Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in its new stone form appeared here, on Cathedral Hill, in 1699 after a fire that engulfed the former wooden church, and almost completely repeated its outlines. The Assumption Cathedral in a tree, in turn, appeared here on the site of a fortress, created by order of Dmitry Donskoy in 1400 and designed to protect the approaches to the Rostov-Suzdal principality from the Volga. The fortress was destroyed twice: first by the Tatars, and then by the Poles. For the third time, it was decided not to restore the fortress, but to erect a temple on the mountain.
The Cathedral of the Assumption made of whitewashed stone is simple and at the same time beautiful. In many sources, art critics call his style a provincial version of the Moscow Baroque. The first tier of the cathedral is a quadrangle with a refectory and an altar room equal in width on the sides. From the quadrangle, as if, an octahedral second tier with a domed roof grows. It's quite powerful and gives the whole church a feeling of squat. Such a volume is often referred to as an "eight on a four". And above the bell-shaped vault stretches up a small dome with an interception on a small octahedral base. The temple is not rich in window openings. The refectory has only two light windows on the side facades. The stingy design of the facades is reminiscent of the architecture of the 17th century. The octagon is decorated with simple cornices supported by columns along its edges. Arched windows of the refectory and the main volume in curly keeled platbands, rectangular windows of the apse in a simple frame. Pilasters are located between the windows of the altar ledge.
At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, a richly decorated bell tower was added to the Assumption Cathedral from the side of the refectory. The base of the bell tower is the same octagon on a quadrangle, ending with a hipped roof. The tent is filled with dormer windows of various designs. In the northern wall of the base of the bell tower there is a built-in staircase leading to the bell.
In 1824, a small chapel appeared next to the Assumption Cathedral, and in 1828, the Kazan Summer Cathedral was built at the expense of the Plyos petty bourgeois V. Shishkin. At the end of the 19th century, a stone fence with a gate on the south side was erected around this cathedral ensemble. Now the complex of two fenced temples can be seen only on the canvases of Isaac Levitan "The Quiet Cloister" and "Evening Bells". Only the Temple of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the stone gate have survived in the city. The oldest cathedral in the town on the Volga is currently in operation.
In 2007, the Governor of the Ivanovo Region, using his personal funds, reconstructed the Assumption Cathedral, and also began the improvement of the entire Cathedral Mountain: he restored the fence, improved the viewing platforms and footpaths. On the opening day of the renovated church on July 8, 2007, the first religious procession was held with the participation of many famous people of Russia.
