Description of the attraction
One of the most remarkable Orthodox buildings in Suzdal is the Intercession Cathedral, operating at the Intercession Monastery.
In the middle of 1364, the holy prince Andrei Konstantinovich, ruling in Suzdal, decided to build a maiden Pokrovsky monastery on the banks of the Kamenka. Over time, it became one of the many monasteries built in an era of unprecedented spiritual prosperity, which was directly associated with the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The Monk Euthymius played an important role in the founding of the monastery, thanks to whom the monastery became famous in the matter of strict monastic life.
The main temple of the Intercession Monastery is the Intercession Cathedral, built in the period from 1510 to 1514 and is its compositional center. The construction of the cathedral took place on the site of a previously existing wooden church, which fully corresponded to the architectural traditions of this time. The temple is massive and rather large; around it there are numerous galleries that visually connect it with the existing neighboring buildings.
The Church of the Intercession has four pillars; is located on a high massive basement, surrounded by a two-story bypass gallery. On the east side, it is adjoined by an altar three-apse part, equipped with narrow and high window openings located in deep niches. The division of the apses from each other is carried out with the help of smooth columns, which are decorated with a carved cornice with an outstanding pattern. The end of the gallery is made in the form of a covered light arcade, with stairs leading from the southwest and northwest sides to it.
The decoration of the walls is strictly and uncomplicated - the perspective portals have "melons", and the frieze and pilasters, especially typical for the architecture of that time, are located right above the gallery. The walls are finished with keeled zakomaras.
The cathedral is three-domed, and its light and rather massive drums amaze with its magnificent decor, represented by high and narrow window openings, as well as a cornice that exactly repeats the appearance of church apses.
Initially, the cathedral was built as a tomb intended for nuns of noble birth, whose graves are still kept in the sub-church part.
Throughout 1962, large-scale restoration work was carried out in the temple, during which interesting details were revealed that are characteristic of the interior decoration: the floor paved with black tiles and smooth, unpatterned walls. Small depressions were found in the lower part of the wall - these are "pechuras" intended for folding cathedral accessories during the service. It is known that each nun had her own place. But the Intercession Cathedral still contained decorative elements, because judging by the available embroidered covers and icons, it was quite richly decorated with the help of items made by the nuns.
From the north-west, a tent-roofed bell tower, built around 1515, adjoins the cathedral. This building is an interesting object related to ancient Russian architecture. The lower part of the bell tower was built in the middle of 1515 and was represented by a bell-shaped foot-shaped church, equipped with a throne in the name of the Origin of the Honest Trees. The bell tower was built in the form of a quadrangle with tiered ringing, which ended in the form of a brick tent.
In the 17th century, in order to match the nearby imposing cathedral, it was built on a small tier and ended with a high-rise pointed tent with several rows of dormers or lucarnes.
In the 18th century, the Intercession Cathedral was connected to the bell tower by a small covered gallery with a pair of arched openings in the lower part and a number of small window openings with carved platbands and ruined pilasters.
It is important to note that the entire ensemble of the Pokrovsky Monastery is under the protection of UNESCO.
