Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval and early modern Russia until 1703, when it was replaced by the newly founded Saint Petersburg.

[citation needed] In 1989, an unusually impressive silver treasure was found by local farm workers by the mouth of Dvina, right next to present-day Arkhangelsk.

Generally such finds, whether from Scandinavia, the Baltic area, or Russia, are closely tied to well-established agricultural societies with considerable trade activity.

In the center of the small town (or Gorodok) that is there today is a large mound of building remains and river sand, but it has not been archeologically excavated.

Three English ships the Bona Esperanza, Edward Bonaventure, and Bona Confidentia set out to find the Northeast passage to China in 1553; two disappeared, and one, the Edward Bonaventure ended up in the White Sea at Nyonoksa, eventually coming across the area of Arkhangelsk at the mouth of the Dvina River where the St. Nicolas Monastery stood.

[citation needed] In 1584, Ivan ordered the founding of New Kholmogory (which would later be renamed after the nearby Archangel Michael Monastery).

At the time access to the Baltic Sea was still mostly controlled by Sweden, so while Arkhangelsk was icebound in winter, it remained Moscow's almost sole link to the sea-trade.

Local inhabitants, called Pomors, were the first to explore trade routes to Northern Siberia as far as the trans-Urals city of Mangazeya and beyond.

In December 1613, during the Time of Troubles, Arkhangelsk was besieged by Polish-Lithuanian marauders commanded by Stanislaw Jasinski (Lisowczyks), who failed to capture the fortified town.

However, he also realized that Arkhangelsk would always be limited as a port due to the five months of ice cover, and after a successful campaign against Swedish armies in the Baltic area, he founded Saint Petersburg in May 1703.

Nonetheless, Arkhangelsk continued to be an important naval base and maritime centre in the Russian north.

[21] In 1722, Peter the Great decreed that Arkhangelsk should no longer accept goods that amounted to more than was sufficient for the town (for so-called domestic consumption).

The White Army was supported by an Allied intervention in which British, French, Italian, and American troops helped to defend against the Bolsheviks.

The Allied forces, led by British Lieutenant General Frederick Poole, suffered numerous set-backs and eventually withdrew from Russia.

Without Allied support, the poorly disciplined White Army quickly collapsed and the Bolsheviks entered Arkhangelsk on February 21, 1920.

During World War II, the city became known in West Europe as one of the two main destinations (along with Murmansk) of the Arctic convoys bringing supplies in to assist the Soviet Union.

Today, Arkhangelsk remains a major seaport, now open year-round due to improvements in icebreakers.

[8] For administrative purposes, the city is divided into nine territorial okrugs:[25] Arkhangelsk is the final destination of Northern Railway.

[29] After its historic churches were destroyed during Joseph Stalin's rule, the city's main extant landmarks are the fort-like Merchant Yards (1668–1684) and the New Dvina Fortress (1701–1705).

[31] The cathedral, situated near the city's main bus station and river port, is expected to be completed and consecrated in 2019.

This thirteen-story, 44-metre (144 ft) tall[34][35] residence of the local entrepreneur Nikolay Petrovich Sutyagin was reported to be the world's, or at least Russia's, tallest wooden house.

These folkloric motives and fairy tales inspired the literary works of Stepan Pisakhov and Boris Shergin, who were both natives of Arkhangelsk.

More extreme climates at this high latitude - such as Fairbanks, Alaska or Oymyakon, Sakha Republic - have much colder winters than Arkhangelsk, indicating that there is still significant moderation from the Atlantic Ocean.