Kremlin

Top choice


The grandfather of the Moscow Kremlin, this citadel was the 12th-century base of Prince Yury Dolgoruky, who ruled the vast northeastern part of Kyivan Rus (and, among other things, founded a small outpost that would eventually become the Russian capital). The 1.4km-long earthen ramparts of Suzdal’s kremlin enclose a few streets of houses and a handful of churches, as well as the main cathedral group on ul Kremlyovskaya.

The Unesco-listed Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral, its deep blue domes spangled with gold stars, was built in 1225 (only its richly carved lower section is original white stone, though, the rest being 16th-century brick). The inside is sumptuous, with 13th- and 17th-century frescoes and 13th-century damascene (gold on copper) west and south doors.

Within the kremlin, the Archbishop’s Chambers (Архиерейские палаты) house the Suzdal History Exhibition, which includes the original 13th-century door from the cathedral, photos of its interior and a visit to the 18th-century Cross Hall (Крестовая палата), which was used for receptions. The tent-roofed 1635 kremlin bell tower (Звонница), directly across the yard from the cathedral, contains additional exhibits, including the 17th-century Jordan Canopy (Иорданская сень), the only one of its kind left in Russia; every January on Epiphany Day, this 28m-tall painted wooden structure would be placed over a cross-shaped hole in the ice on the Kamenka for the annual rite of blessing the river water.

To the southwest, between the cathedral and the river, is the 1766 Nikolskaya Wooden Church (Никольская деревянная церковь), which was moved to Suzdal from a nearby village in 1960. Other rural wooden buildings were subsequently moved for preservation to the excellent Museum of Wooden Architecture & Peasant Life, across the river.

If you don't want to see all of the exhibitions, you can pay for admission to the cathedral separately; to walk around the grounds only costs R50 (children get in free).


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral

0.02 MILES

The Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral, whose blue domes spangled with gold dominate the front courtyard of the Suzdal kremlin, was founded in the 1220s…

4. Torgovaya Ploshchad

0.34 MILES

Suzdal’s Torgovaya pl (Market Sq) is dominated by the pillared Trading Arcades (Торговые ряды; 1806–11) along its western side. There are several churches…

5. Holy Intercession Convent

0.88 MILES

It's a classic Suzdal picture: the whitewashed beauty of monastic walls surrounded by green meadows on the banks of the lazily meandering river. Inside…

6. Saviour Monastery of St Euthymius

1.11 MILES

Founded in the 14th century to protect the town’s northern entrance, Suzdal’s biggest monastery grew mighty in the 16th and 17th centuries after Vasily…

7. Church of the Intercession on the Nerl

15.9 MILES

Tourists and pilgrims all flock to Bogolyubovo, just 12km northeast of Vladimir, for this perfect little jewel of a 12th-century church standing amid a…

8. Nativity Monastery

19.73 MILES

Founded in 1192 by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky's successor, Prince Vsevolod III, this monastery was for a while considered the heart of the Russian church;…