[8] It is not clear when Kargopol was founded, but, when first chronicled in 1146, it was a trade station of the Novgorod Republic and one of the most northerly permanent Slavic settlements.

[citation needed] Although documentation for its early history is scarce, it is believed that Kargopol was the most significant trade center of Bjarmaland throughout the 13th and 14th centuries.

Situated on the ancient route between Moscow and Arkhangelsk (then the only Russian seaport), Kargopol became one of the most prosperous cities of Russia, especially after the Muscovy Company started to operate in the mid-16th century.

This is the historic trading route which connected Kargopol with Arkhangelsk before the railroad was built and long stretches of this road are still unpaved.

This did not occur since the construction had already started in August 1894, and since the detour would have been too big, as Kargopol is not on a straight line connecting Vologda with Arkhangelsk.

The town is located on both sides of the Onega River, several miles north of Lake Lacha, in the southwestern corner of the oblast.

It is best known in Russia for Kargopol toys (Kargopolskiye igrushki), which are small, simple clay figures painted in traditional style.

[16] This is a cloak organization, which not only holds ethnographic, art, and historic exhibits, but also protects some of the architectural monuments in Kargopol and surroundings.