ally came to work. Other trades for which Yaroslavl became a center over the years were in the production of textiles, cosmetics (fragrances) and silver work.
As a result of the prosperity enjoyed by the city, Yaroslavl saw a huge expansion in the size of its population over the course of the 17th century, and by the end of this century, the town had a population of around 15,000 people, making it the second largest city of the Russian Tsardom after Moscow. This period was also particularly important for the urban development of the city, because during the 17th century a multitude of stone-walled churches were built in the city; today these churches still form a major part of the old town's city center. Work on most of these churches was begun with funds gifted to the city by rich local merchants, and thus they had a large say in what form the buildings would eventually take.
The living quarters and work place for employees of Yaroslavl's first major industrial enterprise, the city's textiles plant
In 1658, Yaroslavl endured a disastrous fire which destroyed most of the city's few remaining wooden buildings, including the ancient Kremlin. From this point onwards the city began to develop in the same way as it has done up to this very day, as a city built almost exclusively out of brick and mortar.
At the beginning of the 18th century Yaroslavl finally began to transform itself from a trading post into a major industrial town; this largely came about because with the foundation by Peter the Great of Saint Petersburg in 1703, the importance of Arkhangelsk as a port on the Northern Ocean was drastically decreased, and the amount of trade being channeled through the city for export fell accordingly. Luckily, the wealth which Yaroslavl had amassed over its many years as an important trading post allowed it to invest great amounts of money into the development of the city's new industrial base, and thus make the city very attractive to new
