Murom is an old Russian city in the Vladimir region. It covers an area of 43 km2. 100 thousand people live in it. This small town has five monasteries and more than ten churches. The temples and monasteries of Murom will be discussed in this article.
From the history of the city
For the first time Murom is mentioned in the annals of 862. During archaeological excavations on the territory of the Kremlin, samples of stucco Murom ceramics dating back to the 10th century were discovered. In those days, the city was the object of internecine war. It became the center of an independent diocese in 1998. The Moscow period in the history of this city begins in 1392.
The first church in Murom appeared in the 11th century. In the 19th century, a mechanical and iron foundry, cotton and flax spinning factories operated here. A water tower was built in 1863.
Most of the temples of Murom were destroyed in Soviet times. Several parish churches founded in the 16th-17th centuries were demolished by the Bolsheviks. In the 1920s, the main temple of Murom, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, was also destroyed, built in the 16th century.order of Ivan the Terrible. Restoration of the surviving shrines began in the 90s.
Temples of the city of Murom
The oldest of the active monasteries is Spaso-Preobrazhensky. It was founded in the 11th century and was first mentioned in the annals of 1096. Other monasteries of Murom: Resurrection, Annunciation, Holy Trinity, Holy Cross.
One of the temples of Murom, built in the Middle Ages, is the Church of Cosmas and Damian. It was built on the spot where the tent of Ivan IV once stood during the Kazan campaign. Temple address: Murom, Embankment, house 10.
The Church of the Ascension of the Lord was founded in 1729. It is located at Moskovskaya street, 15A. The relics of St. Elijah of Muromets are kept in the Church of Guria, Samon and Aviv, located on Karacharovskaya. In 1998, another temple was erected in honor of the Russian hero in Murom. It is located near the Verbovsky cemetery.
Other churches of Murom: Trotskaya, Assumption, Sretenskaya, Seraphim of Sarov Church. The most famous sights of the city include the temple on Mechnikov Street. The Sretenskaya Church was founded at the beginning of the 19th century, more details about it are described below. And finally, the oldest Orthodox church in Murom is located on Plekhanov Street. The date of its foundation is unknown, but it is mentioned for the first time in documents from the middle of the 16th century. We are talking about St. Nicholas Embankment Church.
Annunciation Monastery
On Krasnoarmeyskaya Street there is a majestic Orthodox building made of white stone with blue domes. This is a monastery founded inmid-16th century on the site of a demolished wooden church. The monastery was erected by order of Ivan the Terrible, who visited the city in 1552 during his campaign against Kazan.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the monastery was destroyed and plundered by the Poles. Several decades passed, and the monastery was revived. In 1919, the Annunciation Monastery was closed. The relics of the saints that were kept here were transferred to the museum, where they remained until 1989. Monastic life was resumed in September 1991.
Resurrection Monastery
The convent, founded in the 16th century, is located in the northeast of Murom. The monastery was abolished in 1764, which was not uncommon during the time of Catherine the Great, who carried out a reform on the secularization of lands. The church, located on the territory of the Convent, became a parish. The novices were transferred to the Holy Trinity Monastery.
In the Soviet years, church buildings were used as warehouses. And in 1950, a football field was built at the cemetery where the clergy were buried. Monastic life was revived in 1998.
Nikolo Embankment Church
The temple is located on the banks of the Oka. There is a spring at the foot of the mountain. Here, according to legend, Nicholas the Wonderworker appeared more than once.
The church was first mentioned in the sources of the 16th century. The stone temple on the site of the wooden one was built at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1714 the iconostasis was installed. The refectory appeared around the beginning of the 19th century.
Nikolo Embankment Church wasclosed much later than other Murom temples. It was abolished in 1940. For ten years, from 1950 to 1960, a poultry farm was located here. For decades, the church building itself was empty. The surviving property of the temple was transferred to the city museum. Restoration work began in 1991.
Smolensk Church
In 1804 there was a fire that destroyed the wooden temple. A stone church was erected in its place. A quarter of a century later, a bell tower was built next to it, and even later, a refectory with a chapel.
In the early twenties the temple was looted. Moreover, this was done under the guise of helping the victims of famine in the Volga region. All silver utensils were seized from the church. At the end of the twenties the temple was closed.
In the seventies, restoration work began - it was supposed to open a local history museum. Soon exhibitions of applied and fine arts were organized. Even concerts were held within the walls of this ancient church building. The church was returned to the Vladimir diocese in 1995. However, in August 2000, another misfortune occurred - lightning destroyed the spire of the bell tower. Restoration work has not been completed to this day due to lack of funds.
