Sightseeing tour of Vladimir

Let’s begin our tour of Vladimir in the traditional way at the Golden Gate. The Golden Gate is so much a part of Vladimir and its history that it has become to the city's unofficial symbol. The Golden Gate was built in 1164 and was the main entrance into the capital of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality. The white stone Golden Gate is a masterpiece of Russian military defence construction and even withstood the attacks of the Tatar invaders. This Gate has seen important historic events: Through this gate marched the soldiers of Alexander Nevsky to their combats with the Swedes and Germans, the town's armed forces to fight the battle of Kulikovo, the people's army of Minin and Pozharsky, the Russian troops that took part in routing Napoleon and Red Army soldiers during World War II. Inside the south wall there is a stone staircase, leading to the gateway church.

Let’s go up into this church now. Here you can see the exhibition entitled «Vladimir defends the Fatherland». The focus of this exhibition is a diorama which gives an idea of the heroic defence of Vladimir's citizens against the Tatars and Mongols in 1238. The exhibition also includes examples of Russian and foreign weapons of various periods and a portrait gallery of Heroes of the Soviet Union born in Vladimir.

From the Golden Gate we walk along the Bolshaja Moskovskaja Street. This is the oldest street of present-day Vladimir. Along this street once ran the exile route to Siberia known as the “Vladimirka”.

Walking a little further, we reach Sobornaya Square (“Cathedral Square”), the very centre of historic Vladimir. In the centre of the square you can see the monument in honour of the 850-th anniversary of Vladimir.

On the steep bank of the river Klyazma next to the square stands the Assumption Cathedral. It was built in 1158 -1160 by Duke Andrey Bogolubsky and its history is closely connected to that of Vladimir. In the 12-th century the Cathedral became the religious centre of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. From chronicles we know that originally the cathedral was smaller in size with four pillars and one dome. The cathedral acquired its present appearance as a result of rebuilding done by Vsevolod III after the fire of 1185. The old walls were surrounded by new ones; four domes were added and covered with gilded copper. The reconstructed cathedral became one of the most splendid creations of Russian architecture and a model for native builders down the centuries. There are many tombs inside the cathedral: famous people buried in the cathedral include Andrey Bogolubsky, Vsevolod III and his son George. The interior of the Assumption Cathedral is also very impressive. The interior contains several ancient frescoes painted by the great Russian artists Andrey Rublyov and his pupil Daniil Cherny. The best preserved fresco is «The Last Judgement». The fresco is full of a radiant optimism that reflects the spiritual revival of the Russian people after their victory on Kulikovo Field in 1380. The iconostasis once contained the famous Vladimir icon of the Mother of God which Andrey Bogolubsky had brought from Kiev. At present many icons from the cathedral are on display at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

Now we'd like to draw your attention to the third and last example of white stone architecture built in Vladimir before the Mongol invasion, the Cathedral of St. Demetrius. The Cathedral of St. Demetrius was built by Russian craftsmen in 1194 as the family church of Duke Vsevolod III (surnamed “Big Nest”) and was dedicated to the Duke's patron saint St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki. In the twelfth century, the cathedral looked somewhat different: It was surrounded by palace buildings with which it was connected by several towers and passages. The walls of the cathedral are decorated with more than 500 stone reliefs. The most important symbol among them is the lion – a symbol for the power of the Duke. Numerous reconstructions and fires did a lot of damage to the Cathedral. It was only saved thanks to the restoration work carried out under the Vladimir architect Yuri Stoletov.

Only a short way from the Cathedral of St. Demetrius is the former Nativity Monastery. The Monastery was founded in 1191 and up to 1323 it was the residence of the head of the Russian church. On 23rd of November, 1263, Duke Alexander Nevsky was buried in the Nativity Cathedral. Later, in 1724, his remains were transferred to St. Petersburg. In 1953, in connection with the 700th anniversary of Nevsky's death, a statue of him was built beside the Nativity Monastery.

Let’s now go back to Sobornaya square and walk past the shopping mall to Krasnomilitseiskaya Street. Here you can see the Assumption Cathedral of the Knyaginin (Duchess’) Monastery. The monastery was founded by Duchess Maria Shvarnovna, wife of Vsevolod III. The cathedral served as a family vault for the female branch of the Duke's family. The present building dates back to the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In the 17th century, the Cathedral was redecorated by Moscow painters, namely by Mark Matveyev. The cathedral suffered a great deal of alternation over time and was well restored only in 1960 by the architect Igor Stoletov.

About ten kilometres from the centre of Vladimir lies one of the masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture, the Church of the Intercession. You can easily reach it by bus. Standing gracefully on the bank of the Nerl River, the white Church of Intercession is really the gem of ancient Russian architecture. The church was built in 1165 in a single summer. Legends, weaving around the construction of the church, tell that Duke Andrey built this church in the meadows not far from his Bogoljubovo palace after the death of his favourite son, in memory of him.

Here we finish our tour of Vladimir, although there would be a lot more interesting places to visit!