The expanse of 'Cathedral Sq' is at the heart of downtown Vladimir. Its 22m-tall monument was built for the 850th anniversary of the town's founding. Three bronze statues at each side of the obelisk represent past and present: a warrior of Rus looks west to the Golden Gate; an architect gazes southward at the Assumption Cathedral; and a modern-day worker looks east towards the town's industrial area.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Saviour Monastery of St Euthymius
21.04 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…
Church of the Intercession on the Nerl
7.56 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…
19.95 MILES
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…
0.4 MILES
This red-brick former water tower contains a multistorey exhibit of everyday objects from Vladimir's history (no English signage); the display of old…
0.13 MILES
Set dramatically high above the Klyazma River, this simple but majestic piece of pre-Mongol architecture is the legacy of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, the…
Museum of Wooden Architecture & Peasant Life
19.7 MILES
This open-air museum across the river from Suzdal's kremlin offers a fascinating glimpse into the traditional lives of rural folk in this area. Besides…
0.13 MILES
Built between 1193 and 1197, this exquisite, Unesco-listed white-stone cathedral represents the epitome of Russian stone carving. The attraction here is…
0.27 MILES
This pedestrian-only street curving southwest from the main strip was lovingly recreated in 2015 as a brick-paved thoroughfare from the old days, dotted…
Nearby Golden Ring attractions
0.12 MILES
The grand 18th-century court building between the Assumption and St Dmitry Cathedrals – known as Palaty ('chambers') – houses a children’s museum (adult…
0.13 MILES
Set dramatically high above the Klyazma River, this simple but majestic piece of pre-Mongol architecture is the legacy of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, the…
0.13 MILES
Built between 1193 and 1197, this exquisite, Unesco-listed white-stone cathedral represents the epitome of Russian stone carving. The attraction here is…
0.17 MILES
This museum displays many remains and reproductions of the ornamentation from Vladimir’s two cathedrals as part of an extensive exhibition covering the…
0.27 MILES
This pedestrian-only street curving southwest from the main strip was lovingly recreated in 2015 as a brick-paved thoroughfare from the old days, dotted…
0.34 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;…
0.4 MILES
This red-brick former water tower contains a multistorey exhibit of everyday objects from Vladimir's history (no English signage); the display of old…
0.42 MILES
In the 1160s Andrei Bogolyubsky built five defensive gates to guard his city; only this former western entrance survives. It was later restored and…