The Russian city of Vladimir is located 176 km from Moscow, on the banks of the Klyazma, and is the administrative center of the Vladimir region. The city is part of the world-famous Golden Ring.
Historians consider the city of Vladimir one of the oldest in our country. It was founded by Prince Vladimir in 990. It is not surprising that there is a huge number of priceless historical and architectural monuments that attract tourists from all over the world.
The churches of the city of Vladimir are of particular interest among travelers. They amaze with a variety of architecture and interior decoration.
Trinity Church (Vladimir)
Unfortunately, the history of this church was very short. It was built in the year of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty (1916). Trinity Church (Vladimir - the city where it was founded) appeared on the initiative of Old Believer merchants, and was built with the funds they collected. The author of the project was the famous architect Zharov S. M.
The temple, built of red brick, had a high cupola and a nearby bell tower. Trinity Church in Vladimir became an example of a new, morea perfect technique for the construction of places of worship, which included decorative elements of different architectural styles.
Until 1928 services continued in the Trinity Church. In the mid-sixties of the last century, the city authorities decided to destroy the shrine in order to expand the city square. By this time, many churches in the city of Vladimir had already ceased to exist, so we can assume that the Trinity Church was saved by a miracle. More precisely, the people who performed this miracle: numerous defenders of the Trinity Church, among whom was the writer Soloukhin V. A., defended the temple.
Many churches of Vladimir are not used for their intended purpose even today. Trinity Church did not escape this fate.
Restoration
In 1971, a large-scale restoration of the Trinity Church began, which lasted for two years. In the spring of 1974, the exhibition “Crystal. Embroidery. Lacquer miniature. Since then, the building has housed a branch of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum. There is also an art salon where you can buy products of talented Vladimir craftsmen.
Assumption Church
The Assumption Church in Vladimir was built in 1649 at the expense of townspeople: Semion Somov, Vasily Obrosimy and his son, as well as Andrei and Grigory Denisov. They were from rich and noble families, famous families in the city.
The temple is made in the characteristic of Moscow and Yaroslavl places of worshipstyle. The peculiarity of the church is its white-stone high walls, which are crowned with numerous kokoshniks. The Assumption Church has a refectory room and a bell tower located at its end. Above the kokoshniks of tinned iron rise five onion domes, which at first were covered with a scaly wooden plowshare. Over time, it acquired a beautiful silver color.
From the western and northern sides, the church is surrounded by an arcade of the porch. Stairs lead to all entrances. Today the temple is active and belongs to the Orthodox Old Believer Church. Together with St. George's chapel, it is considered one of the main functioning temples of the city.
Church of the Ascension
Many churches of Vladimir have a very ancient history. On the site of the Church of the Ascension, in the distant past, there was a monastery, which was mentioned in the annals of 1187 and 1218. In 1238 it was destroyed by the Tatars.
Mentions of the church built on this site are preserved in the patriarchal books. (1628, 1652, 1682). Until 1724, the church was wooden, then its place was taken by a stone temple, which has survived to this day. In 1813, a cold chapel was added to the church in honor of the Intercession of the Virgin. According to the researchers, at about the same time, two tiers of bells were added to the building. This is evidenced by the obvious similarity of the decorative solution of these two volumes.
In the church there is another warm chapel in the name of the Annunciation. Its stylistic features suggest that the southern aisle was built later than the northern one.
Today the church includes an ancient building, which consists of the main volume, a small refectory, a porch with a porch, two aisles and a bell tower. All these rooms create a compact composition. The Church of the Ascension is an example of a Posad pillarless church, typical of the 17th–18th centuries.
Church of George the Victorious
This temple was ordered to be built by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1157. The church was consecrated in honor of George the Victorious not by chance: this saint was the heavenly patron of Yuri Dolgoruky and a particularly revered saint in Russia. In 1778, a fire nearly destroyed the church. It has been restored, but in the provincial baroque style.
At the end of 1847, a chapel was added on the south side of the temple, consecrated in the name of Prince Vladimir.
Further fate of the temple
Today's Church of St. George the Victorious is strikingly different from the original building. In the first half of the last century the church was closed. In Soviet times, the temple was seriously damaged - the church head office was destroyed by machine-gun shots. After the Civil War, the temple was used as an outbuilding for the needs of various institutions.
For ten years (1960-1970) an oil and fat plant worked here, sausage was produced. Specialists who examined the building of the temple in the eighties of the last century were horrified - the walls, floors, ceiling of the unique building were covered with a layer of black greasy soot, one centimeter thick. However, the temple wasrestored, and in 2006 transferred to the Vladimir-Suzdal diocese (Moscow Patriarchate). Today the church is a monument of history and architecture of federal significance.
It is interesting that since 1986 the Choral Music Center has been giving concerts in the temple, led by the People's Artist of Russia, Professor E. M. Markin.
Church of Prince Vladimir
The temple was built in 1785 in the area of the city cemetery, which occupied the lands of the Bogoroditsky monastery that was previously located here. The Church of St. Vladimir is located in the eastern part of the city. Its main volume is a square with a faceted apse on the east side. In the western part there is a rectangular refectory room, which adjoins the tier of the bell tower.
Interior decoration
In Vladimirskaya church the floors are made of wood and painted. The walls are covered with plaster at the base and are intended for painting. The first tier with rectangular window openings has wide slopes. Elements of traditional classicism and baroque can be traced in the decorative design of the monument.
From the north and south sides of the temple, where the doorways are located, there are decorations that imitate triangular fronts. An interesting fact is that even in the Soviet period, when almost all the churches of the city were closed, in the Vladimir Church it was possible to take communion and baptism, funerals and weddings, join the spiritual traditions, attend divine services - the temple never stopped its activity.
St. Nicholas-Kremlin Church
Gorgeousan architectural monument dating back to the middle of the 18th century. A striking example of a pillarless temple. The church was built in 1764 on the site of a wooden church that burned down in a fire. It is named after one of the most revered saints among Christians - Nicholas the Wonderworker.
In the temple for a long time the holy icons made by ancient masters were kept: the icon of the Savior, St. Nicholas (on a plane tree board) and others. Today, the temple houses the city planetarium, opened in 1962, and a library.
Nikolo-Galeiskaya Church
Not all churches of Vladimir are mentioned in ancient chronicles. Perhaps this information is simply lost. But about the Nikolo-Galeisky temple, we managed to find data that in the 12th century, on the site where it is located today, a wooden church was erected in honor of Nikola, the patron saint of all travelers and seafarers. The stone church was built here in 1735 at the expense of Ivan Pavlygin, a we althy merchant. It got its somewhat unusual name for Russia due to the fact that near the Klyazma River, directly opposite the temple, there was a pier, on which "galleys" (galleys) moored - rowboats.
With its location, the church, according to the clergy, sanctified the waters of the Klyazma. It was this fact that gave the church a second, popular name - Nikola Wet. The stone temple that exists today was created in accordance with the traditions of Russian township architecture of the 17th century. Inside, the church is strikingly spacious, as it has no support pillars.
Two tiers of windows illuminate the interior welldecoration of the temple. A magnificent painting dating back to the middle of the 19th century, which was made in an academic manner by magnificent Vladimir masters, has been preserved here. Today it is a functioning temple.
