Pavlovsky Posad Shawls

Shawl printing started here in the 1790s in a silk workshop and turned to wool in the 1860s, and the pattern that became standard is a dense spray of roses and garden flowers, often with a border of a different weight, on red, black, cream or dark blue. Printing was originally by carved wooden boards, one board per colour, pressed by hand in register - a shawl with twenty colours took twenty impressions, each one having to line up with the last - and screens replaced the boards through the twentieth century without changing the logic. Designs are still drawn by artists at the factory and a good shawl carries thirty or more shades. The town museum shows historical shawls and the boards themselves, which are objects in their own right. The factory shop sells current production, and the range in price between a printed synthetic scarf and a full wool shawl with fringe is very wide.

What you actually see

• The carved boards - one block per colour, printed in register by hand.
• The rose patterns - dense garden flower sprays, the design the town is known for.
• The colour count - thirty or more shades on a single shawl.
• The museum shawls - historical pieces alongside the printing equipment.

When to go

All year. Two hours. The museum keeps short hours; check before travelling.

Honest expectations

Factory tours are limited and booked ahead. Labelling is Russian. A real wool shawl is expensive and heavy; the cheap versions sold widely are synthetic and printed differently. The town itself is plain and industrial.

Nearby

Moscow is about an hour and a half by train; Elektrostal is on the same line.