Things to do in Suzdal
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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 1…
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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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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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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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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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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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Alexandrovsky Convent
The little white convent at the top of the river embankment, the Alexandrovsky Convent stands out for its simple, quiet beauty. Reputedly founded in 1240 by Alexander Nevsky for noble women whose menfolk had been killed by nomadic raiders, its present Ascension Church (Voznesenskaya tserkov) and bell tower date from 1695.
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Yarmarka Remesyol
Suzdal’s Torgovaya pl (Trade Sq) is dominated by the pillared Trading Arcades (built 1806–11) along its western side. The arcades now house a variety of shops and cafés, as well as the excellent Yarmarka Remesyol, a shop specialising in arts and crafts made in Suzdal.
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Mead-Tasting Hall
Hidden at the rear of the trading arcades, this hall is done up like a church interior – floor-to-ceiling frescoes, arched ceilings and stained-glass windows. The menu features different varieties of medovukha, a mildly alcoholic honey ale that was drunk by the princes of old.
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Resurrection Church
There are four churches in the immediate vicinity of Sudzal's Torgovaya pl (Trade Sq), including the Resurrection Church. Make the precarious climb to the top of the bell tower and be rewarded with wonderful views of Suzdal’s gold-domed skyline.
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Hotel Tourist Complex
The rolling hills and attractive countryside around Suzdal are ideal for outdoor adventures, including horse riding and mountain biking. The Hotel Tourist Complex rents bicycles, snowmobiles and skis, as well as offering horse-riding tours.
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Goryachie Klyuchi
Rural Suzdal is a great place to cleanse body and soul in the Russian bani (hot baths). Beautiful, lakeside bani are available for rent at Goryachie Klyuchi starting at R880 for up to four people.
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Our Lady of Smolensk Church
Across ul Lenina from the southeastern corner of the Saviour Monastery Of St Euthymius is Our Lady of Smolensk Church, along with Suzdal's only surviving early-18th-century town house.
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St Lazarus’ Church
Almost every corner in Suzdal has its own little church with its own charm, including the the slender, multicoloured tower of St Lazarus’ Church, from 1667.
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Slavyansky Bar
For a quick refresher, this is a pleasant, convenient stop. The menu is mostly drinks and snacks, but hungrier patrons will also find something to satisfy them.
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Kremlin Trapeznaya
The attraction here is the choice location inside the Archbishop’s Chambers. This place has been serving tasty, filling Russian favourites for 300 years.
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Kremlin Refectory
The attraction here is the atmospheric location inside the Archbishop's Chambers. This place has been serving tasty, filling Russian favourites for 300 years.
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Pokrovskaya Trapeznaya
On the grounds of the Intercession Convent, the old refectory is now a rustic restaurant serving hearty Russian fare in an atmospheric old wooden building.
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Emperor Constantine Church
The five-domed 1707 Emperor Constantine Church in Trade Square's northeastern corner is a working church with an ornate interior.
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St Nicholas
St Nicholas, just east of the cathedral group is one of Suzdal’s own fine small 18th-century churches.
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Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral
The lavish, neo-Byzantine Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral, built in 1856, overlooks the central market.
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Trading Arcades
Suzdal's Torgovaya pl (Trade Sq) is dominated by the pillared Trading Arcades (1806-11) along its western side.
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SS Kosma & Damian Church
The SS Kosma & Damian Church (1725) is picturesquely placed on a bend in the river east of ul Lenina.
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Virgin of All Sorrows Church
Next to the Emperor Constantine Church is the smaller 1787 Virgin of All Sorrows Church.
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