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Suzdal
Suzdal is a town and the administrative center
of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the
Kamenka River, 26 kilometers from the city of Vladimir, the
administrative center of the oblast.
The history of the town dates back to at least
the year 1024. It is called Sursdalar or Sudrdala (the southern
valley) in the Norse Sagas, which probably also is the origin of
the town´s name. For centuries it functioned as the capital of
several Russian principalities. It forms part of the Golden Ring.
It was chartered in 1777.
After a decline in political importance, the
town rose in prominence as a religious center with numerous
monasteries and a remarkable ratio of churches to citizens: at one
point, forty churches for four hundred families. Today, the town
operates as an important tourist center, featuring many fine
examples of old Russian architecture—most of them churches
and monasteries. Walking through the town, one might get the
feeling that every third building is a church. Although having over
ten thousand residents, Suzdal still retains a rural look with
streams and meadows everywhere and chicken and livestock a common
sight on the streets, some of which remain unpaved. This
juxtaposition of stunning medieval architecture with its pastoral
setting lends Suzdal a picturesque charm and in the summer artists
and easels are a common sight.
Monuments
Wooden Church of St. Nicholas. This church was built in Glotovo
in 1766 and was moved to Suzdal in 1960 to be part of a museum of
wooden architecture. The church is elevated off the ground about a
story high from when it was moved across the country. This church
is made out of all wood and represents the close relationship
between wood and stone architecture and how precise the Russians
were while building this back in 1766.
St. John the Baptist Church. This church was
built in 1720, at the same time that the St. Nicholas church was
built, although the difference between the types of architecture of
the two churches is quite remarkable. Whereas the St. Nicholas
Church is all wooden, the St. John Church is made out of white
plastered walls with wooden supports.
The St. Alexander Convent. This church was built in 1240 by an
unknown architect. It is said that the princesses of
Convent of Intercession. The convent was founded in 1264. In its
center stands the cathedral of the Intercession; it was an add-on
built in 1518 by an unknown man. The interior of the cathedral has
no paintings or stained glass, it is simply plain white stone walls
all around. The church was and still is one of the richest convents
in Russia. The convent is the home of many nuns and is also the
burial vault for twenty nuns of noble birth. Connected to the white
stoned wall cathedral is an art museum which can be toured. There
are many paintings but none in the cathedral itself. This building
is filled with arches and art created in the 16th and 17th
century.
Suzdal Kremlin
The Suzdal Kremlin (Russian:
Суздальский
кремль) is the oldest part of
the Russian city of Suzdal, dating from the 10th century. Like
other Russian Kremlins, it was originally a fortress or citadel and
was the religious and administrative center of the city. It is most
notably the site of the Cathedral of the Nativity.
While archeological evidence suggests that the
Suzdal Kremlin was settled as early as the 10th century, the
fortress itself was built in the late 11th or early 12th century.
The fortress was strategically located on a bend of the Kamenka
river on three sides and a moat to the east. It was surrounded by
earthen ramparts that remain to the present day. A settlement
(posad Russian: посад) to the east
became home the secular population - shopkeepers and craftsmen,
while the Kremlin proper was the home of the prince, the
archbishop, and the high clergy.
From the 13th to the 16th centuries, several
monasteries and churches were constructed, including the Cathedral
of the Nativity, the Convent of the Intercession, and the Monastery
of Our Saviour and St. Euthymius.
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