The Sit brings together the natural landscape and history of Sonkovsky District: a battle took place on its right bank near the village of Bozhonka. The district is also home to churches, the remains of an estate complex and a merchant’s house—varied traces that reveal local history from several perspectives.
Rivers as a Geographical Framework
Sonkovsky District lies in eastern Tver Oblast, in the headwaters of the Korozhechna and the Sit. The Korozhechna is a left-bank tributary of the Volga, while the Sit is a right-bank tributary of the Mologa. Their river connections are therefore clearly distinguished: Korozhechna–Volga and Sit–Mologa. The Sit is also linked to a precisely located event in the district’s history.
Historical Traces in Bozhonka and Koy
On the right bank of the Sit, near the village of Bozhonka, a battle took place on 4 March 1238 between the forces of Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich of Vladimir and the Tatars. The date, riverbank and village locate the event precisely within the district. In Koy, local history leads to a different era: the two-storey Trinity Church took more than ten years to build and was consecrated in 1731.
Koy is also the birthplace of Alexander Petrovich Kunitsyn (1783–1840), a professor of moral philosophy at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. The village’s fairs are also part of its historical picture: for several centuries, five fairs were held there each year, on the feasts of the Annunciation, Pentecost, the Saviour, the Protection of the Mother of God and St Nicholas. In Koy, sacred architecture, a cultural biography and a historic market tradition stand side by side as different ways of exploring local history.
Estate Complex, Church and Merchant’s House
In the village of Sinevo-Dubrovo, cascade ponds and acacia avenues are among the remains of an estate complex. The Tikhvin Church was built on the outskirts of the village between 1775 and 1784. Here, local history brings together surviving landscape features of the estate complex and religious architecture.
Another kind of architectural history is represented by the 19th-century Shchegolev merchant’s house, one of the district’s attractions. It complements the churches and estate complex with a building type associated with merchants. The landmarks mentioned span a period from the medieval event on the Sit, through 18th-century churches, to a house from the 19th century.
Getting There via Sonkovo
Sonkovo is an important point of reference for travel: today, it is a major railway hub. Rail lines from there run to Moscow, St Petersburg, Rybinsk and Uglich. The Sonkovo–Bezhetsk–Tver road connects the district with the administrative centre of Tver Oblast; a bus service also connects the district with this centre. Before travelling, check the specific train connections, the current bus timetable and road conditions. This makes it possible to consider rail, road and bus as different elements of your travel plans: the rail lines lead to the four destinations listed, while the road and bus connect the district with the administrative centre.
Discover more destinations: Maksatikhinskiy rayon, Rzhevsky District, Torzhokskiy rayon, Sandovsky District, Rameshkovskiy rayon, Kuvshinovskiy rayon, Kalininsky District, Konakovskiy rayon.
For the main travel overview: Tver Oblast.
