Embankment on the Volga - the main charm of Plyos
In the Ivanovo region of Russia, there is a small town that has managed to preserve the image and spirit of the 19th century, but at the same time, it fits amazingly into our time. It has many names: Pearl of the Volga (“Volga Pearl”), “Emerald of the North”, “Golden Reach”, “Russian Switzerland”, “Levitanovsky Reach”, “Little Heart of Russia”, and Konstantin Fedin (famous Russian writer and journalist ), once called Ples - "Russian gem". Beautiful, isn't it?
Unlike the neighboring cities of the Golden Ring of Russia, Plyos compares favorably with the fact that it does not look like a cheap props. Ples is a lively and vibrant town, one of the most picturesque places in Russia: an understandable harmony of the landscape and amazing color, and the air here has a specific color - light blue. Fabulous natural colors, amazing views, that is why a huge number of domestic painters go to Plyos for landscapes, and Isaac Levitan, the famous Russian artist, a master of “mood landscape”, laid the foundation for this tradition. It is in Plyos that all young artists come, here they write their first sketches and sketches, and the very action of artists has a very beautiful and original name - plein air.
In general, the Plyos phenomenon was discovered by accident. In 1888, Levitan, with fellow artists Alexei Stepanov and Sofya Kuvshinnikova, traveled on a steamer along the Volga, in search of inspiration, and saw a tiny and quiet town on the banks of a huge river, they not only fell in love with it, but even stayed here to live for a while . Isaac Levitan went ashore and stayed in Plyos until the end of the summer. In the next two years, he painted in Plyos brilliant landscapes filled with enchanting light: fogs over the Volga, golden sunsets and eternal peace.
Over the past century, almost no new buildings have been built in the central part of Plyos.
The beauty of Plyos is in the untouched embankment and its architecture. Local residents will tell you a legend about how merchants from Kineshma gave a bribe to an official of the railway ministry for the decision to extend the railway not to Plyos, but to Kineshma. This saved the city from urbanization. And it's good that it happened.
On the Ples embankment, the most beautiful part of the city adjacent to the Volga, there are old merchant mansions and houses that appeared here under Nicholas I. Each mansion has a name: the Krylov House, the Polyakov House, the estate of the merchant Gromov, the estate of the merchant Novozhilov etc. These are the names of the former owners, it is this historical circumstance - the original name - that makes the building alive.
Practically all the old buildings on the city's embankment were bought from local residents in poor condition. The owners gave them away without bargaining, since enormous funds were needed for the complete renovation of the building. The old houses were not just repaired - they were restored, carefully selecting building and finishing materials. Particular attention was paid to preserving as many old features of each house as possible: lace trim on the windows, a porch, a stove, etc. Today, houses have Wi-Fi, heating and air conditioning, expensive plumbing and kitchen equipment. Basically, these houses were re-equipped into hotels and hotels in Plyos, or restaurants and cafes, as well as jewelry, grocery and souvenir shops.
One of the brightest examples here is a small two-story building of the hotel and restaurant Favorit. Just a few years ago, on Sovetskaya Street, 25A, work began on the overhaul and restoration of the building, and today, Plyos guests are already being received here with might and main. It is precisely due to its location in the city, modern equipment, fresh renovation and the presence of its own restaurant on the ground floor of the building - Favorit Hotel and Restaurant, is considered one of the best options for living in Plyos.
The embankment stretches along the Volga for 1.5 km along Sovetskaya Street. It doesn't matter if it's summer in Plyos or spring or winter, the embankment here is always beautiful and well-groomed. It is not surprising that this is one of the most visited places in the city by tourists: there is ancient architecture, interesting sculptures, restaurants, hotels and inns, souvenir shops, a river station and wooden piers with numerous boats and boats. It's nice to walk around and get some fresh air. On the embankment, you should definitely look into shops and eateries that sell delicious smoked fish and corners (half-open pies stuffed with smoked bream). This is a local traditional dish of Ples.
Now Ples is one of the most visited places in the Ivanovo region, especially people come to Ples for the weekend, when you need to take a break from the city bustle and problems. Tourism is flourishing here, new hotels, museums are opening and new excursion routes are being developed. But the main highlight of the city is its embankment, which the locals proudly called the French word promenade (fr. promenade).
