of the Great
Martyr Catherine" (XVIII century). The museum presents various bells and
bells, as well as various information about the bell-making industry and
craftsmen of pre-revolutionary Russia. The museum has bells brought from
various places in Russia, as well as from Sweden, Germany and other
countries. The monument to the "Blacksmiths and Bell Craftsmen of
Valdai" is included in the Russian Book of Records. Valdai personifies
the Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity, located on Freedom Square.
Near the square is the Museum of the county town. On the island of
Valdai Lake - Iversky Monastery. Valdai is located within the borders of
the Valdai National Park, where the Great Valdai Trail is located, 59 km
long.
The sights of Valdai are also the Vvedensky Church, which
requires restoration, the Church of Peter and Paul, the chapel of Jacob
Borovichsky, the park of the estates of Vakhrushev and Menshikov,
Solovyovsky Park and others.
In the city there is a men's correctional colony of general regime
No. 4 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Novgorod
region.
In 1957, to increase the production of furniture, the
construction of a new colony began, as the convicts produced plywood. In
the 60s, the institution actively cooperated with the Krasnogorsk
Mechanical Plant and the Balashikha Mechanical Plant. Here they began to
produce components for the Zenit camera, blocks for brake drums for both
civil and military aircraft. The main areas of production today are
metalworking, sewing products, woodworking, production of blank
products, production of food products and paving slabs. The basis of
woodworking is the production of joinery products: furniture made of
solid wood and laminated chipboard, wooden window and door blocks.
Sewing products are represented by bedding and work clothes.