In antiquity, a pagan sanctuary was there in honor of the god Veles on the hill at the confluence of the Sheksna and Yagorba Rivers.

"[13] Another version suggests that the word "Cherepovets" originates from the name of the tribe "Ves" (весь), who inhabited the Sheksna's banks.

Several centuries were needed to develop the small village into a prominent trade, manufacturing, and regional transportation center.

Cherepovets was granted city status in 1777 by Catherine the Great and became the center of a separate uyezd in the administrative structure of the Novgorod Governorate.

The Mariinsk Canal System connected Cherepovets with the Volga River to the south and the Baltic Sea to the west.

In September 1937, most of the former Cherepovets Governorate territories (except for Tikhvin district) were transferred to the newly established Vologda Oblast.

The subsequent development of the city is closely related to the completion of the construction of the Cherepovets steel mill (now known as Severstal) in 1955, the second-largest in the country.

Unlike the majority of the most important metallurgy centers in the former Soviet Union, the location of the future steel plant was selected far away from the actual mineral resources and deposits.

The reason for that was the logistic advantage of having a well-developed infrastructure that allowed connection of the north and northwest of the country by rail, road, and waterways into a single operation system.

The joint-stock company 'Severstal' (LSE, MOEX) is a global exporter of ferrous and nonferrous metals: iron, steel, hot-rolled plates, cold roll-formed shapes, and other products.

[18] As an outcome of the high volume of metallurgical and chemical production, Cherepovets is one of the most heavily polluted cities in the world.

Cherepovets has rail and road access to Vologda, the administrative center of the oblast, to Moscow, the capital of Russia, and to St. Petersburg.

Not only is Cherepovets an industrial city, but also it is a center of culture, education, and sport, with associations of local writers, poets, actors, painters, composers, and journalists.