Ipatiev Monastery

Kostroma (Кострома) is the capital city of Kostroma Oblast, and a stop on Russia's Golden Ring circuit. It is a historic city, founded in the 12th century, and served as a sort of northern retreat for the powerful in Muscovy when threatened by southern and western invaders. Kostroma's wealth of art and architecture is owed to the legacy of such retreats. Visitors should not miss the Hypatian Monastery and the historic city center around Susaninskaya ploshchad. Kostroma outside the historic center is grey and industrial and off the itinerary for most tourists.

Get in

Kostroma Railway station

There are daily overnight trains from Moscow and trains (elektrichki) from Yaroslavl. You can also take the Lastochka (Swallow) express train from Moscow, which takes about 5 hours to get to Kostroma. The 1 Kostroma-Novaya train station is in the eastern part of the city. There are also daily buses from Ivanovo, Yaroslavl, and Vladimir through Suzdal.

There are several flights a week by Kostroma Air Enterprise from St. Petersburg to Kostroma. 2 Kostroma Airport is about 8 km northeast of the city.

Get around

Bus #13 shuttles between the main square (Susaninskaya ploshchad) and Hypatiev Monastery. Trolleybus #2 runs between the main square and the train station.

See

The Iconostasis at the Saint Hypatia Monastery

• 1 The Trading Arcades, along Sovetskaya ul. and Susaninskaya ploshchad. An 18th-century trading center, now houses shops and a market  
• Susaninskaya Ploshchad. The main square is named after Ivan Susanin, a peasant who became a hero after misleading Polish invaders into a swamp, where they all died. The square has several buildings of note, including the Fire Tower, a delightful piece of 19th-century architecture. It is a museum, and a literature museum within a 19th-century guard house. 
• 2 Bogoyavlensky (Epiphany) Monastery. Located one block down Simonovskogo ul., this 14th-century monastery houses the 12th-century Icon of Fedorovsky Bogomater, which according to legend was found hanging from a tree by a Russian prince. The main cathedral dates back to 1559.  
• 3 Saint Hypatia Monastery (Ипатьевский монастырь, Ipatievsky Monastery), Ulitsa Prosveshcheniya, 1. 09:00-17:00, services daily at 08:00 and 17;:00. A huge and important monastery (est. 1330), which contains the Museum of Wooden Architecture, the Bogoroditsky Cathedral (est. 1552), and the Spaso-Preobrazhenskaya Church (which was made without a single nail). Entrance 50 руб. (updated Mar 2019)
• 4 Museum of Wooden Architecture, 1a Prosveshcheniya ul, ☏ +7 922 39-15-12. 09:00–17:00. An outdoor architectural museum of wooden churches, houses, and a mill from the Kostroma region. Admission included in the Monastery entrance fee. 
• 5 Resurrection Church on the Lowlands ((Russian: церковь Воскресения на Дебре)), Кострома, ☏ +7 494 232-05-71. 17th-century Russian Orthodox Church near the Volga River that, as the story goes, was commissioned by a merchant who ended up with barrels of gold instead of barrels of dye and decided it was the devil's gift which could only be remedied by spending it to build a church, as per Wikipedia. (updated May 2017)

Eat

• Slavyansky, in the Trading Arcades. A popular local restaurant serving Russian cuisine 
• 1 Unnamed cheburechnaya, 1 Melochnyye Ryady ul (inside one of the trading arcades). Serves traditional cheburek (pastry filled with meat), as well as other savoury pastries. Local fare for a fair price. (updated Feb 2020)

Sleep

• 1 Otel' "Ostrovskiy Prichal", Ulitsa 1 Maya, 14, ☏ +7 494 237-38-39. Boutique hotel set in a former river station, on the Volga, with dining and complimentary breakfast and wifi. $25. 
• 2 Volga Hotel, 1 Yunosheskaya ul. (few blocks north of bridge over Volga), ☏ +7 494 277-70-00. Featuring restaurant and breakfast buffet and wifi. $32. 
• 3 Art Otel' Tsentral'nyy, Ulitsa Sovetskaya, 4Б, ☏ +7 494 249-67-27. A kind of trendy place with bright colors and artwork all over the walls. 
• 4 Moskovskaya Zastava (Московская застава), 1st May st. 5A, ☏ +7 494 249-66-01, info@mzastava.ru. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. A fairly classy refined place with a riverine setting. $32. (updated Jan 2022)

Go next

• The next big stops on the Golden Ring circuit are Yaroslavl and Ivanovo.
• If weird is what you want, head over to Sumarokovo to see the Kostroma Moose Farm, where the Soviets domesticated the moose!