The town of Kirillov stands on the banks of Lake Siverskoye. It appeared from a small monastery village in 1775 at the command of the local governer. Nowadays the town has about 10.000 inhabitants.

Kirillov is famous because of its St. Kirill Belozersky Monastery. This is the biggest monastery in the north of Russia, an example of grandiose architectural ensembles.
The Monastery was founded in 1397 by the monk Kirill from Moscow Simon's monastery and by the middle of the 15th century it had become very famous in Russia. The Monastery had always played an important role in the history of Russia. It has got a very rich library, the biggest one in Russia in the 15th-17th centuries.
In the 17th-19th centuries the Monastery was a state prison. After the revolution of 1917 the Monastery was taken under the state protection and in 1924 it became a museum.

Transport:

By car/bus: Kirillov is accessible by road, the distance from Vologda is about 130 km, from Cherepovets (Vologda region) is about 95 km.
By Cruise ship: Numerous cruise ships stop in Goritsy, located not far from Kirillov and Ferapontovo.