November 2011 : Zvenigorod

Before starting with Zvenigorod subject, we will discover another region 80km South of Moscow where we recently hiked with a Russian group.

We started from Talej with a sacred spring where, as usual, people are filling bottles and demijohns, but also cold bath (3°C, but I have not tested !) in a small house for men and another one for women. Russian people told us that is is good for health : maybe ?

Then, after 10km walk, another surprise : a monastery at Novy Buit !

The first church of the monastery was founded by David Serpukhov at the beginning of the XVI century, around 1515. David and his friends builded a wooden church in honor of the Ascension on the banks of the river Lopasnya.

The first stone building (church of the Ascension) was erected at the end of the XVI century. Then, with the death of Ivan IV began the time of troubles, and in 1619, it was ravaged by the Lithuanians. Finally, the Ascension Cathedral was rebuilt in the XVIII century, with other buildings. Since 1917, the monastery was entering a new period in its history : destroyed, looted, destroyed ....  The revival of the monastery begins in 1992. In 1995 it was decided to resume the monastic life. From 1997 to 1999, restoration work took place in the monastery, and finally, in 2003, Ascension Cathedral was consecrated.

And in winter it looks like that !

Now, we go to Zvenigorod, 45km West of Moskow, with an "elektrichka" (slow train ... but cheap !). Then, you need to take a local bus because the railway station is far from the town and the monastery.

An "elektrichka" !

As told in a legend, Zvenigorod got its name (ringing city) thanks to its bells, which rang out for hundreds of miles around. When neighboring villages heard them, they also began to sound the alarm by tolling bells, and so on until the signal reached Moscow, warning the capital of the kingdom of the approach of an enemy. One of the oldest cities in the Moscow region, Zvenigorod was founded by Yury Dolgoruky in 1152, and is mentioned in chronicles from 1339.

Abundant woods, hills and springs, picturesque environs : Zvenigorod is often called Russian Barbizon, or Russian America, or Russian Switzerland.

Zvenigorod's nature was a source of inspiration for whole generations of artists, musicians, writers and poets. It nourished the genius of young Pushkin, nurtured the creative work of Petr Tchaikovsky, or Anton Tchekhov. Enchanted by this nature, Tchaikovsky wrote : "The more I see this picturesque locality abundant in forests, the more I revel in it".

Despite its small size (16.000 inhabitants), the city is rich in tourist attractions.

The Moskva river is crossing Zvnenigorod and is less wide than in Moscow.

The oldest building of Zvenigorod is the Assumption Cathedral located not far from the centre of the town : we can see it behind some pines. It was built in 1396-99 years, on order of prince Yuri, second son of Dmitri Donskoy. Its architecture looks like the Vladimir Assumption cathedral : a cube with 3 apses topped with a simple dome.

The most famous curiosity is the Savvino Storozhevsky monastery.

600 years jubilee !

The monastery was founded in 1398 at the request of Zvenigorod Prince Yury Dmitrievich by the monk Savva, a disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The first building to appear was a wooden church dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. The monastery became a favorite place of prayer of the Russian tsars, including Ivan the Terrible, and it became a royal residence under Alexei Mikhailovich. The grounds were surrounded by stone walls (760 meters long, 8.9 meters high and about 3 meters thick) with seven towers, of which six are preserved. Known in ancient times as the house of "Our Lady on the Storozhakh", the Savvino Storozhevsky monastery had become the place of royal pilgrimage and a favorite residence of the Romanov dynasty tsars.

Inside, the Cathedral of the Nativity was erected in 1404-05 years instead of wooden churches, felled by the Savva.

The relics of St. Sava Storozhevsky is inside the Cathedral of the Nativity. The reliquary of the saint was venerated in the Cathedral since Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich : it did not give peace a revolutionary government, and in March 1919 it was opened, which caused a mutiny among the parishioners.

Unfortunately, the Cathedral of the Nativity was closed due to works when we visited it !

On the right side, a large shop of souvenirs in the white building (Alexia Mikhailovich 's palace built in 1650) where a lot of people were buying something.

We could visit 2 other churches but inside the use of camera is forbidden as in many churches. The one with many bells was big inside and the iconostasis was accidentally photographed (!).

Don't forget to visit the Zvenigorod History, Architecture and Art Museum located in the Tsarina’s chamber at the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery : you should pay additional fees at the entrance of the monastery. The museum displays icons of the royal icon-painters of the 17th century and ancient Russian books, Russian paintings and drawings, and also remarkable pieces of furniture. See the museum on the rigth side of the photo.

After seeing the exhibit, let's go to the Savvinskaya hermitage. When leaving the monastery, turn left out the exit and follow the main road, all the time keeping left.

St. Savva often left the monastery for prayer and went to a deep ravine less than a kilometer from the monastery, where he dug himself a cave.

There was a church built here between 1860 and 1870 : it is a fine example of the ancient Russian architecture style that re-emerged in the 19th century. A unique carved iconostasis of rose, walnut and Siberian birch was made for the temple. Unlike many small isolated places for prayer that were popular in Russia, the Hermitage Monastery consisted of a whole with two churches, and was surrounded by a stone wall with turrets. The hermitage was badly damaged during the Soviet era because many buildings were destroyed : the restoration is still ongoing.