The Primary Chronicle refers to the Lake of Kleshchin, which was a Meryan town on its shore.

The major relic of Kleshchin is a legendary twelve-ton boulder, the "Blue stone", which was worshipped by pagans in centuries past, and is still a venue for celebrating Russian Orthodox holidays.

The Botik (small boat) museum in Pereslavl-Zalessky chronicles the history of the first Russian fleet and keeps one of the original ship models.

[2] In 1925, author Mikhail Prishvin spent a year at a research station near the lake and wrote up his observations of the landscape in his work The Springs of Berendey.

This town was known in the Middle Ages for exporting smoked ryapushka, which was the favorite fish at the Tsars' table.