Goritsy is a village in the Kirillovsky District of Vologda Oblast, the administrative center of the Goritsky rural settlement. It is located 130 kilometers north-west of the city of Vologda and 7 km from the city of Kirillov.
The Goritsy pier is situated on the left bank of the Sheksna River. From afar, the white walls of the monastery near the dock can be seen. The picturesque setting of the village of Goritsy is ideal for green moorings. Tourist steamers dock side by side.
In 1905, a pier was built at the monastery. In 1963, during the construction of the Volga-Baltic Route, the old wooden pier was dismantled and replaced with a floating landing stage (debarcader). In 1964, a new Goritsy pier was built, which began to receive passenger “Meteor” and “Rocket” hydrofoils, as well as tourist steamers. At present, passenger navigation has been discontinued. The pier operates only for the arrival of tourist steamers. After the construction of two new berths in Goritsy, 10−15 steamers can stop in a day. In the 2007 navigation season, the pier received 812 steamers-more than all three piers of Saint Petersburg.
Over the season, Goritsy is visited by more than 100 thousand tourists from both Russia and other countries.
ClimateThe climate is moderately continental, with a long, moderately cold winter and a relatively short, warm summer. The severity of the climate increases from west to east. The average temperature in January ranges from −11 °C in the west of the oblast to −14 °C in the east, while the average temperature in July ranges from +16 °C to +18 °C, respectively. Precipitation is fairly high-500-650 mm per year (with a maximum in the summer months); evaporation is much lower, so the oblast is rich in rivers, lakes, and swamps. Snow cover lasts 165-170 days.
