Alexandrov, Golden Ring of Russia
The city of Alexandrov is located in the Vladimir
region. You will definitely get here as part of the Golden Ring tour. Otherwise
your route would be incomplete without visiting this charming provincial town
with the oldest history. For a long time here in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda
were engaged in blacksmith's craft. This is evidenced even by the coat of arms
of the city, where an anvil is depicted.
Looking at the quiet charm of this
corner, on its mesmerizing landscapes, it's hard to think that the fame of this
place was brought by very tragic events. In the XVI century, Tsar Ivan the
Terrible visited this place, and so chose this place, that he stayed here for
17 whole years. From here he committed his bloody campaigns to Klin, Torzhok,
Tver and other cities. Here he killed his eldest son - Prince Ivan. During the
residence of the royal family, Alexandrov became the center of culture and art.
Here created great architects, musicians, artists. After the Tsar's departure
to Moscow, life in Sloboda froze. Alexandrovskaya Sloboda for a long time
turned into an ordinary royal village. Gradually, its buildings and
fortifications began to decline. The fate of the daughter of Peter the Great,
Elizabeth Petrovna, is closely connected with Alexandrovskaya Sloboda. In 1730,
the princess was exiled to Sloboda, which she left, crowned in 1740 on the
kingdom. In 1778, Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda received the status of a city.
Annually hundreds of thousands of tourists come to see the rarest, perfectly
preserved palace and temple ensemble of the Alexander Kremlin.
Aleksandrov - Interesting
places
Nativity Cathedral
The whole appearance of this temple speaks of
solemnity and greatness. It combines features of late classicism and
Russian-Byzantine style. For many years the fate of the future Empress
Elizabeth Petrovna, the daughter of Peter the Great, was connected with the
temple. Until 1741, she often lived in the Alexander Sloboda.In April 1990, the
church was returned to the faithful, since 1992 worship services have been
performed.
Museum of Sisters of the Tsvetaevs
Admirers of the Russian literary school will gladly
visit the Museum of Sisters Tsvetaeva. It was opened in 1991. There are seven
permanent exhibition halls in the museum. The museum's funds currently comprise
more than twenty-six thousand units of storage and have collections of
materials of outstanding cultural figures whose work is directly connected with
the Alexander Region. They are Marina and Anastasia Tsvetaeva, Osip Mandelstam,
Ariadne Efron, Alexander Solzhenitsyn and many others. It is known that Marina
several times came to Alexandrov during the First World War to sister
Anastasia, who lived here with her family.
Holy Trinity Convent, Alexandrov
Believer worshipers named after St. Seraphim of Sarov will be interested
to visit the Holy Trinity Stefano-Mahrishche monastery. It was founded in the
1350s. In 1922 the monastery was closed. In 1993 the monastery was renewed as a
monastery of the Assumption convent. In the monastery there is a myrrh-bearing
icon of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. The village of Mahra.
Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
This temple can be seen in the village of Staraya Sloboda. The cathedral
is interesting for its unusual architecture. The main building is crowned with
five chapters. It is adjoined by a three-tier bell tower above the main volume.
The belfry consists of three quaternaries of good proportions. The small bell
tower on the low dome crowns the bell tower.
The blue color of the facades of the temple is in harmony with the
bright blue and gold domes and the white delicate molding of cornices and
platbands. The real shrine of the local church was the miraculous icon of Kazan
Mother of God, which was brought here from the closed Simeonovsky Monastery.
She was in the temple of the village of Staraya Sloboda until its closure in
the 30s of the XX century.
Alexandrovsky Kremlin - the oldest pearl of the city of Alexandrov
Behind white walls and towers of a stone fence, in the central part of
the city, the heads of ancient churches rise. These are the buildings of the
Alexander Kremlin - the oldest pearl of the city. The Kremlin was built in the
16th century by the decree of Vasily III, the father of Ivan the Terrible. The
architectural ensemble of the Sovereign of the court of Aleksandrovskaya
Sloboda is a unique medieval palace complex. Created by Italian and Moscow
craftsmen, it was Moscow's second largest after Moscow Kremlin in size, beauty
and wealth. As in the old days, the Alexander Kremlin still impresses with its
magnificence and mystery. The Kremlin complex includes several churches. The
Trinity Cathedral (1513), a palace temple of the royal residence, is the most
grandiose and magnificent structure of the Kremlin. Here Ivan IV the Terrible
married his third wife Martha Sobakina and fifth wife Anna Vasilchikova.
Outside and inside, the temple is decorated with white stone carvings. In the
interior there is a fresco painting of the 16th century. Here are stored
military trophies of Tsar Ivan IV - strict copper Tver gates (XIV century),
brought from Tver and solemn Novgorod doors (1336). Also a very interesting
crucifix church-bell tower (XVI century). It has the form of an octahedron and
resembles a watch tower. The mighty, aspiring architecture of the bell tower
puts the monument in a number of outstanding works of Russian medieval
architecture. With her is connected the memory of the bloody punitive march of
the terrible king to Veliky Novgorod. Pokrovskaya church (XVI-XVII centuries.)
- the famous house church of Tsar Ivan. On the facets of his tent, there is a
unique fresco painting that has no analogues, the customer of which was Ivan
the Terrible himself.