ROSTOV VELIKY: BIRTHPLACE OF THE EPIC HERO AND SOVIET COMEDY

Rostov Veliky ranks among Russia's most ancient cities. The oldest Russian chronicle, "The Story of the Passing Years", in its entry of 862, mentioned the city as one that had existed for a long time.

Rostov's enormous cultural legacy is responsible for it being one of most popular tourist and pilgrimage destinations. By the presidential decree of 1995, Rostov's Kremlin was added to the Russian Heritage State List as a site of great significance.

Unlike other Russian kremlins whose primary function was that of fortification, Rostov's Kremlin, built in the 16th to 17th centuries, was designed as an archbishops' residence for the clergy of the Rostov and Yaroslavl eparchies. During the time of its construction, there was no threat of Rostov being sacked, therefore its walls and towers are purely decorative.