The small town of Ples is located on the banks of the Volga river. It can be called a tourist resort in the middle of the Russian strip, as it retains the atmosphere of a quiet provincial town on the banks of a large river. It is not yet part of the Golden ring route, but it fully deserves to be.
The first settlement on the top of Sobornaya hill was founded in the 12th century, presumably in 1141. During the invasion of the Mongol-Tatar army of Batu Khan in 1238, Ples was mentioned among the burned small fortresses. Ples became a town only during the reign of Prince Vasily I of Moscow. Fleeing in Kostroma from the invasion of the Horde troops of Prince Edigey, he ordered to build a powerful fortress in Ples: "In the summer of 1410 ordered to chop town Pleso." This time is considered the Foundation of the town of Ples.
Until the 19th century, Ples was an important commercial port in the middle reaches of the Volga. At the foot of the Sobornaya mountain on the Volga embankment, many mansions belonging to Pless merchants appeared. Everything changed in 1871. The railway from Ivanovo to Volga river was laid not to Ples, but to Kineshma (40 km downstream from Ples). Kineshma became the main port in this region, and Ples became a quiet holiday village among picturesque hills, where Russian artists sought inspiration.
In the summer of 1888, the artist Isaac Levitan and his artist friends came to Ples for the first time. They were looking for beautiful places on the Volga river where they could paint landscape paintings. They stayed here until late autumn, and Levitan was able to paint many beautiful paintings of Golden autumn landscapes. For the next two years, Levitan and his friends came to Ples every summer. Thanks to his paintings in Ples, he became a famous Russian artist, and Ples became widely known as a quiet town where creative people seek inspiration.
Today, only 1,700 people live in Ples. In terms of population, this town is no larger than a medium-sized village, but almost all liners making a cruise on the Volga make a stop here. This town can be fully called a resort in Central Russia. The Ples embankment stretches for 1.5 km at the foot of three mountains: Levitan, Sobornaya and Voskresenskaya.
The Mount Levitan is must see for visiting. On its top is a wooden Church, which Levitan depicted in many of his paintings, including the most famous: "Above eternal rest." Sobornaya mountain is the place where Ples was founded in the 13th century. It offers the most picturesque view of the town and the Volga river.
Ples has three large museums and several private ones. The most interesting is the Levitan house Museum. It is located in the house where the artist lived for three consecutive summers from 1888 to 1890. On the embankment, there is a Landscape Museum where you can view landscape paintings by Russian artists. On Sobornaya hill there is a Museum of the Chamber of Representatives, which is dedicated to the history of the town.
In Ples there are sandy beaches where you can swim and sunbathe in summer. There are hotels and sanatoriums in the surrounding area. To the East of the Ples there is a Milaya mountain (near the village of Milovka), where there are 2 ski trails with ski lifts. The length of the tracks is 330 and 360 m, the height difference is 40 m. Every winter, fans of skiing come here.
