"I would like to live with you in a small town, where there are eternal twilight and eternal domes..." These lines by Marina Tsvetaeva evoke the image of a small ancient town located just over 300 kilometers northeast of Moscow. This town, with its unique history, is the birthplace of my ancestors. I read with great interest everything written by our local historians about the places dear to my heart.

Since childhood, I remember buses with tourists arriving at the museum of Dmitry Andreyevich Furmanov. In 1941, in his honor, the town of Sereda was renamed Furmanov. Now it is in the Ivanovo region, whereas it used to be part of the Kostroma province. The town became industrial thanks to merchants and manufacturers who established textile production here. The railway station divides the town into a quiet rural area with wooden houses and an industrial zone with factories and urban infrastructure.

Upon entering the town via Bolshaya Furmanovskaya Street, little has changed since the days of the Catherine Highway: two-story houses, where the first floor is stone and the second wooden, stand as they did before. The village of Sereda was commercial and wealthy, with fairs and markets, and belonged to the Cherkassky princes, then to the Baryatinsky family. From those times, the Church of the Ascension has survived, greeting travelers upon entering the town.

In the center of the town, near the station, stands a large temple built by the Skvortsov-Pavlov family in memory of their deceased son. The temple in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Joy of All Who Sorrow" is still active today. The Skvortsov-Pavlov estate, a large stone mansion, is now used as warehouses. My childhood was spent nearby, in the garden of the former estate, among ancient trees and an old pond.

In the center of the town, the mansions of the manufacturer and philanthropist G.K. Gorbunov and his son-in-law, engineer N.I. Losev, have been preserved. Grigory Klementyevich was known not only for his business but also for his charity. Their factories, houses, hospitals, and schools remain in Furmanov, Plyos, and Moscow.

On Soviet Street, formerly Merchant Street, is my favorite mansion, an architectural monument gifted by G.K. Gorbunov for his daughter's wedding. It now houses the Trubnikov Art Gallery, located by the pond surrounded by alleys.

On this street is the Old Believer Church in honor of the Holy Trinity, built by G.K. Gorbunov, now the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God. And not far from the Shacha River was the estate of A.I. Shipov, known for its hospitality and receptions for distinguished guests.

These stories are known from the tales of the old-timers. My grandmother, born in 1891, fondly recalled her youth. In the works of local historians, I found examples of the kind attitude of the nobility and manufacturers towards the common people.

Although the estate buildings have not survived, descendants of the nobility from the Kostroma province come here to feel the energy of the place. You can get here by the "Lastochka" train or by bus; the road is good, and there are hotels both in Ivanovo and in Furmanov.