Suzdal, Intercession Monastery: history, description, interesting facts

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Far beyond the borders of our country, the ancient Russian city of Suzdal is famous for its historical sights. Each monument located on this earth can be called a masterpiece of not only Russian but also world architecture without exaggeration.

Today we want to invite you on a virtual tour of Suzdal. The Intercession Monastery is of great interest to tourists, so we will visit this monastery.

Location

The monastery is located on the banks of the picturesque river Kamenka, which carries its waters along Suzdal. Snow-white buildings, located on a flowering meadow, give the monastery some kind of unrealistic, fabulous look. Yes, and Kamenka itself is a very beautiful river, especially in June, when it is covered with flowering water lilies. We inform everyone who plans to visit the Intercession Monastery (Suzdal), the address of the monastery: st. Pokrovskaya, 76.

History of the monastery

The walls of this ancient structure hold many secrets and interesting facts,which are still of great interest to historians and researchers. The fact is that the Intercession Convent was not a monastery in the usual sense of the word: women of the upper class were serving a life-long exile here. Often they were exiled here not for some grave sins, but only because someone needed to get rid of them. Forced nuns whiled away the rest of their lives in wooden cells, their fate was a foregone conclusion, so the monastery had an underground crypt, where the unfortunate ended their earthly journey.

It is believed that the Holy Intercession Monastery (Suzdal) owes its appearance to a miracle. According to an ancient legend, Prince Andrei Konstantinovich was returning to his native city from Nizhny Novgorod when a storm of unprecedented strength began. The prince swore that if he survived, he would definitely build a monastic monastery in his native city. It should be assumed that the journey ended successfully, since in 1364 the Pokrovsky Monastery (Suzdal) began to be built in the lowland of the Kamenka River. The history of the monastery dates back to 1364.

The Holy Intercession Convent (Suzdal) reached its peak during the reign of Vasily III. At the beginning of the 16th century, he donated huge funds to the monastery, which were used to build the Holy Gates and the Intercession Cathedral that have survived to this day, as well as the fence and cells that have not survived.

Mysterious nuns

One of the first noble prisoners of the monastery was the wife of Basil III SolomoniaSaburova - Grand Duchess. In 1525, Vasily III accused his wife, with whom he had lived for twenty years, of infertility. He forcibly tonsured her as a nun and sent her to the Intercession Monastery. In those days, divorce was unheard of, and in order to obtain permission from the spiritual authorities for another marriage, Vasily III allocated huge funds for the development of the monastery.

However, it soon became clear that Basil III's accusations of infertility were in vain. Several months passed after the tonsure, and Solomonia had a son, but, fearing the intrigues of the new wife of her ex-husband Elena Glinskaya (the future mother of Tsar Ivan the Terrible), she was forced to report the death of the prince.

There is a version that Solomonia sent the baby to the Crimean Khan, who later played a role in history, becoming famous as the robber Kudeyar. After she was tonsured, Solomonia received the name Sophia, after her death she was canonized by the church as St. Sophia of Suzdal. Later, she was considered the patroness of Suzdal.

Further history of the monastery

In 1551, when the one-year-old daughter of Ivan the Terrible died, by his decree the Church of the Conception was rebuilt, which replaced the dilapidated by that time wooden structure (XIV century). The apse was added to it much later (XVII century). Around the same time, a kitchen appeared on the territory of the monastery and the construction of the fence, which had begun in the 16th century, continued.

Suzdal, Intercession Monastery in the XX century

Like most places of worship in Russia,the monastery was closed and looted in 1923. Since 1933, there was a military biological laboratory, the Special Purpose Bureau of the OGPU - an organization in which prisoners worked. They were experienced specialists of various speci alties. All of them were engaged in the development of biological weapons. In 1935, prisoners B. Ya. Elbert and N. A. Gaisky created a vaccine against tularemia here. The laboratory worked on the territory of the monastery until 1936.

In the sixties of the last century, restoration work was carried out in the monastery buildings, and later museum expositions appeared in them. In the late eighties, a tourist complex was located here, which had a restaurant and a bar, and a concert hall was located in the magnificent Pokrovsky Cathedral. A hotel for tourists has even appeared here, but we will talk about it a little later.

In the nineties, the changes taking place in the country also affected the city of Suzdal. The Intercession Monastery was returned to the church in 1992, and sedate monastic life was revived in it. Today it is a functioning monastery. He owns a cathedral, outbuildings, an almshouse building, cell huts.

Architecture

The first buildings of the monastery were wooden. Today you can see later buildings, which experts attribute to the 16th century. White-stone walls, wonderful architecture, combining both Old Russian and Western European elements, sophisticated decor.

But, of course, the central monument of this marvelous ensemble isPokrovsky Cathedral of the Intercession Monastery in Suzdal. It was built in 1518 on the site of a wooden church. Unfortunately, the names of the masters have not been preserved in history. This is a massive four-pillar building with a high base and surrounded by a two-story open gallery on three sides, to which two covered staircases lead.

From the river to the building adjoins the altar part with high windows located in deep niches. The apses are separated by smooth columns and are decorated with finely carved cornices. It is repeated in the design of light drums, which are crowned with helmet-shaped cupolas. The walls of the cathedral are divided into three parts by shoulder blades. They end with keeled mosquitoes.

The interior of the cathedral is quite strict: there are no traditional paintings on the white walls, the floor is lined with black tiles. The main decoration of the interior has always been magnificent icons and exquisite artistic embroidery. Some of these exhibits can be seen today in the museum of the monastery. The cathedral has been rebuilt many times over its long history, but in 1962 its original appearance was restored.

Interesting facts

1. The cathedral became the burial place for many noble nuns of the monastery.
2. The monastery and the temple during the celebration of the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty was visited by Nicholas II.
3. In the spring of 1994, Archbishop Evlogii of Suzdal and Vladimir consecrated the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God. A few years later, a new four-tiered iconostasis was installed here, which is decorated with icons painted by nuns.

Belfry

This building is immediately visible to everyone who comes toSuzdal. Pokrovsky Monastery has a very beautiful bell tower. It is located northwest of the cathedral. Its lower part is a pillar-shaped church built in 1515. It was an octagon crowned with a cupola. In the second half of the 17th century, an arched tier was built over the church, which was combined with a nearby fence and a high tent, decorated with three rows of framed dormer windows.

The covered gallery that connects the bell tower and the cathedral is distinguished by sophisticated decor: two original arched openings are ennobled with rustication, and the windows framed by elegant architraves are separated by rusticated pilasters.

Holy Gate

Another ancient monument of the monastery is the Holy Gate and the Gate Church. These structures also date back to 1515. The gates are unique, first of all, by the function entrusted to them: at the same time they were a church and a powerful fortress tower.

The three-headed church is located in the upper part of the quadrangle, which is cut through by two arched openings, and the overall composition is very reminiscent of the outlines of the Intercession Cathedral. At the corners of the church there are two small aisles, which are crowned with light drums with helmet-shaped domes, and the central, more massive drum with narrow windows rests on two tiers of zakomar.

The outer walls are decorated with intricate decorations that resemble wood carvings. The gate church was also rebuilt many times, but in 1958 the restoration work, carried out according to the project of A. D. Varganov, returned the original appearance of the unique monument.

Refectory of the Intercession Monastery (Suzdal)

This building, located north of the Pokrovsky Cathedral, has more similarities with Polish than with Russian architecture. It was built in 1551. A very small Church of the Conception adjoins the strict two-story building of the refectory, which can be recognized by the small cupola. The massive vaults of the refectory hall, located on the second floor, are supported by a pillar standing in the center.

The lower floor was reserved for utility rooms. The only decoration of this building can be called an ornament in the form of rhombuses made of red brick, enveloping the entire perimeter of the building. On the west side is a hexagonal belfry.

The refectory in the Intercession Monastery (Suzdal) used to be surrounded by several outbuildings. The one-story kitchen, which was used for cooking, was built in the 17th century. Today it has been restored and is a rare example of monastic architecture.

Privacy hut

In the southern part of the territory of the monastery, a monument of civil Russian architecture has been preserved - the Order's hut. Its early 18th century interiors were restored in 1970. In the dungeon of this building is the so-called stone bag. It contained the prisoners of the monastery.

Fence

The very first stone fence of the monastery was built in the 16th century, later itrepeatedly rebuilt, and in the XX century AD Varganov restored it. A section of the old fence with hipped towers, devoid of decor, dates back to the 17th century. It is located in the northern part of the territory and forms a small enclosed courtyard. The towers (XVIII century), decorated with hemispherical domes, are very picturesque. Experts believe that, perhaps, at first they also had a tent-like finish.

Pokrovskaya Hotel

Russian and foreign tourists admire ancient Suzdal. Intercession Monastery is included in the program of almost all excursion programs. Many travelers are surprised to see neat wooden houses at the entrance to the monastery.

The fact is that in the dashing times of perestroika, the Pokrovskaya Hotel was located in the monastery, which was a stylized hut. They are very popular with foreign tourists. In 2008, the hotel stopped its work, and its owners donated the houses to the monastery. Now there is an orphanage for girls, as well as monastic cells.