MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti) - The city of Tver in central Russia is seeking UNESCO World Heritage Site status for its historic center, the regional governor, Dmitry Zelenin, said on Tuesday.

So far only historic centers of St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl have received UNESCO recognition, although a number of ancient monuments in Moscow, Veliky Novgorod, Vologda, Kazan, Vladimir, Derbent and Suzdal have also made it into the list.

The first written record of Tver is dated 1164. In 13th and 14th centuries the city competed with Moscow to become the Russian capital. A total of 10,000 historical monuments are located in the city and its surrounds.

Tver was almost completely rebuilt in the late 18th century after a disastrous fire in 1763 destroyed most of the city.