Only two cities were called 'great' — Novgorod, Russia's northern capital, and Rostov, a city with a thousand year-old history, a cultural and artistic centre in old Russia, the land of fairy-tale warriors and epic heroes.
In 862, 'The Tale of the Years of Time' mentions Rostov among other Russian cities. In the 11th century, Rostov was the capital of the extensive Rostov-Suzdal' principality. In 1070, the city became the centre of the Rostov episcopate. In 1474, the Rostov principality was adjoined to Moscow.
By the 16th century, Rostov was no longer the great city of years past, but a prominent centre of trade, since an important northbound trade route from Moscow to Archangel'sk went through it. Rostov has also long been Russia's spiritual centre. St. Sergiy Radonezhskiy was born there. The city was the home of prominent chroniclers and icon painters.