October 2011 : Golden ring with Vladimir and Suzdal

End August, by still hot and fine summer days, we continued to discover historical cities of the Golden Ring around Moscow. After Sergiev Posad (see August 2010 post) and Yaroslav (see April 2011 post), it is the couple Vladimir-Suzdal because there are not far each other. To visit these towns you need 1 day for each of them.

The city of Vladimir is located in the central region of Russia, approximately 180 km northeast of Moscow. A large transport highway connecting Moscow and Nijni Novgorod passes through the city : we took the SAPSAN « High speed » train (1 hour 45 min from Moscow). Vladimir is located on the high west shore of the Klyazma River. Almost all the city sights are located in the historical center of the city.

The city is famous for its architectural monuments of Vladimir-Suzdal school of painting,

Golden Gates (1158-1164, were reconstructed in 17th-18th centuries),
Cathedral of Assumption,
Cathedral of St. Demetrius, together with white stone are among sites of UNESCO’s world heritage.

Vladimir history :

In 1108, Vladimir Monomakh began strengthening the city as it was a bordering city of Rostovo-Suzdal principality. Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky made the city more flourishing. He transferred the capital of Russia from Moscow to Vladimir in 1157. In Vladimir and neighboring Suzdal, the school of painting was founded. In 1238, the Tatar-Mongol invasion destroyed the city. The invasions continued the following years and in 1293 the city was absolutely destroyed (at this time, it was wood houses). In 1299, Vladimir town became the residence of Russian moscovites, the political importance of the city intensified for some time and strengthened its status as the capital of Russia. But, by mid 14th century, it lost its role of capital of Russia because of Moscow rising role. In November 1797, the first printing house was opened. In 1847 a drama theater was founded in the city. In 1861, a railway Moscow-Vladimir was constructed. In 1908, the first power station was put into operation. On January 14th, 1929, Vladimir becomes a part of Ivanovskaya oblast, and on August 14th, 1944 it received the status of the center of Vladimirskaya oblast. In 1964 a Polytechnical Institute was opened in the city.

St. Demetrius Cathedral :
The Cathedral of St. Demetrius, built by Prince Vsevolod III, is one of the most graceful churches in Vladimir. The first mystery of this cathedral involves its birth. None of the chronicles mention exactly when this royal church was built. However, there are many reports that in 1197 the icon of St. Demetrius of Salonica was brought here from Byzantium, so it is assumed that it was around this date that the cathedral was constructed (so, between 1193 and 1197).

Assumption Cathedral :
The magnificent Assumption Cathedral is what you see first when you enter Cathedral Square-and when you approach the City from the east. The original cathedral, with its paintings on the exterior walls, gilded decorative friezes, and carved reliefs, was destroyed in the tragic fire of 1185. That fire changed the face of the Cathedral, but the restored version remains a wonderful masterpiece. The Cathedral also survived when after the city's capture by the Mongol-Tartars in 1238 the prince's family was locked inside and the building was once again burned. Assumption Cathedral, apart from being a solemn witness to these tragic events, has also enjoyed fame in its own right : It was the principal church where the princes of ancient Russia were crowned.

To see more cathedrals in Vladimir, and listen religious Russian songs, please watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idoFGDKs2b4

After these cathedrals let's go to the Saint Bogolyubov Monastery.

Bogolyubovo is an urban settlement on the Klyasma River, 10 km away from Vladimir. It was founded in the mid 12th century as the Prince’s fortified residence palace at the strategic spot near the meeting of the Nerl and Klyasma rivers. As a legend says, when Andrey Bogolyubsky was going north from Kyev in the late 1150s, his horses stopped where Bogolyubovo is located now, and would not step any further. This is supposedly why Andrey established his capital nearby Vladimir and why the icon of the Mother of God that he was keeping became so closely related to Vladimir’s, and ultimately Russia’s history.

Saint Bogolyubov Monastery was established at the palace of Andrey Bogolyubsky. In the 1230s the fortifications of Bogolyubovo were destroyed by the Tatar invaders. Inside the monastery there has been preserved a part of the prince’s palace (a tower) and an arch connecting it to the Nativity Cathedral dating back to the 13th century.

Apart from the preserved fragment, the palace used to have a stone wall 800 meters long and a range of palace buildings. Here the Prince Andrey spent 17 years and here he was murdered by hostile boyars. The survived tower with the spiral stairs was a sort of the palace’s inner porch. On the other side of the cathedral there was a similar tower. Now the tower is empty inside, its walls are decorated with the 13th century frescoes depicting scenes of Andrey’s life and his murder. The hipped belfry above the tower was overbuilt in the 13th century.

The major church of the monastery is nowadays the Cathedral of Our Lady’s Bogolyubovo Icon.

There are also sacred gates, cell buildings, and other household premises preserved. Nowadays there is an operating nunnery at the scene of the former residence of the Prince.

Not far from this monastery, we will have a 1 km walk from the railway pedestrian bridge to the Church of the Intercession the Nerl river.
One of the most poetic structures of Ancient Russia is this church of the Intercession, situated in the flooded meadows at the confluence of the Nerl and Klyazma rivers. It was built of white stone, the shape of the church is graceful and the silhouette is elegant. This church is the masterpiece of white stone traditions of Andrei Bogolyubsky's reign. It's on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.

Now, let's go to Suzdal !
I do recommend to spend the night to Suzdal (there are some guest houses, and also hotels) instead of Vladimir.

Suzdal is a historic small town (around 10.000 inhabitants) about 25 km north of Vladimir. It was once the capital of several Russian principalities and has many examples of early Russian architecture. It is probably the most interesting city of the Golden Ring cities.

Suzdal was founded in 1024 as a fortress town on the Kamenka River. By the beginning of the 13th century it had become the capital of Suzdal principality and a political and religious center of Russia. But, unfortunately, in 1238 the town was destroyed by the Mongols under the leadership of Batu Khan and never recovered its former importance. In the 15th century, Suzdal passed to the grand Duchy of Moscow. The town is fabulously rich in the unique architectural monuments of the 13th-18th centuries including ancient cathedrals and monasteries, bell-towers and churches, one and two-story wooden and brick buildings. Suzdal is truly a town-museum distinguished for its fidelity to ancient traditions.

The open-air museum is another name for this glorious city where the small area comprises more than 200 ancient monuments.

Among all monuments to see in Souzdal :

The Cathedral of the Nativity : It is one of the eight white monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal, one of the most complex monuments of Russian medieval architecture. It was originally constructed during the reign of Vladimir Monomakh during the late 11th century. The Cathedral of the Nativity is surrounded by a ring of earthen walls in an oxbow of Kamenka River.

Wooden Church of Saint Nicholas : This church was built in Glotovo Russia in 1766 and was recently moved to Suzdal in 1960 to be part of a museum of wooden architecture. This church is made out of all wood and represents the close relationship between wood and stone architecture and how precise the Russians were while building this back in 1766.

St John the Baptist Church : The amazing thing about this church is the difference between the types of architecture of the two churches that were built during the same time period. Whereas the Saint Nicholas church is all wooden the St John Church is made out of white plastered walls with wooden supports.

▪ The Saint Alexander Convent. This church was built in 1240 by an unknown architect. In the old times, the Convent of St. Alexander was known as the Grand Lavra and served as a burial vault for Suzdal princesses : It is said that the princesses of Suzdal, Mariya and Agrippina, were buried here in 14th century. The old architecture with new improvements makes this church interesting and different.

▪ Convent of Intercession. The convent was built in 1264. In the center of this beautiful white walled convent is the cathedral of the Intercession : it was an add on built in 1518 by an unknown man. This building is filled with beautiful arches and art created in the 16th and 17th century. Unfortunately, it is closed to the visitors.

. The monastery of our Savior and St Eutymius. The monastery was founded in the 14th century on the northern outskirts of Suzdal. It was built as a fortress to defend the town from all the enemies - both external and internal. The founder of the monastery was sainted monk Euthimius of Suzdal. Earlier wooden structures of the monastery have not survived and the imposing stone ensemble which stands out in all its beauty on the high steep bank of the Kamenka river now was formed in the 16th -17th centuries.