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Author Topic: Russia's Golden Ring Cities - Золотое кольцо  (Read 35953 times)

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Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #50 on: October 10, 2010, 11:28:25 PM »
The walled Kremlins of Suzdal are impressive.

We'll start with the white walled Convent of the Intercession/Protection Monastery. It is one of the most impressive religious buildings of Suzdal, founded in 1264. In the center of this beautiful white walled convent is the Cathedral of the Intercession; it was an addition built in 1518. The builder is unknown and the interior of the cathedral has no paintings or stained glass and instead the structure is accented by beautiful arches.





One of the wealthiest convents in Russia, many of the nuns throughout history have been of noble birth. The church also serves as burial vault for twenty nuns of noble birth. The ensemble was finally formed in 16th century when ladies of noble families falling in disgrace were exiled there. The daughter and niece of Tzar Ivan the Third (father of Ivan the Terrible), the spouses of Tzar Vasily the Third were among the nuns there. Later Ivan the Terrible also sent one of his wives to Suzdal's convent. Even Peter the Great exiled his first wife here.





Connected to the white stoned wall Cathedral is an art museum with many priceless paintings. The art gallery tour times are posted depending on season.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #51 on: October 11, 2010, 12:58:02 AM »
Just in case you liked the cucumber festival we've added two more photos to that post.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #52 on: October 11, 2010, 01:42:54 AM »
Not only is this a working monastery, but visitors can stay overnight. You'll pay about 400-600 Roubles (pay inside the church) and being a monastery there are some restrictions but not the same strict rules, nor the "outdoor plumbing" of our most recent monastery stop.

The yard area of the dormitory is very peacful. Much like being at a country dacha--just more modern in this case.





This room appears more elegant and stately.....





...than this next one in the photo below. Notice those sagging mattresses?  :)





At least there is a bathroom, well two of them actually, shared with other guests. The old adage of knock before entering no doubt applies!





To put those two super luxurious rooms into proper perspective, Catherine the Great had ordered that this monastery be converted into a prison. During those long years the accomodations were certainly less inviting.

Prisoners (mostly females) were thrown into basement dungeons for the most part. Their accomodations looked like this:





Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #53 on: October 11, 2010, 01:50:41 AM »
Stay tuned because we've only scratched the surface on the incredible town of Suzdal.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #54 on: October 11, 2010, 07:57:11 AM »
One can only imagine what it must have been like to pass thru the gates of the Kremlin walls in prior centuries.





Below is the Monastery Church of the Protection of the Theotokos along with views of the courtyard:





Above you see the Шатровая колокольня с галереей (Tent styled Bell Tower & walkway) of the Monastery Church of the Protection of the Theotokos.






Adjacent to the Convent is the Архиерейские палаты (chambers and offices) of the Vladimir-Suzdal area Orthodox Bishop.










Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #55 on: October 11, 2010, 08:17:13 AM »
Another prominent church inside Kremlin walls and near the centre of the market square is the Resurrection Cathedral.







Depending on time of year, there is more to be found that just souvenirs on market square.





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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #56 on: October 11, 2010, 09:16:20 AM »
Yet another of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of this area, one of the most beautiful churches is commonly called the "Christmas" church, properly titled the Рождественский собор (Church of the Nativity.) Shown to the left in the photo below, this church dates to the 13th Century.






With distinctive star-speckled blue domes, the church can be recognized from long distances away.








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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #57 on: October 11, 2010, 09:18:06 AM »
Stay tuned for a tour inside this ancient monument.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #58 on: October 12, 2010, 10:48:57 PM »
Cathedral of Nativity of the Virgin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is over 500 years old at ground level up. The basement however goes back to the 12th century, pre dating the Mongol-Tatar invasion.

The ancient double doors ("the Golden gates") were using a very intricate technique of fusing gold onto a background of bronze.


Golden Gates



Detail on gates
(Photo: Adam Jones)


Opposite the Gates there is Krestovaya Palata (Cross Chamber) of the Archbishop’s Palace, housing the museum with exposition of old Russian paintings and display devoted to 1000 years of Suzdal’s history.


Ceiling







"Tsar's Lantern"


Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #59 on: October 12, 2010, 11:48:31 PM »
More of the Church of the Nativity...


Iconostasis
(Adam Jones)



The cathedral's five blue domes are dotted with glittering golden stars, while its medieval doors are covered in damascene gold and richly decorated with scenes from the New Testament. Inside, there are wonderful 13th century frescos.





















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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #60 on: October 13, 2010, 01:01:29 AM »
Wooden Church of Saint Nicholas





Next to the Church of the Nativity is an 18th century church moved to Suzdal in 1960 to become a museum of wooden architecture. This church demonstrates the close relationship between wood and stone architecture and how precise the Russian craftsmen were back in 1766 the year the church was constructed.










The Museum of Wooden Architecture and Peasant Life contains log houses, wooden churches and windmills brought there from all over the region. Located beyond the Kamenka river, this preserve is a collection of ancient wooden buildings. They comprize a Russian village with many unique wooden churches, houses, decorated with wood carvings near the roof and around the windows, windmills, barns, rare wooden wells and other structures. The hosts in this open air museum are all dressed in old Russian style.
























Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #61 on: October 13, 2010, 11:01:01 PM »
Hitler ordered him to commit suicide "with honour" rather than surrender. Disenchanted with Germany's leader, the General disobeyed orders and surrendered his army and thus ended the long battle for Stalingrad.

So what happened to German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus? He was brought here, to Suzdal, where he was incarcerated at Suzdal's Monastery of Saint Euthymius for a time after his surrender at Stalingrad.

The Saviour Monastery of St Euthymius (Спасо-Евфимиев монастырь), is Suzdal's biggest monastery and was founded in 14th century. Today it is considered as one of the most holy places in Russia as well as the Convent of the Intercession.





The monastery also contains a prison, built in 1764, which originally housed religious dissidents. The prison continued in use during the Soviet period, and among its better known prisoners was Field Marshal Paulus. Today the prison houses a museum about the monastery's military history.





Among the buildings erected during this period were the Assumption Church, the bell tower, the surrounding walls and towers, and the seven-domed Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour.





Surrounded by it's own Kremlin, St. Euthymius Monastery is massive and one could spend half a day minimum exploring the grounds and interiors.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #62 on: October 13, 2010, 11:31:57 PM »
We'll start at the main Kremlin gate:





From there we enter the Kremlin area and immediately in front of us is the Gate Church of the Annunciation of the Holy Virgin (Надвратная церковь Благовещения Пресвятой Богородицы) which just happens to be both a gate and a church.  





You can see how these two photos are laid out by looking at the map in the post directly prior to this one. The main gate is (1) and the Gate Church is (2).

It would be time consuming to visit each point on the map on this tour so we'll try to focus on the more interesting structures.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #63 on: October 14, 2010, 12:08:47 AM »
Next we'll visit three of the most important structures of the monastery:





Starting at our left (map #4) is the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin (Трапезная церковь Успения Пресвятой Богородицы):





Built in 1525 using Russian "tent" style construction.




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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #64 on: October 14, 2010, 01:14:13 AM »
Then, to the right (#7 on the map) is the Church and Bell-Tower of the Nativity of St John the Baptist (Церковь и колокольня Рождества Иоанна Предтечи):
 




Each afternoon around 5:30pm the Monastery monks play the bells for approximately 15 minutes or longer. It's quite an experience!



(photo: Eugene Zelenko)


Bell ringing is the only form of music instrumentation found in Orthodoxy. The traditions of the worldwide Orthodox Church allow only for human voices during the liturgy. However bells have a special symbolism prior to, at certain points during, and after the liturgy. In Russian tradition bells are rung exclusively by tolling, in such a way that movement of the  clapper in a technique that causes it to only strikes the side of the bell, and never by pealing (swinging the entire bell to create sounds).

To create the sound of bells tolling a special complex system of ropes is customized for each belltower. The ropes are joined at one point, where the bell-ringer (called a "zvonar") stands. Smaller ropes are played by hand and the bigger ropes played by foot. Rather than pulling the ropes which would cause the bells to peal, ropes are pressed which facilitates the tolling sound. As the end of each rope are fixed to hold the tension, a press or punch on a rope causes a clapper to stike the side of its bell.




(photo: Alex Zelenko)


In Byzantine style a complicated rhythmical sequence of sounds is produced instead of the use of melody as in western music. The foundation of Orthodox bell ringing lies not in melody but in rhythm, with its intrinsic dynamic, caused by the interaction of the timbres of various bells. Each sequences produces it's own special harmony as Russian bells, unlike Western European bells, are not tuned to a single note. Western bells usually have an octave between the loudest upper tone (“ring”) and the loudest lower tone (“hum”). Russian bells have a seventh between these sounds. Generally, a good Russian bell is tuned to produce a whole scale of sounds (up to several scales). This is accomplished by the athe alloy composition from which the bell is cast and the careful sculpting of the outer surface of each bell.

Both a bell tower and church, this structure dates back to 1513.


Here is a YouTube video of these very bells being rung:
And here is another:
In the second video you noticed different colouring of the top sections of the Bell Tower. Normally all white, in 2009 workers used a two-tone colour scheme when painting the facility's exterior.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #65 on: October 14, 2010, 01:21:17 AM »
Straight ahead on our path (and #5 on the map) is the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour (Собор Преображения Господня; Преображенский собор).

The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour was constructed in the 1500s as a brick four-pillared cathedral designed in the traditions of old white stone architecture. Two additional domes above the chapels were added to five massive domes of the cathedral.

The man who did so much to build Suzdal, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, is buried here. His tomb lies by the cathedral wall.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #66 on: October 15, 2010, 08:33:58 PM »



The blind arcade and the fresco of the 16th century decorate the outer walls. White stone carving is used on the perspective portals. Arches with keels which crown the walls of the cathedral give it special gracefulness and expressiveness. The cathedral is surrounded by galleries of the 18th century.





It was restored in 1980s. Together with the architectural ensemble of the monastery it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #67 on: October 15, 2010, 10:03:54 PM »



The St. Euphimius Monastery is one of the largest museum ensembles of the city. The monastery was founded in the 14th century on the northern outskirts of Suzdal by Boris Konstantinovich. It was built as a fortress to defend the town from enemies.









Construction began in 1582 (finished in 1594) and inside the cathedral one can see the colourful and beautiful frescoes painted by a school of artists from the town of Kostroma on the Volga under the guidance of two famous painters, Gury Nikitin and Sila Savin.





The painting on the walls and pillars consists of four bands. The lower band depicts the lives of the apostles and the remaining three bands are devoted to the life of Christ.










We're going to treat you to a video (94 seconds) of the interior of the Cathedral. As you watch the video and listen to the amazing acoustics, try to remember that this structure goes back to the year 1582:


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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #68 on: October 15, 2010, 10:16:30 PM »
We have added two short YouTube videos of the Bells being run here in the Bell Tower post above.





Above: Burial crypt of Prince Dmitry, founder of Suzdal.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #69 on: October 20, 2010, 10:14:08 PM »
Both a museum and a working monastery, daily activities around the St. Euphimius Monastery offer a glimpse into monastery life.

















Daily activities include gardening and bee keeping. The Monastery produces not only honey as food consumption and for medicinal uses, but the bees wax is excellent for making candles for use in Orthodox churches.

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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #70 on: October 21, 2010, 12:27:56 AM »



While checking out the garden activity don't miss this opportunity to take advantage of the monastery walkways around the Kremlin.









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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #71 on: October 21, 2010, 09:12:31 PM »
Below: Monks quarters at the monastery. If you're following the number map upthread, this is #7.




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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #72 on: October 21, 2010, 09:56:25 PM »
Our next stop is the Rizopolozhenskaya Monastery which by the way is a decent place to spend the night if you need accommodations. However, it's a monastery so don't expect services or comforts such as one would find at a Ritz Carlton or Hilton. Heck, even Motel 6 is elegant by comparison. But frankly, service is not why you say at a monastery hostel. You stay either for the low price or the experience.





This hostel in a monastery setting allows one to retreat from the world (especially the modern world) to reflect on the spiritual experience of touring Suzdal. The rooms are clean but basic, very basic.


Innkeeper, Ludmila.


Ludmila the innkeeper says that guests may "mortify the flesh by bathing from a sink." Yes, her words. If you haven't heard any olde English lately that expression has to do with purification. In a nutshell, she means that you can use your room sink to take a bath.  :)


Ludmila says mortify your flesh here.
(photo: Alan Rayner)


This hostel is like many monastery hotel settings--you are there to be quiet, no partying accepted. So after mortification of your flesh in the room sink, try reading a book in the dim lighting, sit and enjoy the views (those are abundant), or lay down and go to sleep until morning. Room rates vary at season but you can expect something in the neighborhood of 500 roubles ($17-20) per night.





Finding a contemplative view should be rather easy. For a 30 rouble ($1) donation they will open the bell tower so that you can see the city from above.




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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #73 on: October 22, 2010, 12:01:10 AM »
Rizopolozhensky Monastery (Ризоположенский монастырь)

The name of the monastery literally means the "Monastery of the Deposition of the Holy Robe" and was established in 1207 as a women's convent by a Bishop known only as John. The convent stands on a hill of the city. However as the original structures were of wood, various fires and decay made them obsolete over the years. The existing buildings are from the 16th to 19th century.





Unfortunately the monastery is rapidly falling into ruin however there are two very beautiful entrance turrets on the south gate which were constructed in 1688.





Suzdal's tallest structure, a 72m bell tower (built from 1813-19), rises from the east wall of the Monastery.




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Re: Золотое кольцо - Russia's Golden Ring Cities
« Reply #74 on: October 23, 2010, 10:16:39 AM »
Let's walk around the Rizopolozhensky Monastery (Ризоположенский монастырь) and gain a feel for this ancient part of Russian history.










Old administrative area          



Entry into the kitchen area
(photo: Ruslan Vladimirovich Albitsky)
                                                            


 

 

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