Galich (russian: link=no, Галич) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Kostroma Oblast Kostroma Oblast (russian: Костромска́я о́бласть, ''Kostromskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kostroma and its population as of the 2021 Census is 580,97 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, located on the southern bank of Lake Galichskoye. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 12,856.

History

It was first chronicled in 1234 as Grad Mersky (lit. ''the town of the Merya''). It gradually developed into one of the greatest

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

-mining centers of Eastern Europe, eclipsing the southern town of

Halych Halych ( uk, Га́лич ; ro, Halici; pl, Halicz; russian: Га́лич, Galich; german: Halytsch, ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; yi, העליטש) is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the P ...

, from which it takes its name. In the 13th century, Galich was ruled by a younger brother of Alexander Nevsky and remained in his line until 1363, when the Muscovites seized the principality and ousted the ruling family to Novgorod. The 15th and 16th centuries are justly considered the golden age of Galich. At that time it controlled most of the Russian trade in salt and

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

Dmitry Shemyaka Dmitriy Yurievich Shemyaka (Дмитрий Юрьевич Шемяка in Russian) (died 1453) was the second son of Yury of Zvenigorod by Anastasia of Smolensk and grandson of Dmitri Donskoi. His hereditary patrimony was the rich Northern to ...

and other local princes pressed their claims to the Muscovite crown, and three of them actually took possession of the Kremlin in the course of the Great Feudal War. The early medieval earthen

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

s were further fortified in the early 15th and 16th centuries and have since been known as ''Shemyaka Hills''. The Poles burnt it to the ground in 1612, Peter the Great had a wooden kremlin demolished, and it further declined with the transfer of Russian foreign trade from

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

to St. Petersburg. Town status was granted to Galich in 1778.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Galich serves as the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

Galichsky District Galichsky District (russian: Га́личский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #112-4-ZKO and municipalLaw #237-ZKO district (raion), one of the twenty-four in Kostroma Oblast, Russia. It is located in the west of the oblast. The area o ...

, even though it is not a part of it.Resolution #133-a As an administrative division, it is incorporated separately as the town of oblast significance of Galich—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts.Law #112-4-ZKO As a municipal division, the town of oblast significance of Galich is incorporated as Galich Urban Okrug.Law #237-ZKO

Economy

The Galich Mobile Crane Plant (russian: link=no, ОАО "Галичский автокрановый завод") manufactures some 20% of Russia's entire mobile crane production. Town's industries also manufacture steel barrels, shoes, and clothing. There is a timber mill in town as well. The town is also a minor railroad node of the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...

. A tall guyed mast for FM and TV broadcasting can be seen in the town.

Culture

Historic monuments of Galich include various buildings from the imperial period of Russian history. Particularly noteworthy is the Paisiev Monastery, founded in the early 14th century and featuring a 16th-century five-domed

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

and a three-domed church from 1642. Since 2004, Galich hosts the annual short

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

"Russia's Family" (russian: link=no, Семья России, Semya Rossii), whose stated goals are "to aid spiritual and moral healing of Russian society and to promote traditional family values".

References

Notes

Sources

* * *

External links

*
Official website of Galich

Unofficial website of Galich

Another unofficial website of Galich

Galich directory of organizations
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Kostroma Oblast Galichsky Uyezd