Sights in Golden Ring
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Trinity Monastery of St Sergius
The Trinity Monastery of St Sergius is an active religious centre with a visible population of monks in residence; visitors should refrain from photographing them. Female visitors should wear headscarves, and men are required to remove hats in the churches. Built in the 1420s, the squat, dark Trinity Cathedral is the heart of the Trinity Monastery. The tomb of St Sergius stands in the southeastern corner, where a memorial service for St Sergius goes on all day, every day. The icon-festooned interior, lit by oil lamps, is largely the work of the great medieval painter Andrei Rublyov and his students. The star-spangled Cathedral of the Assumption was modelled on the…
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Saviour Monastery of St Euthymius
Founded in the 14th century to protect the town’s northern entrance, Suzdal’s monastery grew mighty in the 16th and 17th centuries after Vasily III, Ivan the Terrible and the noble Pozharsky family funded impressive new stone buildings and big land and property acquisitions. It was girded with its great brick walls and towers in the 17th century.
Inside, the Annunciation Gate-Church houses an interesting exhibit on Dmitry Pozharsky (1578–1642), leader of the Russian army that drove the Polish invaders from Moscow in 1612. A tall 16th- to 17th-century cathedral bell tower stands before the seven-domed Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. Every hour from…
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Kremlin
Rostov’s main attraction is its unashamedly photogenic kremlin. Though founded in the 12th century, nearly all the buildings here date to the 1670s and 1680s. With its five magnificent domes, the Assumption Cathedral dominates the kremlin, although it is just outside the latter’s north wall. Outside service hours, you can get inside the cathedral through the door in the church shop on ul Karla Marksa. The cathedral was here a century before the kremlin, while the belfry was added in the 1680s. Each of 15 bells in the belfry has its own name; the largest, weighing 32 tonnes, is called Sysoy, named for the Rostov Metropolitan who oversaw the construction of the kremlin…
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Monastery of St Ipaty
Legend has it that a Tatar prince named Chet (who later founded the house of Godunov) was returning to Moscow in 1330 and fell ill. At this time he had a vision of the Virgin Mary and the martyr Ipaty of the Ganges, which aided his recovery. When he returned to Moscow he was baptised and founded the Monastery of St Ipaty to mark the occasion. In 1590, the Godunovs built the monastery’s Trinity Cathedral (Troitsky sobor), which contains over 80 old frescoes by a school of 17th-century Kostroma painters, headed by Gury Nikitin (plus some 20th-century additions). The monastery’s more recent history is closely tied to the Godunov and Romanov families, fierce rivals in…
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Assumption Cathedral
A white-stone version of Kyiv’s brick Byzantine churches, the Assumption Cathedral was begun in 1158 – its simple but majestic form, adorned with fine carving, was innovative for the time. The cathedral was extended on all sides after a fire in the 1180s, when it gained the four outer domes. Inside the working church, a few restored 12th-century murals of peacocks and prophets can be deciphered about halfway up the inner wall of the outer north aisle; this was originally an outside wall. The real treasures are the Last Judgment frescoes by Andrei Rublyov and Daniil Chyorny, painted in 1408 in the central nave and inner south aisle, under the choir gallery towards…
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Intercession Convent
This convent was founded in 1364, originally as a place of exile for the unwanted wives of tsars. Among them was Solomonia Saburova, first wife of Vasily III, who was sent here in the 1520s because of her supposed infertility. The story goes that she finally became pregnant too late to avoid being divorced. A baby boy was born in Suzdal. Fearing he would be seen as a dangerous rival to any sons produced by Vasily’s new wife, Solomonia secretly had him adopted, pretended he had died and staged a mock burial. This was probably just as well for the boy since Vasily’s second wife did indeed produce a son – Ivan the Terrible. The legend received dramatic corroboration in 1934…
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Botik Museum
Besides being the birthplace of Alexander Nevsky, Botik Museum Pereslavl also claims to be the birthplace of the Russian Navy: Lake Pleshcheevo is one of the places where Peter the Great developed his obsession with the sea. As a young man, he studied navigation here and built a flotilla of over 100 little ships by the time he was 20. You can explore some of this history at the small Botik Museum, situated 4km along the road past the Goritsky Monastery, at the southern end of the lake. Its highlight is the sailboat Fortuna, one of only two of Peter the Great’s boats to survive fire and neglect; the other is in the St Petersburg Naval Museum.
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Nikitsky Monastery
Founded in 1010, the Nikitsky received its current name only in the 12th century, after the death of the martyr St Nikita. To punish himself for his sins, Nikita had clasped his limbs in chains and spent the end of his days in an underground cell on the monastery grounds. The handcuffs, which now hang in the main cathedral, are said to help cure addictions and other worldly vices. Behind the cathedral, a small chapel is being built around the dank cell where Nikita died.
Nikitsky Monastery is about 3km north of the centre on the west side of the main road. Buses 1, 3 and 4 go most of the distance, or you can catch a taxi from Narodnaya pl.
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Military Museum
Vladimir’s Golden Gate – part defensive tower, part triumphal arch – was modelled on the very similar structure in Kyiv. Originally built by Andrei Bogolyubsky to guard the main, western entrance to his city, it was later restored under Catherine the Great. Now you can climb the narrow stone staircase to check out the Military Museum. It is a small exhibit, the centrepiece of which is a diorama of old Vladimir being ravaged by nomadic raiders in 1238 and 1293. Across the street to the south you can see a remnant of the old wall that protected the city.
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Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour
Founded in the 12th century, the Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Saviour was one of Russia’s richest and best-fortified monasteries by the 16th century. The oldest surviving structures, dating from 1516, are the Holy Gate near the main entrance by the river, and the austere Cathedral of the Transfiguration (admission R60; open Thu-Mon). Other buildings house exhibits on history, ethnography and icons, the newest, Treasures of Yaroslavl(admission R100), featuring works of gold, silver and precious gems.
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Solovetsky Transfiguration Monastery
This highly memorable monastery is the island’s heart and soul. It’s contained within a very impressive kremlin of massive boulder-chunk walls whose six sturdy fortress towers are topped with conical wood-shingle roofs. These, along with a quivering flurry of church towers and domes, reflect magnificently in Svyatoe Lake and look equally fine viewed across the port-bay from the 1882 Biological Station. It’s a mesmerising sight worth observing in various lights.
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Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour
The walls of Yury Dolgoruky’s kremlin are now a grassy ring around the central town. Inside is the 1152 Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, one of the oldest buildings in Russia. A bust of Alexander Nevsky stands out in front, while three additional churches across the grassy square make for a picturesque corner. These are the tent-roofed Church of Peter the Metropolitan, built in 1585 and renovated in 1957, and the 18th-century twin churches fronting the road.
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Monastery of the Deposition
The Monastery of the Deposition of the Holy Robe was founded in 1207 but the existing buildings date from the 16th to 19th centuries. The monastery is now pretty dilapidated. Still, its two pyramidal entrance turrets (1688) on the south gate are exquisite. Suzdal's tallest structure, a 72m monastery bell tower (1813-19), rises from the east wall.
The central 16th-century Deposition Cathedral (Rizopolozhensky sobor) is reminiscent of the Moscow Kremlin's Archangel Cathedral with its three helmet domes.
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Nikolsky Women's Monastery
Southwest of the kremlin, the Nikolsky Women's Monastery has undergone a massive renovation. Since its founding in 1350, this monastery has been on the brink of destruction - whether from Tatars, Poles or Communists - more than seems possible to survive. In 1994 four nuns from the Yaroslavl Tolga Convent came to restore the place, and today it looks marvellous. Rumour has it that the rebuilding is being bankrolled by a wealthy Muscovite businessperson who has benefited from the nuns' blessings.
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Church of Peter the Metropolitan
The walls of Yury Dolgoruky's kremlin are now a grassy ring around the central town. Inside is the 1152 Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, one of the oldest buildings in Russia. A bust of Alexander Nevsky stands out in front, while three additional churches across the grassy square make for a picturesque corner. These include the tent-roofed Church of Peter the Metropolitan , built in 1585 and renovated in 1957, and the 18th-century twin churches fronting the road.
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Susaninskaya Pl
Picturesque Susaninskaya Pl was built after a fire in 1773, as an ensemble under Catherine the Great's patronage. Clockwise around the northern side are: a 19th-century fire tower (still in use and under Unesco protection); a former military guardhouse, housing a small literature museum; an 18th-century hotel for members of the royal family; the palace of an 1812 war hero, now a courthouse; and the town hall.
In the streets between are many merchants' town houses.
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Church of SS Boris & Gleb
The 1152 Church of SS Boris & Gleb, on the Nerl River in this quiet village 4km east of Suzdal, is the oldest in the district. It was built for Yury Dolgoruky, who had a small wooden palace here.
The palace has disappeared; the church has been rebuilt many times. But a few fragments of 12th-century frescoes remain, including two figures on horseback. They probably represent Vladimir's sons, Boris and Gleb, who were the first Russian saints.
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Cathedral of the Assumption
The star-spangled Cathedral of the Assumption was modelled on the cathedral of the same name in the Moscow Kremlin. It was finished in 1585 with money left by Ivan the Terrible in a fit of remorse for killing his son. It is closed to the general public but included as a part of guided tours. Outside the west door is the grave of Boris Godunov, the only tsar not buried in the Moscow Kremlin or St Petersburg's SS Peter & Paul Cathedral.
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Suzdal History Exhibition
The Archbishop’s Chambers houses the Suzdal History Exhibition. The exhibition includes the original 13th-century door from the cathedral, photos of its interior and a visit to the 18th-century Cross Hall (Krestovaya palata), which was used for receptions. The tent-roofed 1635 kremlin bell tower on the east side of the yard contains additional exhibits.
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Palaty
The grand building between the Assumption Cathedral and the Cathedral of St Dmitry is known as the Palaty and contains a children’s museum, art gallery and historical exhibit. The former is a welcome diversion for little ones, who may well be suffering from old-church syndrome on this trip. The art gallery features art dating back to the 18th century, with wonderful depictions of the Golden Ring towns.
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Open-Air Museum
This open-air museum, illustrating old peasant life in this region of Russia, is a short walk across the river, south of the Kremlin. Besides log houses, windmills, a barn and lots of tools and handicrafts, its highlights are the 1756 Transfiguration Church (Preobrazhenskaya tserkov) and the simpler 1776 Resurrection Church (Voskresenskaya tserkov).
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Museum Of Wooden Architecture & Peasant Life
The open-air Museum Of Wooden Architecture & Peasant Life, illustrating old peasant life in this region of Russia, is a short walk across the river south of the Kremlin. Besides log houses, windmills, a barn and lots of tools and handicrafts, its highlights are the 1756 Transfiguration Church (Preobrazhenskaya tserkov) and the simpler 1776 Resurrection Church (Voskresenskaya tserkov).
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Art Museum
In the streets between are many merchants’ town houses, two of which comprise the Art Museum. No 5 contains 16th- to 19th-century Russian art, as well as appropriately decorated 19th-century rooms such as the White Hall (Beliy Zal). No 7, built in 1913 to celebrate 300 years of Romanov rule, houses a portrait gallery and a collection of ancient artwork.
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Monastery of the Epiphany
The Monastery of the Epiphany is now the Archbishop of Kostroma’s residence. The large cathedral in this 14th to 19th century complex is the city’s main working church. The 13th century icon of Our Lady of St Theodore, on the right-hand side of the iconostasis, is supposedly the source of many miracles.
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Refectory Church of St Sergius
The huge block with the 'wallpaper' paint job is the Refectory Church of St Sergius, so called because it was once a dining hall for pilgrims. Now it's the Assumption Cathedral's winter counterpart, with morning services in cold weather. It is closed outside of services, except for guided tours. The green building next door is the metropolitan's residence.
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