Lyubytino
Lubytino is one of the oldest townships of Novgorod region as it has already reached its 1000th year. There are an unusually great number of archeological monuments at the area of 3x10 km. that make Lubytino so unique. Right in the central part of the town at the very bridge over the Msta river there are enormous tumuli up to 10 meters high that used to be worshipped and adored at the Pagan times. Over 200 tumuli of various high can be found all around the township.
The group of tumuli, incl. 47 ones up to 9 meters high, and the well-known tumulus 156 meters long are the ones of the most unique archeological objects. The same groups of monuments can be found in neither other parts of Novgorod region, nor in the whole North-West of Russia. Over there - at the territory of present-day Lubytino - in 9th - 10th cc. the Slavs used to settle up and down along the Msta river and center the life of the land.
Local Slavic rulers and their armed forces lived in Lubytino as the tributes were brought here, intertribal meetings were held here. Actually, one thousand years ago Lubytino was rapidly turning into a city able to compete with Novgorod to rule the eastern parts of Novgorod land. Though is has never happened. There are hardly any chronicles observing the ancient history of the territories to the east of the Ilmen lake except the one of 947 on the martial trip of Olga, the Kiev princess, to Msta and Luga. Pomestie, the district of present-day Lubytino, was primarily attacked then and the princess's courtyard was founded. Later there were two independent settlements along mouth of the Belaya river.