At the A. N. Radishchev Museum a museum program titled 'History of the Old Town' was held as part of the nationwide campaign 'Toropets. The Revival of Russian Culture', an interdepartmental project 'Culture for Schoolchildren'.
Museum staff spoke about the remarkable fortress-town of Toropets, which stood as a guardian on the border of Rus'. The first mention of Toropets is recorded in the Lavrentievsky Chronicle. It contains an account of the life of a Toropets merchant. The entry is dated to the year 1074. This date marks the beginning of the town's recorded history. The oldest town of the Upper Volga region is included in the list of historical settlements of special importance to the history and culture of the Russian Federation, approved by the order of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The order 'On the preparation and celebration in 2024 of the 950th anniversary of the first chronicle mention of the city of Toropets, Tver Oblast' was signed by the President of the Russian Federation, V. V. Putin.
During the program visitors became acquainted with the town's coat of arms, which depicts a shield with a tent-roofed fortress tower on a green field and a bow, and learned interesting facts from the town's history and about its architectural monuments. Toropets is a city of unique sights. It is adorned with beautiful ancient churches; in the 18th century such a small town had 19 churches. Some of them, unfortunately, have been lost, but the majority continue to delight the eyes of Toropets residents and visitors.
Program participants were interested to learn that each street had its own legend. On the Krasny Val, opposite the first school, grows an oak — a seedling from the seed of the oak planted in the year of the marriage of Prince Alexander Nevsky. Toropets residents are proud that this momentous event took place in their native land 780 years ago. The reason is that this is the homeland of the prince's mother, and so the 'kasha', that is, the wedding, was held here. In gratitude for the warm reception the newlyweds gifted the town the icon of the Korsun Mother of God, which, according to tradition, was painted by the evangelist Luke during the life of the Mother of God. Today a miraculous copy of it is in the Korsun-Bogoroditsky Cathedral in Toropets. The original shrine is kept at Knyazheye Ozero (Prince's Lake).
Peter I visited the town more than once. He stayed with merchants, stood among the choristers in the choir and drank the local beer, which he liked so much that he ordered it to be supplied to Saint Petersburg. In Toropets there is a Monument to the Teacher, as a tribute to all those in this profession. Toropets School No. 1 became famous worldwide thanks to its pupils — Paul Lorenz, a designer of the American 'Shuttle', and Yuri Semyonov, a developer of the legendary 'Buran'. A few years ago a Museum of Cosmonautics was opened in the town. Although Toropets is not a maritime town, it has produced 21 admirals for the country. In memory of the famous countryman Pyotr Rikord, a granite marker with an anchor and a ship's chain stands in the town center, rising above the waters of Lake Solomeno.
Participants of the event were able to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of ancient times and discover the wonders of the history and culture of the town of three kremlins, an amazing example of Russian urban planning.
