Tolga Monastery, on the bank of the Volga River. The monastery is about 700 years old, but the
present buildings date from around 1670. According to legend, Bishop Trifon of Yaroslavl spent the
night at the site in 1314, and woke to see a pillar of fire which led him to an icon of the Virgin;
the monastery was established at this location.
After the Russian revolution, the monastery was closed in 1926 and the building was used for various
purposes including an educational centre, a World war II hospital and a correctional centre for
juvenile delinquents. It was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1987.
There has been considerable restoration done and it is now operated as a nunnery.