The Church of the Nativity gives Ostashkovo a clear cultural and historical point of reference: its various construction phases, a three-storey Empire-style bell tower and historic furnishings can all be identified there. The village also has a history of tray painting. If you want to take architectural history, church art or historic crafts into account when choosing a destination, these subjects offer a concrete point of reference for Ostashkovo and your search for a holiday apartment.
Building History in Several Stages
A building charter issued by Patriarch Filaret to I. B. Cherkassky on 17 October 1621 mentions a wooden Church of the Nativity with a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The charter authorized the construction of a new church in the village of Ostashkovo to replace a church that had burned down. It thus records both the earlier wooden church and permission to build a replacement.
The stone Church of the Nativity in Ostashkovo was built around the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Prince M. Ya. Cherkassky paid for its construction. The date of the stone church marks a later building phase than the 1621 charter, which mentions a wooden church. A chapel dedicated to the Prophet Elijah was added to the Church of the Nativity in 1830. It should be distinguished from the chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, which is associated with the reference to the wooden church. The two chapels can therefore be told apart by their different dedications and historical contexts.
Architecture and Furnishings
The three-storey bell tower has its own date: it was built in 1815 to a design by K. S. Ordenov in the Empire style. This date refers to the tower, whereas the stone church dates to around the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. The Church of the Nativity also combines features of various architectural styles with icon painting, murals and decorative furnishings. Its architectural form, visual art and decoration are thus distinct aspects of its design as described here.
Numerous 18th- and 19th-century icons have been preserved in the Church of the Nativity. Some were commissioned especially for the church, while others were donated by parishioners. These different origins add the history of the furnishings to the architectural context. The more recent history is also specifically dated: since 1980, the church has been protected by the state as an architectural monument; it was not closed during the Soviet era.
Crafts and Local History
Ostashkovo’s cultural heritage also includes a historic craft tradition. In 1810, workshops producing papier-mâché goods and the first workshops for painted and lacquered iron trays were established in the village. The tray painting later became known as “decorative Zhostovo painting.” This branch of local history offers a different emphasis from the history of the church: it focuses on production and design.
The local history also includes the fact that Ostashkovo and its villages belonged to the Sheremetev counts from 1743 onward. This date is a separate historical reference point for the area, alongside the construction phases and furnishing details of the Church of the Nativity.
Ostashkovo for Your Accommodation Search
When choosing a destination, what matters is whether you would like to explore the historical stages of the Church of the Nativity and its connection to local workshops. If this matches your interests, you can include Ostashkovo in your search for a holiday apartment and then choose the specific accommodation according to your own criteria. This keeps choosing the destination and choosing the accommodation as two clearly distinct planning steps.
Discover more destinations: Boltino, Gribki, Eremino, Larevo, Veshki, Mytishchi, Chiverevo, Vysokovo
Go to the main travel overview: Mytishchinsky District.
