- Type
- Fortress
- Origins
- 1222 · 13th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Heritage
- part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (an old town or a valley, for example)
- Coordinates
- 56.4164°, 40.4431°
History
Archaeologists date the stronghold in a bend of the Kamenka river to the 10th century, and in 1101–1102 Vladimir Monomakh extended its earthen ramparts and renewed the timber defences. In 1222 Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich began building the white-stone Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin here, decorated with intricate carving. The Mongols sacked Suzdal in 1238 and the Kazan Tatars burned it in 1445, and as the town's political weight declined, the kremlin became above all the seat of its bishops. Around 1530 the upper part of the cathedral, whose vaults had collapsed in a fire, was rebuilt in brick, and between the 15th and 18th centuries the archbishops' palace grew up, with its Cross Chamber and a bell tower of 1635. The timber walls and towers burned down in a fire in 1719 and were never rebuilt. In 1992 the cathedral was inscribed on the UNESCO list together with the other White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal.
What to see
The ring of ramparts now encloses the cathedral with its blue domes strewn with golden stars, the tall bell tower and the former archbishops' palace, which houses a museum with icons and the grand Cross Chamber. Look out for the cathedral's 13th-century Golden Doors, engraved with biblical scenes in gilded copper, and the 18th-century wooden Church of St Nicholas, moved here from the village of Glotovo.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q1059426
Popularity: articles about this site in 17 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).