A Cossack fortress on the island of what was later called
Monastyrsky on the
Don river was probably built before 1570 although it is first mentioned in chronicles from 1593. After fifty years it became the capital of the
Don Cossacks, first as an independent entity in between Russia,
Turkey and
Poland, then a
vassal of the Russian
tzars, then as an administrative region, then as the
Don Voisko Province of the Russian Empire. In its heyday in the 18th century, Cherkassk was a busy city with a strong fortress. The city was the major residence of quite a few famous Don cossacks of the 17th and 18th centuries, including
Stepan Razin,
Yermak Timofeyevich,
Kondraty Bulavin and
Matvei Platov. It was also the location of fierce battles between Russian,
Ottoman,
Crimean and Cossack forces. Being on an island, the city's position was very convenient for a fortress and military camp, but inconvenient for an administrative and trade center — in spring the island was flooded by Don river and the crowded wooden city was subject to devastating fires. In 1805, the
Don Voisko Province's
ataman,
Matvei Platov moved the capital to the newly and specially built city of
Novocherkassk (literally
New-Cherkassk), which was on a hill, about 40 kilometres from Cherkassk. Most of the residents of Cherkassk moved to the new capital. The remnants of the old city got the name of the
stanitsa (village) of Starocherkasskaya (literally Old-Cherkassk). Now it is a site of an important museum, tourist center and orthodox male convent.
Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov was a major contributor to the museum's organization. ==Historical and cultural points of interest==