Cherepovets was first time mentioned in the Russina chronicles in 1362, when Resurrection monastery was opened by a follower fo Sergiy Radonezhskiy, famous Russian saint. The territories, where the monastery was built, were already inhabited and called “Cherepoves’”. The word “Cherepoves’” is believed to origin from word “cherep’”, meaning “hill”, and “ves’”, meaning “village”. The monastery existed for 400 years and was abolished in 1764 by Catherine the Great.

In 1777 Cherepovets obtained town status, which, however, was nearly abolished by Pavel I in 1796. Local citizens didn’t agree with that decision, and Cherepovets became a town for the second time in 1802, and nine years after the town got its own coat-of-arms.

The town grew quite slowly – official population of Cherepovets was 901 in 1810. The only industrial enterprise of the town was a brick plant, employing 7 citizens. The town gained significance, when Mariinskaya water system was built in 1810. Town dwellers got involved in navigation, vessel building and maintenance. In the middle of the 19^th century Cherepovets hosted 3300 dwellers.

The town started rapidly developing in 1860s, when serfdom was abolished, and many peasants moved to the urban area. Merchants actively participated in Cherepovets development – a wharf, a harbor, mechanical shipbuilding plant and many more facilities appeared due to local merchants. Merchants also promoted railway to come to the town, which happened quite soon, facilitating trading activities. Cherepovets obtained a public bank, a hospital, a museum, an agricultural school, a library and many other things that any town needs.

In the 20^th century the town kept growing and developing. In 1905 trains connected the town with Vologda and St. Petersburg; in 1911 new haven was built. In 1917, when Communists came to power, 12 thousand people lived in Cherepovets. More industrial enterprises were built in the area, and in 1941 the large water reservoir – Rybinsk water storage – started to be filled with water.

During the World War II, known as Great patriotic war in Russia, Cherepovets was used as an evacuation zone, where hospitals were located, and refugees lived. Territories around the town became the place, where German and Finnish prisoners of war were kept. After the war Cherepovets kept developing as an industrial city – first cast iron was made in 1955, and steel production started in 1958. More industrial and chemical enterprises appeared in 1960s and 1970s, and a new river port was built.

In 1978 a large suspension bridge, one of the three largest bridges of the type in Russia, connected banks of the river Sheksna. One of the largest industrial cities of our country hosts one of the biggest blast furnaces in Europe. In the middle of 1980s city population reached 300 thousand people, and the city keeps growing ever since. Most citizens of Cherepovets are employed at various industrial enterprises.