Vetluga — the most remote town in Nizhny Novgorod Region, the administrative center of Vetluzhskiy District.
It is located 230 km northeast of Nizhny Novgorod on the right bank of the Vetluga River, 47 km north of the Uren railway station on the Nizhny Novgorod–Kotelnych line.
History of founding
The town of Vetluga traces its origins to the village of Shchuplikovo (1628).
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The Voskresensky Stan, and in it a churchyard on the Vetluga River, and in the churchyard the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, wooden, of log-cell construction, heated, with a refectory. And in the church there are icons, candles, books, vestments, church vessels, bells, and all church furnishings belonging to the parishioners. And in the churchyard there are also clergy households: in one yard the priest Gerasiy Vasilyev, in another yard the deacon Ivanko Ivanov, in another yard the sexton Mironko Markov, in another yard the prosphora-baker Marfitsa, daughter of Samoylo, and 3 cells of paupers who are fed by the church of God Census charter [1]
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Next to the churchyard was "the village of Shchuplikovo on the Vetluga River, and in it peasants: in one yard Stepanko Fyodorov, in another yard Ivanko Ivanov, in another yard Senka Kuzmin."
During the survey of 1628, the village of Shuplikovo (in later documents referred to as "Shchuplino" and "Shchulepnikovo"), together with the Voskresensky churchyard, was called "the selo of Voskresensky."
The village of Shulepnikovo is also mentioned in a document dating to 1636–1637. This is a deed of gift from Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich to Princess Mstislavskaya.
Documents (parish registers) indicate that in the 17th century a wooden church was built in the village of Shulepnikovo. At the same time, in connection with the construction of the church, the village was renamed the selo of Verkhneye Voskresenye.
In 1727 the selo was purchased by Captain Naumov, and in 1775 it was sold to Actual Privy Councillor Fyodor Vasilyevich Naumov, who gave it as a dowry with his daughter Anna — the wife of Chamberlain A. M. Beloselsky-Belozersky. As the administrative divisions of Russia were being refined, new district centers were established. In 1778, Actual Privy Councillor Aleksey Petrovich Melgunov — the Governor-General overseeing preparations for the opening of the Kostroma Viceroyalty — traveled through the Kostroma lands. He gathered information on the population, the state of trade and industry, and defined the boundaries of the future districts. When designating district towns, A. P. Melgunov turned his attention to the selo of Verkhneye Voskresenkoye, situated on the bank of the Vetluga River and lying along the Vyatka commercial road. On 5 September 1778, a supreme decree of Empress Catherine II was issued establishing Vetluga as a district town. In 1781, Catherine II approved the "Plan for the Town of Vetluga," on which one can see a rectangle with its longer side running along the right bank of the Vetluga River. The streets intersected at right angles, and the plan provided for the construction of wooden and stone "government, public, and residential buildings, shops, and other structures."
Vetluga today
The town has managed to preserve its distinctive character and the uniqueness of its wooden buildings adorned with intricate carved lacework. The strikingly beautiful northern landscape conveys a sense of calm and purity, serving as a powerful source of spiritual richness, health, and harmony, drawing visitors from every corner of Russia.
Town attractions
The town's main attraction is its local history museum. It was established in 1918 through the efforts of I. I. Razumov. The museum's collection numbers around 9,000 exhibits. The natural history section is considered one of the finest of its kind and was designed by V. N. Kuranov, a member of the Union of Artists.