Towards the southern end of the village, and with an excellent view along the river, the 7m-thick walls and stout towers of this fortress are slowly being rebuilt. Inside the grounds you’ll find the small stone St George’s Church, only open May to October in order to protect the remains of the delicate 12th-century frescoes still visible on its walls, and the cute wooden Church of Dimitry Solun.
The Vorotnaya Tower houses the good Historical-Architectural & Archaeological Museum, which displays an interesting retrospective of the area’s history, including a scale model of how the fortress once looked and items found on archaeological digs, with English explanations.
Visiting this soulful old place and wandering around its crumbling ramparts is a unique experience and you might feel you're in a Tarkovsky film.
