Valdaysky National Park
Valdai National Park is a national park of Russia, which was founded in 1990. The park was created to preserve the unique lake and forest complex of the Valdai Upland and to create a microclimate for the formation of cultural recreation in this area. There are gorgeous landscapes in the park, as well as monuments of historical, archaeological, and cultural heritage of Russia spread over an area of 1,585 km2. Valdai Park is a pearl of Russia's natural and cultural heritage.
Since ancient times, Slavic tribes have settled on the territory of this park. The Valdai places have a rich history, which is connected with the cultural life of Russia. There is a house with a mezzanine in Opechenskoye Posad, where the writer P.V. Zasodimsky once lived. The poet N.A. Nekrasov was looking for inspiration in the hunting territories of the Valdai and Borovichi forests. The gorgeous nature, along with the rich history of this land, is the reason why local places invariably attract poets, artists, and composers here. On these lands there were such famous people as Radishchev, A. Pushkin, Tolstoy, I.I. Levitan, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.
Every year, about 120,000 travelers visit the lands of the Valdai Park. They are attracted to the Valdai natural heritage sites. There are over two hundred lakes in the Valdai Park, which are home to a wide variety of fish: pikes, tench, crucian carp, grouse, roach, perch, ruffs, leshi, walleye. The animal world is even more diverse here. Moose, wild boars, badgers, brown bears, hares, foxes, martens and lynxes can be found in this park. As well as other animals that are related to living in water: beavers, otters, rats and ducks. In addition, wolves can also be found here.
The flora of the Valdai National Park is represented by pines, firs, birches, and also come across with ash, mixed grasses, hazel, dry meadows and headwaters.On the territory of the Valdai National Park there are a huge number of 82 different cultural and historical monuments of the Novgorod region - ancient sites, hillforts, mounds and hills.
There are about 9 monuments of landscape art located here.: 22 most valuable architectural monuments from the 17th to the 19th centuries; ancient estates along with parks. Among them are the Iveron Bogoroditsky Svyatoozersky Monastery, which was founded in 1653 on Selvitsky Island; the church named Catherine in the city of Valdai, which today houses the Valdai History Museum. This church was built in 1793, according to the project of the famous architect N.A. Lvov. The church is an architectural monument of Russian classicism. In the village, nicknamed Nikolskoye, there is the 1st fish breeding plant in Russia. Nearby is the city of Valdai, which is a historical landmark - in 1996 it turned about 500 years old.
