(Source: http://casablanca.flamber.ru/photos)

In XVIII century the Novgorod Governor-General Yakov Efimovich Sivers wrote to Catherine II that Ostashkov was “the second Venice”. The Russian Venice is situated on a peninsula cut into the clear blue waters of the Seliger Lake.

Seliger is, in fact, not a lake, but a whole system of interconnected lakes. They are called stretches. Ostashkinsky is the biggest. In the south of Ostashkov it goes into Selizharovsky, then into the Selizharovka River, and then flows directly to Volga. There are Kravotynsky, Sosnitsky, Polnovsky Berezovsky stretches.

On the other side of Ostashkov you can see the Vesetsky stretch. There is a feeling that the town stands right on the water. The tiny neighboring islands - Voronii (aka Voronezhsky, Voronov) and Fomino (Fomin) look at Ostashkov with envy. They wish they had such churches and old houses with attics, these straight streets laid in 1772 according to the plan of the architect Starov - the man who built the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg. Here’s the red brick Cathedral of Ascension, here’s the Valsky Column in the place of the column shafts of Ostashkovskaya fortress, here’s the ancient Governor’s house (also with an attic) - it has been standing in Ostashkov on Parakhodnaya Street since 1720.

There is a feeling that the town stands right on the water.

Excursion boats depart from the town pier of Ostashkov to the attractions of Seliger: the island of Gorodomlya, Nil desert.

In June it is the time to pick up strawberries, in July - raspberries and blueberries, in August - cranberries, all through the autumn you can find - cranberries and mushrooms of all kinds.

Special luck is to come across orange milk mushrooms. They are cut and immediately poured with salt, and three hours later eaten with vodka or without it. These mushrooms have a very unusual, savory and spicy “forest” taste.

Legends and History

Twenty years later Klichen was captured and ruined by dashing residents of Novgorod, after which the surviving inhabitants moved to the “mainland” and founded a new town.

According to the mentioned legend, there was only one survivor, and his name was Eustaphius-Ostashko. However, as far as Ostashkov was still on the border with Lithuania, at the end of XVI century it was strengthened - a fortress wall was built. Nevertheless, over the next hundred years Ostashkov was captured and besieged back several times, and in 1651 they built a new powerful fortress.

In 1676 the fortress and the entire town suffered from a great fire, and then stone building started. The official status of the town of Ostashkov was received during the reign of Catherine II, in 1770. At that time locals were not only skilled fishermen, but also tanners. The word “ostash” has come to mean leather boots made in Ostashkov.