Description of the attraction
Sviyazhsk is an amazing old town on a round island at the confluence of two rivers - the Volga and Sviyaga. Now it has been completely transformed into a museum complex. There are two monasteries, several museum exhibitions and a center for historical reconstruction, so if you want to plunge into the atmosphere of Russian history from Ivan the Terrible to Leon Trotsky, then you should definitely come here.
History
Sviyazhsk was founded in 1551 by Ivan the Terrible as a base for the war with the Kazan Khanate. Legend says that the fortress was erected in this place in just a month: all its parts were made either in Uglich or in Myshkin, numbered, and then floated down the river and assembled on the spot.
The Sviyazhsk fortress was used during the XVI-XVII centuries and grew, temples and monasteries appeared in it. Here was the Tsar's court, government offices and armories, merchants came here. But gradually the military and trade center is moving to the east, and Sviyazhsk remains a small "monastery" town. The wooden fortress turns out to be unnecessary and can be disassembled.
During the 18th-19th centuries, Sviyazhsk was an administrative center, but not large - at first the center of a province, and then a district.
Initially, the city did not stand on an island. It was located on an elevation at the confluence of two rivers, but the construction of the reservoir changed the river channels. After the city was cut off from communications, most of the inhabitants left it - in the end, this is what allowed to preserve its buildings and turn it into a museum. Since 1960 Svizhyask has been declared a monument of history and culture.
Assumption monastery
The "visiting card" of Sviyazhsk is a complex of buildings of the Assumption Monastery included in the list of world cultural heritage. The monastery was founded almost immediately after the capture of Kazan - in 1555. Its founder, St. German, the second archbishop of Kazan, canonized. This monastery became the main center for the spread of Christianity in the Middle Volga region and one of the richest monasteries in Russia.
The Assumption Cathedral was built in 1561, it is assumed that it was built by the famous master Postnik Yakovlev, one of the authors of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Externally, the cathedral has changed slightly since those times - in the 18th century it received a completion in the style of Ukrainian Baroque, fashionable for those times.
But the most important thing that makes the cathedral unique is that the frescoes of 1561 have been preserved in it almost in full. One of the plots in general practically nowhere else is found - this is the image of St. Christopher with a horse's head. Most often, this saint was depicted with the head of a dog: a medieval legend says that a handsome young man asked God to rid him of his seductive appearance, and received a dog's head instead of a human. The later, the less they believed in this legend and portrayed the saint not as a man, but in the time of Ivan the Terrible they believed sacredly. Only for some reason they portrayed him in the Assumption Cathedral not with a dog's head, but with a horse's head, probably this was one of the versions of the legend.
In addition, the monastery has preserved the Nikolskaya church with a refectory in 1556, and the bell tower, which at first was three-tier, and then was built on two more tiers. Now its height is 43 meters. The monastery is surrounded by walls with towers - therefore it is often mistaken for the remains of the Sviyazhsk fortress. In the gate of the Ascension Church of the 17th century, daily services are held. A monument of civil architecture is the 17th century bishop's building, which is a chamber with a front porch. The monastery has been active since 1997.
The abbot of the monastery of 1917-1918, Bishop Ambrose, was canonized as a new martyr - in 1918 he was shot by the Red Army.
John the Baptist Monastery
Once this monastery was for women, and now it is the courtyard of the Assumption Monastery. Of the most ancient buildings, the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh in 1604 - the fact is that once the very first monastery in this place was founded by people from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, but was abolished under Catherine II. At the end of the 19th century, the female Forerunner monastery moved here, but after the revolution it was destroyed. The most striking and notable building is the neo-Byzantine cathedral of the icon of the Mother of God of All Who Sorrow Joy by architect F. Malinovsky.
But the most interesting and ancient is the wooden Trinity Church, the oldest building in the entire city. It dates back to 1551 - this is the only building that has survived from the Sviyazhsk fortress from the time of Ivan the Terrible. Legend says that it was erected in one day. Once this temple was hipped, but it was rebuilt in the 19th century, like many old temples: the walls were sheathed with planks, and the hipped roof was replaced with the traditional one. The 2011 restoration brought it back to its original appearance. A carved wooden iconostasis with the royal gates has been preserved here, although not all icons from it have survived. Now this church is part of the museum exposition, and the rest of the temples were transferred to the monastery.
Another temple, which is now part of the monastery complex, is the 18th century temple of Constantine and Helena. This is the only one of the many parish churches that were once in the county town.
Monument to the Victims of Political Repression
In Soviet times, a correctional labor colony was located on the territory of Sviyazhsk within the walls of the Assumption Monastery. At the beginning of the XXI century, a mass grave of prisoners was discovered near the dam - during the existence of the colony, 5 thousand people were reduced to the grave.
Now a memorial zone has been created at this place, and a monument to prisoners has been erected - it cannot be bypassed on the way to the city. The author of the monument is the Tatar sculptor M. Gasimov.
Museum "Island-city Sviyazhsk"
Since 2010, a new museum "Island-city Sviyazhsk" has been operating here, with the help of which new buildings were restored. It includes several exhibitions in different buildings
- The Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk occupies the building of public offices of the 19th century. Here is an interesting collection telling about the foundation of the Sviyazhsk fortress and its history with interactive elements - for example, you can take part in real archaeological excavations or look at an interactive map of all Ivan the Terrible's campaigns.
- Museum of the Archaeological Tree. Sviyazhsk is unique in archaeological terms - in certain parts of the island, the same “wet layer” of clay is formed as in Veliky Novgorod, which allows to preserve wood and skin. One of these excavations was mothballed in 2010, and a museum was built above it, disguised as a hill. The museum hall itself is an excavation area of 900 meters, in which the ancient wooden buildings of the city are visible. Here you can clearly see how cultural words grew, and some buildings were built on the basis of others. Around the excavation there are showcases with finds, the oldest of which date back to the period of the Volga Bulgaria. Sviyazhsk is on the water, so there are fishing nets, boats, the remains of large ships, and even a whole collection of 17th century floats.
- The Civil War Museum is located in a two-story wooden house from the first half of the 19th century, which once belonged to the bourgeoisie Medvedev. This is a rather rare wooden building in the classicism style, with a portico and columns. Once upon a time, this was the headquarters of the Red Army, and Leon Trotsky stayed. In the fall of 1918, battles were fought near Sviyazhsk. Kazan was captured by the insurgent Czechoslovak corps, and the Red Army was based in Sviyazhsk. Here you can visit Comrade Trotsky's office, see a model of his armored train at the Sviyazhsk station. A lot of documents have been collected that tell about the course of the Czechoslovak rebellion and the events of the civil war on the territory of Tatarstan.
- Museum of the artist Gennady Archiereev, "Tatar Van Gogh", is also located in an old wooden house - the former house of the parable of the St. John the Baptist Monastery. This is a fairly well-known "underground" artist of the Soviet era, and the museum contains not only paintings, but also memorial items donated by his widow.
Old water tower and fire tower
The building with a stone first floor and a wooden second floor once served as a city water tower. By the end of the 20th century, it almost turned into ruins, but was restored according to old drawings. It now houses an exhibition hall with a permanent exhibition dedicated to the First World War and temporary exhibitions.
In the restored fire station building with a watchtower, there is an observation deck on the upper floor, and an art gallery on the lower ones.
Entertainment and tourist facilities
Several entertainment complexes have now been organized in Sviyazhsk. This is "Horse yard", where you can take a carriage and walk around the old district town in a horse-drawn carriage, and "Lazy Torzhok" - a craft settlement of reenactors. There is full agreement between the two peoples here: you can taste the historical dishes of Russian and Tatar cuisine or watch the friendly fights of Russian and Tatar soldiers.
Interesting Facts
- The founder of Sviyazhsk was the same Prince Serebryany, to whom A. Tolstoy dedicated his novel.
- Emigre legends say that in 1918 the Red Army men erected a monument to Judas who betrayed Christ in Sviyazhsk. No reliable information about this has survived, but mentions of this are found more than once.
On a note
- Location: Sviyazhsk, Zelenodolsk district, Tatarstan, Russia.
- How to get there: Motor ships - from the river station of the city of Kazan, travel time is about two hours. Cars - along the M7 highway towards Moscow, go to the village of Isakovo, where the direction indicator to Sviyazhsk is installed, the travel time is no more than one hour.
- Official website: svpalomnik.ru
- Opening hours: Monday-Friday from 9.00 to 18.00.
- Ticket prices. Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk. Adults 200 rubles, concessionary - 100 rubles. Museum of the Civil War. Adult 120 rubles, concessionary - 80 rubles. Archaeological Tree Museum. Adult - 250 rubles, concessionary - 200 rubles. A single ticket for all expositions and exhibitions. Adult 750 rubles, concessionary - 630 rubles.
