Pechora grace. Pechory will be turned into a Russian center for creative labor tourism

16:50, November 19, 2021, PAI

There are several places in the Pskov region that have been points of attraction for tourists from all over the country for decades. Of course, one of them is Pechory with a unique pearl of history and Orthodoxy - the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. Year after year the flow of people coming here is growing. Pechory as a tourist destination is evolving and developing. However, there are many such places on the map of Russia, and competition in the domestic market is constantly growing.

At the same time, another trend continues in the country: the opportunity to work remotely in the broadest sense of the word, without being tied to a specific office and without the need to visit it, is used by people in creative professions in order to leave big cities and settle in less stressful, more comfortable and Compared to St. Petersburg or Moscow, these are inexpensive towns and cities. In fact, we are witnessing active labor migration, which will only intensify over the years.

The Pskov region, located on the routes between Moscow and the Northern capital, has long been considered by many as a place where one can “drift”, settle, work and enjoy life. And simply a dacha idyll is clearly not enough for people anymore.

But the evolution of the hospitality infrastructure in tourist spots in our region does not always keep up with modern requirements for comfort and service.

Now we are at exactly the point in time when we either need to win the competition, or we can become a laggard forever.

And it seems that Pechora has a chance for explosive growth.

In August 2021, Pechory received the status of a single-industry town. “This is an important decision for us, since the new status opens up access to additional support measures through the Ministry of Economic Development and the Single-Industry Towns Fund. And these are new opportunities for investment and socio-economic development of the territory. Considering the border location of Pechory, there can be many points of application of forces. The initiative of both local authorities and businesses is important here. I hope that no one will just be an outside observer,” Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said about this at the time.

The difficult year 2021, it would seem, should have extinguished all initiative. What kind of a single-industry town is there - to save people’s lives and health in the literal sense! However, it seems that this year may become decisive in the fate of Pechora.

The opportunities and tools that Pechory’s single-industry town status has provided are a unique chance for active change. This is well understood at the Investment Development Agency of the Pskov Region. The exchange of experience at Skolkovo with people who, with their own hands, brought the possibilities of single-industry towns to life, only confirmed that it must be done. Now.

For this, Pechory urgently needed a plan for comprehensive socio-economic development that would give clear answers to the questions: how, where and why?

“The goal of the plan is to create conditions for the substantive implementation of the steps of what the city should look like. In parallel, preparation of a master plan is already underway, which should appear in 2021. Master planning will be carried out. And at the heart of everything there should be a vision of what we want to do in Pechory, what needs to be changed for this. Both we and the residents see weaknesses,” says Vyacheslav Fedyunin, director of the regional Investment Development Agency.

History and description of Pechory

The city of Pechory is the administrative center of the Pechora district, which is part of the Pskov region. The Pachkovka River flows through the city. The total area of ​​the settlement is a little more than 20 square meters, and the number of residents does not exceed 10 thousand people.

Pechory is a quiet provincial town, famous for the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery

The history of the city goes back more than five centuries. The settlement was always located on the border of states, so it served as a trading center. Its name is derived from the ancient Russian name “pechery”, which today can be translated as “caves”. The emergence of the city is associated with the monastery of hermits who lived in this area in underground caves back in the 14th century. Pechory was first mentioned as a settlement at the end of the 15th century, it was then that the first temple was consecrated and the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery was officially established. Later, civilians began to settle around the monastery.

From the 16th to the beginning of the 18th century, the city played an important strategic role on the western border of the Russian state. During this period, the monastery was completely destroyed by the Livonians, rebuilt, surrounded by a fortress wall and acquired the name Pechora Fortress. Also in the 17th century, the city managed to repel several raids by Swedish and Polish invaders. At the very beginning of the 18th century, by decree of Peter I, the monastery was surrounded by an earthen rampart, a ditch with water and equipped with bastions. So Pechory became a national fortress. But in 1721, the city's defense mission ceased to be necessary, as the country's borders expanded.

The official status of the city of Pechora was received in 1782, at the same time becoming the main settlement of the Pechora district, and then a district city of the Pskov province. By the 19th century, the city's population began to grow, and its development was quite modest - small wooden houses. The development of construction began only in 1886, when railway tracks were laid through Pechory. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the city became part of the Estonian state, received a new name - Petseri and began to develop as a shopping center. After Estonia joined the USSR, Pechory became part of the Pskov region. Today, the city again plays the role of a northwestern outpost of the Russian Federation.

Population[ | ]

The total population of the urban settlement of Pechory and two rural settlements of Izborskaya and Panikovskaya volosts, united into the newly formed urban settlement of Pechory, as of January 1, 2015, was 14,179 people[13].

Table: how to get to Pechory

Where to go in Pechory with children

Children's holidays in Pechory are not very diverse. With your child, you can go to the Museum of the History of the City, where they conduct excursions adapted for children’s perception, or go to the Pskov-Pechersk Lavra, where the child can enjoy the beauty of the temples and the uniqueness of the underground buildings.

A visit to the Malskaya Dolina active recreation park will be an exciting entertainment program for both children and adults. They provide many services, the variety of which depends on the time of year:

1. In summer, the park offers a rope course, zip line rides, ATV rides, boating and biking. Also, during the warm season, you can rent a tent in the park and live in it for some time. The campsite is equipped with everything you need: food stations, toilets and showers.
2. In winter, the park turns into a ski resort. There are eight trails of varying difficulty, designed for children and adults, and designed for alpine or cross-country skiing. Coaches are ready to teach skiing to children of all ages. In addition, in the park you can ride cheesecakes and take a ride on a snowmobile. Guest houses operate in the park all year round.

Instructors invite children from five years of age to take lessons in alpine skiing and snowboarding; training takes place on special slopes.
Information for tourists:

• address: village Rogovo, Pechora district;
• how to get there: by public Pechory-Pskov until the turn to “Malskaya Dolina” (ask the driver, he will stop), then follow the signs for 3 kilometers of a country road through the village of Maly;
• Opening hours: daily, 24 hours a day.

Tips for staying in the city

Most tourists come to Pechory to visit the local monastery. The maximum influx of tourists occurs in the summer season, however, even in the cold season there is a large concentration of pilgrims here. The monastery is especially popular on major church holidays: Easter, Christmas and others. Therefore, to get to the territory of the monastery, you will have to spend some time in queues. Other attractions of the city are not in such demand; you can visit them freely at any time.

As a rule, it takes no more than two to three days to explore the city. The cultural program can be drawn up in accordance with the following plan:

1. Dedicate the first day to visiting the Pskov-Pechersk Lavra.

   
   It can take a whole day to explore all the temples and buildings of the monastery

2. The second day is worth exploring the unique architecture of Pechory: here you can find many buildings dating back to the period when the city was part of Estonia. Also on this day you can take a tour of the Historical Museum.
3. If you have a third day, you can spend it on an excursion to the Seto People Museum.

If the purpose of the trip is to visit only the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery, then you can stay in the guest houses of the monastery. Also for travelers in Pechory there are about thirty accommodation options: hostels, apartments, hotels and guest houses. Most of them are located near the walls of the monastery.

Souvenir products in Pechory are mainly represented by Orthodox products. In the monastery shop you can buy church books, photographs of the monastery, icons and much more. They also sell popular Pechora bells, soap made by local monks and dishes with views of the monastery. There are also souvenirs in Pechory that are not related to the Orthodox faith:

• carved wood or birch bark, as well as wickerware;

  
  In the souvenir shops of the city you can find beautiful carved items made of wood and birch bark, as well as various wicker items made from wicker - tues, baskets, trays, plates, bread bins and wall panels

• Izborsk printed gingerbread cookies - for lovers of sweets;
• Socks and mittens made from dog hair, made by local residents.

Settlements[ | ]

Since April 2015, the volost has included 175 settlements, including 1 city and 174 villages:[14][15]

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