It is unclear when Kashin was founded, with plausible dates in the 12th and the 13th centuries, and it is reliably mentioned in 1287, when it belonged to
Principality of Tver. Since 1319, Kashin was the center of
Principality of Kashin, which was first dependent on the Principality of Tver. In fact,
Vasily, the first Prince of Kashin, was the son of
Mikhail of Tver, and his mother and the wife of Michael,
Anna of Kashin, lived in Kashin for the last years of her life. She was later canonized and is considered to be a saint protector of the town. Later, Kashin Principality was slowly drifting towards the
Grand Duchy of Moscow. In 1375, it was accepted as an independent principality subordinate to Moscow, then between 1382 and 1399 it was a part of Principality of Tver, and in 1485 it was formally annexed by Moscow and abolished. In 1609 and 1612, during the
Time of Troubles, Kashin was badly damaged by the Polish troops. In the course of the
administrative reform carried out in 1708 by
Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate (known since 1710 as
Saint Petersburg Governorate), but in 1727 it was transferred to
Moscow Governorate. In 1775,
Tver Viceroyalty was formed from the lands which previously belonged to Moscow and
Novgorod Governorates, and
Kashinsky Uyezd was established. In 1796, Tver Viceroyalty was transformed into
Tver Governorate. On October 3, 1927 Kashinsky Uyezd was abolished and split between
Bezhetsky and
Kimrsky Uyezds. On July 12, 1929 the governorates and uyezds were abolished. Kashinsky District, with the administrative center in Kashin, was established within
Bezhetsk Okrug of
Moscow Oblast. On July 23, 1930, the okrugs were abolished, and the districts were directly subordinated to the oblast. On January 29, 1935
Kalinin Oblast was established, and Kashinsky District was transferred to Kalinin Oblast. On February 13, 1963, during the abortive Khrushchyov administrative reform, Kesovogorsky District was merged into Kashinsky District, but on November 3, 1965 it was re-established. In 1990, Kalinin Oblast was renamed Tver Oblast. ==Economy==