Tradition makes Yuri Dolgoruky the founder of Kostroma in 1152, at the mouth of the Kostroma river on the Volga, but the town is first named in the chronicles only in 1213, when it was burnt in the war between Vsevolod's sons.
On 1 January 1200 a settlement here is likely but not recorded; if it exists it is a small Volga fort of the grand prince in the Merya country below Yaroslavl. It becomes a principality only after 1238 (later).
Who holds it
- Name
- Grand Prince Vsevolod III, through his governor (posadnik), not named for 1200
- Title
- lord of the town
- Since
- 1176
- Born
- not applicable
- Family
- not applicable
- Confidence
- low
Laurentian Chronicle as summarised in the standard accounts; en.wikipedia
Lord in 1200
Grand Prince Vsevolod III (not recorded).
How things stand that morning
Not recorded for 1200; drawn as the grand prince's.
Charter
None: Rus' towns had no charters. Custom and the prince's word governed.
Council
None recorded.
Communities
Merya and Slav settlers.
Fairs and markets
Not recorded.
Militia
None recorded.
Walls and castle
Not recorded for 1200.
Trade and crafts
Volga traffic and the Kostroma river route north into the Merya forests.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: First chronicle mention 1213; the 1152 foundation is a tradition.
Primary sources for Vladimir-Suzdal
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
- The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
- The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
- The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. Read online
- The Tale of Igor's Campaign (about 1187 to 1200 (disputed)). A poem on Igor Sviatoslavich's defeat by the Polovtsians in 1185 that addresses the princes of the day by name: Vsevolod of Vladimir, Rurik and David Rostislavich, Yaroslav of Galich, Roman of Volhynia and the Olgovichi of Chernigov, of whom Igor himself was prince from 1198. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia (en): Kostroma (traditional foundation 1152)
- The Laurentian (Suzdal) Chronicle, PSRL vol. 1, entries for 1176-1212, cited from the researcher's knowledge of the standard accounts (not fetched in this run: ru.wikipedia, fmg.ac and the archive.org texts would not load)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.