VLADIMIR

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Assumption Cathedral(1158 - 1160) is a world-famous monument. The white-stone temple was erected by the commission of Andrei Bogoliubsky. After the capital had been transferred from Kiev to Vladimir and the Metropolitan had moved there, the cathedral got the status of the major house of worship in Russia having in its possession the image of the Holy Virgin, the patron icon of Russia.The Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir is taller than the cathedrals of St. Sophia in Kiev and Novgorod. Its height is 32 meters. Its gilded cupolas and the facade, bearing a frieze of arches and columns, emphasize the impressiveness and solemnity. The cathedral of Vladimir was the prototype of the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. Vladimir"s house of worship served as a reliquary for mortal remains of princes and high priests. The bones of Andrei Bogoliubsky, canonized in the 18th century, were laid to rest there. The interior of the cathedral is conspicuous for its exquisiteness and luxury. Ancient chroniclers compared it to the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. The murals of the cathedral were executed in different periods. Most of them are dated by the late 19th century. The ancient paintings comprise only an insignificant part of the total surface of the frescoes. In 1408 Andrei Rublev and Daniel Cherny painted some frescoes for the cathedral. The representation of "Last Judgment" by Andrei Rublev is the only one relatively intact. The saints, provided with human features, win the viewer"s heart by their kindness and gentleness, their figures are graceful and refined. Andrei Rublev painted 83 icons for the Assumption Cathedral. Some of them are on show in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and in the Russian Museum of St.-Petersburg. In 1773 the iconostasis was replaced by a new one which still exists. Under the vaults of this cathedral Peter and Alexei of Moscow used to conducted services, in the period of 1917-1922 the future Patriarch Sergius read his sermons there. In the periods of 1952 - 1954 and 1974 - 1982 the cathedral went through a restoration financed by the Russian Orthodox Church. The temple was prepared for its 800th anniversary celebrated in 1989 in Vladimir.
Nativity Monastery was founded in 1191 by Prince Vsevolod III. In the mid-13th century it became a residence of the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church retaining this status until 1323. The Trinity, Resurrection, and St. Lawrence"s chronicles were created in this monastery. Simon, the bishop of the cathedral, was the author of the "Kievo-Pechersky paterikon" (hagiography). The monastery boasts a unique library of manuscripts and printed incunabula. In 1263 Alexander Nevsky, the military leader, was interred in the monastery"s cathedral. In 1723 by the commission of Peter I his remains were transferred to the Lavra of Alexander Nevsky in Petersburg. In the 19th century the ramshackle cathedral was dismantled. From the monastery ensemble only homestead secular constructions, the church of the Nativity of Christ (17th century), a stone fence and the Holy Gate have survived. On the site of the Nativity Cathedral a monument to Alexander Nevsky (by the sculpture S.Orlov and the architect R.Kuznetsov) now stands. The decision to erect the monument in Vladimir was made in 1963 on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the commander"s death.

The attractively decorative three-storied church was erected on the site of the Monastery of St. Kosma and St. Domian by the commission of the local merchant Lazarev. It represents one of the most fascinating monuments of Russian provincial baroque architecture.

VLADIMIR Golden Gate (1164) was modeled by Andrei Bogoliubsky on the prototype of the gate in Kiev with the same name in order to annoy arrogant people of Kiev. It represents a monument of Russian fortification architecture of the 12th century. The passage arch was protected by heavy oaken folds plated with sheets of gilded copper. That is how the gate got the name Golden. Near the gate foreign envoys and distinguished guests were met, the inauguration of Alexander Nevsky and the arrival of Dmitri Donskoi were celebrated. The gate was flanked by a bulwark with deep moats outside. A bridge passed over the moat to the gate. From the tower one could get on the wall set on the rampart. The gate had proved its strength and reliability many times. Enemy could never pass into the town by the gate and had to selected less protected parts of the fortress for the break-through. That is what Tartars did in 1238 when they took the town by storm. The gate has gone through many alterations. Researches proved that the most ancient parts of the gate are the wide passage arch with solid battle quadrangular pillars and the machicoulis above them. Nowadays, a military-historical exposition of the museum is opened in the gate church of the Deposition of the Robes of the Holy Virgin.