The Middle Ages in the Landscape of the Present-Day Pereslavl-Zalessky

Among ancient Russian towns, Pereslavl-Zalessky stands out for the rare preservation of its historical town-planning structure. The basis for such estimation is provided by the evidence of sources on the town’s history during the 12th — 17th centuries and a comparative analysis of cartographical documents of the early modern time. The views on the formation of Old Russian towns and assessment of the factors affecting the town-planning have recently undergone considerable changes. The comparison of historical and archival as well as archaeological evidence with the present-day topography of Pereslavl allows us to trace the modification of the planning structure that has retained not only separate architectural objects of the 12th — 17th centuries but also parcels of the medieval town layout. The article presents examples of the ‘exceptions to the rule’ during the execution of a regular plan at the end of the 18th century that, together with historical evidence on the composition and occupations of the trading quarter’s population, permit to more precisely determine the historical peculiarity of Pereslavl.