Verkhoturye Kremlin

Verkhoturye was founded in 1598 on the Tura, on the road east, and for over a century it was the customs post through which all legal traffic into and out of Siberia had to pass - goods were inspected and duty taken here, and going round it was smuggling. When a new route bypassed the town in 1763 the customs house closed and Verkhoturye stopped growing, which is why a town of a few thousand people has the buildings it has. The kremlin, built in stone from 1699, is the smallest in Russia: a short circuit of wall on a rock above the river, with the Trinity cathedral of 1709 inside, its facade covered in coloured tile and carved brick. Beyond it is the Nikolayevsky monastery with the Krestovozdvizhensky cathedral of 1913, built very large for the tercentenary of the Romanovs, and a suspension footbridge crosses the Tura below.

What you actually see

• The smallest kremlin - a short stone circuit on a rock above the Tura.
• The 1709 cathedral - the Trinity, with coloured tile and carved brick on the facade.
• The Siberian customs post - the town all legal traffic east had to clear until 1763.
• The 1913 cathedral - an outsized church built for the Romanov tercentenary.

When to go

May to September. Half a day. It is a long trip from Yekaterinburg for a short town.

Honest expectations

The kremlin is genuinely small and takes minutes to walk. The monastery is active with dress rules. The town is poor and services are limited. Getting there takes most of a day each way from Yekaterinburg unless you drive.

Nearby

Merkushino village, connected to the same pilgrimage route, is about 50 km east.