When it comes to Russian history, Suzdal, one of the most ancient cities in Russia, often comes to mind. This city, located in the Vladimir region, is older than the capital itself.
The first mentions of the city, which historians have managed to find today, date back to 999 and 1024 years. He even suffered a siege from the Volga Bulgars, but that was a century later - in 1107. Then, in the XII century, the city occupied the capital position in the Rostov-Suzdal principality. And to this day, the spirit of the old capital is felt in it: not every Russian city can boast of such a number of churches and other ancient buildings that have been preserved. It is also noteworthy that they are located on a fairly large area, and not crowded in one place. The famous Yuri Dolgoruky, who is known as the founder of Moscow, ruled in Suzdal.
Middle Ages
There was a hundred years in the history of Suzdal when it ceded its capital importance to the city of Vladimir. However, later, when the Suzdal principality was separated, the title of the capital returned to the city. Suzdal also visited the Moscow principality. There are many sad milestones in the history of the city, mentioned in the annals:
- damage from the Polish-Lithuanian invaders (1608-1610);
- the raid of the Crimean Tatars (1634);
- a great fire that destroyed part of the settlement (1644);
- pestilence epidemic (1654-1655).
All these troubles fell on the city in the 17th century, but it was destined to be reborn. By the 16th century, there were 11 monasteries here, which explains such an abundance of Orthodox buildings. Of course, by the 19th century only five monastic complexes remained here, but this did not prevent Suzdal from remaining an important religious center of the country.
Off the highway
Why was Suzdal able to maintain its original appearance? On the one hand, industrialization helped the development of cities, but since the railway passed Suzdal, the industry did not develop at a rapid pace. And although already in Soviet times about a dozen churches were demolished in the city, the Bolsheviks still stopped at this.
Since there was no reason to build giant factories here, it was not necessary to demolish the old city cleanly, and although Suzdal became a province, today it can boast of its other important purpose - as a major tourist center. In 1967, it was declared a city-museum, then took a place in the World Heritage Site, where it was included by UNESCO.
Today, here you can visit many museums and look into monasteries.
