The district of Nyuksenitsa is located in the north-eastern part of the Vologda Oblast on the bank of the Sukhona River.

Border regions: districts of Tarnoga, Veliky-Ustyug, Kichmengsky Gorodok, Tot’ma and Babushkino within the Vologda Region, and the Arkhangelsk Oblast

Nyuksenitsa, the administrative centre is situated on the left bank of the Sukhona River.

Transport

Distance from Vologda: 315 km

Transportation routes: nearest railway station in Kostylevo, 150 km away from Nyuksenitsa, highway Vologda-Tot'ma-Nyuksenitsa-Veliky Ustyug

The Sukhona is navigable within the district; however, there is no passenger navigation.

Economy

In Nyuksenitsa, timber and food industry take a dominating position.

There is a compressor station in Nyuksenitsa as part of Gazprom Transgaz Ukhta that is primarily focused on natural gas transportation via gas trunklines.

Attractions and tourism

The place affords a wonderful panorama of the river's mirror-like surface, the expanse of fields and green coppices. All in all, twenty rivers and twelve lakes flow on the territory of the district.

Some lakes of the district of Nyuksenitsa sometimes suddenly disappear together with their fish. It usually happens in winter. In this case the inhabitants of the shores see only a silt bottom and a crater left here and there, through which all the water has gone down. Once in a while (in 2-3 years), the water comes back, very often together with fish.

Among the protected areas of the district are primeval forests, a game reserve, a mineral spring and a geological profile.

Like any other district, the residents of Nyuksenitsa are famous for their own peculiar customs, ceremonies, songs and traditions kept through the centuries. However, many traditions were preserved by the people in the form of merry entertainment and festive occasions. Many works of art are created by gifted persons working at home. Regional ethnographers study and collect the customs and traditions in order to preserve them in their original form for the younger generation.

District of Nyuksenitsa is rich in tourist attractions. Tourists want more than just to see the famous places, they expect to get to know the people and experience the culture. We call this "lifeseeing". Because it is not only the places, it's people that make each of the tours so memorable. New people are part of the culture of each destination.

A museum of local lore in the settlement of Nyuksenitsa tells the story of the development of the district, paying particular attention to people's way of life in the preceding centuries. A new popular trend of tourist business, village tourism, has started to develop in the district.

The Nyuksenitsa Centre of Folklore Traditions

Highlights of a tour:

• Excursions;
• Merry entertainments for children;
• Workshops where the skillful hands of the craftsmen create works of art;
• Concerts;
• Traditional ceremonies and Russian folk holidays.

Ecological tourism

Visit to Bobrovskoye, a settlement in the District of Nyuksenitsa (so called ecological path)

Village tourism

Visit to Pozharishtche (15 km off Nyuksenitsa) where an affiliate with the Nyuksenitsa Centre of Folklore Traditions is situated.

Highlights of a tour:

• Folklore traditions;
• Traditional handicrafts - national costume, dolls, patchwork, weaving, fancy-work;
• Souvenirs (local artisans demonstrate their skills and share their experience with the visitors);
• Russian folk holidays (Russian Orthodox Christmas, Christmas-tide, Russian Pancake week "Maslyanitsa", Whitsun, a festival of the Protection of the Virgin, Easter);
• Interior of a peasant house exhibiting the ethnic culture (late 19th-early 20th centuries), peasant life, household utensils;
• Visit to sacred springs;
• Staging of fairy-tales and traditional ceremonies;
• Brewing traditions.

History

Nyuksenitsa was first mentioned in 1619. At the time, the Sukhona was intensively used as a transport waterway, connecting Moscow to Arkhangelsk, till 1703 the main hub of Russian foreign trade.

District of Nyuksenitsa was established on April 10, 1924. On February 27, 1928, it was renamed into Sukhonsky District. On July 30, 1931 Sukhonsky and Kokshengsky Districts of the Northern Krai were merged, and Nyuksensky District was re-established, with the administrative center again located in Nyuksenitsa.

History note: site of paleolith settlement (the only one in the region)