Valdai land is beautiful with its picturesque views, fresh air, clear lakes. It involves her beauty and mysterious unexplored antiquity. The antiquity of these places say archaeological sites and numerous legends about the origin of Valdai.
One of them says that he lived on the lake a young man of surprising beauty - blacksmith named Valda. Every day he would get up at sunrise and walked to the lake to wash. And just lean to the water to collect in the palm of transparent water, his face begins to be reflected in the water. And a pleasure to reflect the water face it, and wakes up in the water, slept through the night, begins to worry about, splashing, waves to the shore, and repeating: "Valda, Valda, Valda ...". So people began to call this water Waldo. Settlement, where the blacksmith lived, also known as Waldo, then Valdai Valdai ...
Pervozhitelyami these places were Finno-Ugric tribes. They gave the name of Valdai, which is one of the Finno-Ugric dialects meaning "water of life", "life-giving water."
The first written mention of the Valdai refers to 1495 By this year in the book scribes Derevskoy fifths of Novgorod was first mentioned in the Valdai Selishche two courtyards: the courtyard Yakushki Demehova the courtyard of his son Klimka. In the XVI century. Valdai village known as the palace belonging to the Emperor, and in it 94 yard.
In 1653 on the island of Lake Valdai Selvitskom construction began Iverskogo monastery was founded by Patriarch Nikon. The monastery was destined to occupy a special place in the history of Russian Orthodoxy and the country's history as a whole, as well as the history of Russian culture as a unique monument of architecture, tiled center of production, forging and casting skill of wood carving, stone carving, the printing press.
In order to give greater authority patriarchal construction, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to rename his palace in the village of Valdai Bogoroditsyno, Valdai lake - a holy, giving them the monastery together with other villages, fields, forests, swamps, rivers and lakes. Owned Iverskogo monastery. Bogoroditsyno was before 1764. Otpisyvaya village to the monastery, Catherine II, both officially and returned his original name - Valdai, and May 28, 1770 followed by its nominal decree of erection of the Valdai to the rank of other Russian cities.
Two years later, followed by another imperial decree that granted the coat of arms g.Valdayu, meaning mercy of Catherine II to these things and mountainous village where they are.
The decree specified the system and Physical Planning Valdai defined benefits accruing to local residents in connection with this, stimulated the development of trade, crafts and construction.
From St. Petersburg he was discharged development plan Valdai. In the first place been built up state-owned tenements: magistrate, public school, road palace of the Empress and her palace church of St. Catherine the Great, built the project Nikolai Lvov.
In the Valdai appear plants - soap, svechesalnye, leather, bell. Products glorified past Valdai Yamskaya and church bells.
Of particular fame Valdai, standing in the middle of the Moscow-Petersburg tract and focuses all his energy, talent, enterprise services to travelers passing through the city, brought Doughnuts fishing. Amazing taste bagels sold the best beauties of Valdai with indispensable kisses.
Nicholas Construction of the railway led to a sharp reduction in the number of travelers coming through Valdai, and contributed to the decline of the famous crafts and trade. However, in the second half of XIX - early XX centuries. Valdai never ceased to attract the attention of the Russians.
All-Russian act of charity was building Korotskogo nunnery at St. Tikhon of Zadonsk home. At this time, an increasing number of no-idle or traveling in a hurry for travelers and pilgrims, following the holy places. Increasingly recognized as the Valdai land a special place of peace, holiness, of solitude. People go to the Valdai monasteries, chapels to saints in streams, to the places marked by penance holy elders.
Healing effects of the Valdai nature has been known for a long time. In 1915 he was discovered near the Valdai Varnitsky resort with mud and water therapy.
In the same period in the Valdai went vacationers seeking rest, rest, the charge of his powers. The city appeared estate writer Vsevolod Soloviev, Mikhail Menshikov, essayist, teacher and social activist Victor Ostrogorsky etc. ..