Description of the attraction
The Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a unique monument of pre-Mongol architecture, in which frescoes by Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny have been preserved.
Temple history
The Assumption Cathedral was built in 1158-1560 biennium Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky made Vladimir his capital and began a new pompous construction in it. The best masters were invited - according to some information, some of them were sent by himself Frederick Barbarossa … The new temple was higher than the famous Kiev and Novgorod Sofia.
In 1185, a fire broke out, which destroyed part of the murals and the temple was renovated and altered. It happened with the next prince - Vsevolode the Big Nest, the younger brother of Andrey. It was under him that the Vladimir principality became the most extensive and powerful of the Russian lands, and the Assumption Cathedral was its main temple and the burial vault of the rulers: Andrei Bogolyubsky, and his sons, and Vsevolod himself were buried there.
During these years, the Assumption Cathedral was surrounded by wide closed galleries, and arches were made in the old walls - it turned out that the old temple was, as it were, inside the new one. Some of the carvings have been transferred to the new outer walls, and some have been done anew. Scholars debate whether the original temple was five-domed or single-domed, but the new temple certainly had five chapters.
In 1238 the cathedral was on fire during the assault of Vladimir by the Tatar-Mongol troops, but only the interior was badly damaged, and the external appearance remained unchanged. In the XIV century at Dmitry Donskoy he signs again artel of Andrey Rublev and Daniil Cherny … By the 18th century, the building had fallen into disrepair. At the beginning of the 18th century, the roof of the cathedral was rebuilt - it was replaced with the usual hipped roof. But his condition still leaves much to be desired.
In 1769 Vladimir visited Catherine II … She allocated 14 thousand rubles for the repair of the ancient temple. In the process of this repair, the old Rublev frescoes were whitewashed and the iconostasis was dismantled. Instead of the old one, a carved baroque style was installed in the spirit of the new era. Carved by his masters Kalistrat and Stepan Bochkarev … New icons were also placed in it - the works of the Vladimir icon painter Strokina.
At the very beginning of the 19th century, earthen ramparts the old fortress, and the temple was surrounded by a new fence. In 1810 a new one was built Bell tower instead of the old one, which was struck by lightning. The bell tower was already built in the classicism style, but made in such a way as to fit into the general ensemble - for example, its plaster decorations partly repeat the white stone carvings of the temple. On the ground floor of the bell tower was arranged chapel … In 1862, according to the project of N. Artleben, a warm chapel of St. George the Victorious - now it connects the temple and the bell tower. During these years, the discovery of the ancient frescoes of the cathedral began gradually.
Cathedral in the XX-XXI centuries
Since 1917, the famous Sergiy Stargorodky, the future patriarch. He was appointed Metropolitan of Vladimir in 1917, accepted Renovationism in 1922, and then renounced it. The next Vladimir Archbishop - Nikolay Dobronravov - served here from 1923 to 1925, and in 1937 was shot at the Butovo training ground. Now revered as a saint. In memory of him, a commemorative plaque was erected on the St. George side-chapel of the church.
In 1922-23, all valuables were confiscated, and a branch of the museum was set up in the St. George Chapel. At first this Museum of Church Antiquities, after - anti-religious department Vladimir Museum. In the pre-war and war years, the temple has been practically abandoned for some time and no one cares for the unique frescoes. But in 1944 the temple was reopened, and it was slightly tidied up both outside and inside. In the 50s, at the same time, a new heating system was installed in the building, which normalizes the temperature regime.
The last restoration was held in 1974-82. At the same time, the burials in niches with inscriptions were restored. In 1995, at the western wall of the temple appeared monument to Andrei Rublev sculptor O. Komov, and in the early 2000s - a worship cross in front of the temple and a memorial sign to the 600th anniversary of the Vladimir diocese.
Now the temple acts as a cathedral.
Vladimir saints
The history of the Assumption Cathedral is connected with the tragic events of 1238, when Vladimir was ravaged by the Tatar-Mongol troops, and the Vladimir prince himself was killed. Yuri Vsevolodovich, and his entire family, except for one daughter.
Prince Yuri was killed in the battle on the City or Seti river. The youngest son of Yuri Vsevolodovich, Vladimir was captured. The Tatars offered to surrender the city in exchange for his life, but the defenders refused, and then Vladimir was executed at the Golden Gate. The Ipatiev Chronicle says that when it became clear that the cities could not be saved, the other two brothers were young Vsevolod and Mstislav - took monastic vows and went to negotiations, but were brutally killed. During the last assault of Vladimir, she locked herself in the Assumption Church Princess Agafya Vsevolodovna, with daughters, grandson and daughters-in-law, and Vladimir bishop Mitrofan … All of them prepared for death and took monastic form. The Tatars set fire to the temple, and everyone who took refuge in it perished.
All of them were buried right there, in the Assumption Cathedral, after it was repaired. In 1645, the body of Yuri Vsevolodovich was found incorrupt, and in the same year he and his family were canonized.
In 1702 he was canonized also Andrey Bogolyubsky … After the revolution, the relics were opened, examined and placed in the St. George Chapel as part of the museum exhibition. The body of Andrei Bogolyubsky was examined for many years, and was handed over to the Church only in 1987.
Another saint is the son of Andrei Bogolyubsky Gleb … Chronicle information about him has not survived, there are only hagiographic information. He died before he was twenty, shortly before the death of his father, and during his lifetime he was distinguished by piety and meekness and was very loved among the people. He began to be revered as a locally revered saint since the beginning of the 17th century - it is believed that in 1608 the city was delivered from the Lithuanian invasion precisely thanks to prayer to him. In 1702, his body was found incorrupt - and he was canonized along with his father.
Not only princes were buried in the cathedral, but also bishops. The saint is canonized Mitrofan, which at the very beginning of the XIV century made Vladimir the center of the Russian metropolis.
Now the burials are the main shrine of the cathedral.
Frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral
The cathedral has preserved several fragments of the original murals - 1161 and 1189 … These are images of two saints on the northern wall of the Andrei Bogolyubsky limit and several ornamental fragments. But, of course, the most important thing here is frescoes by Andrey Rublev and Daniil Chernydating back to 1408. The Assumption Cathedral is a temple where the paintings of great artists have survived most of all - more than three hundred square meters. meters.
It is not surprising that the masters were sent here from Moscow. The Moscow princes - first of all, Dmitry Donskoy, considered themselves the successors of the Vladimir ones and took care of the beauty of the ancestral burial vault and the ancient temple, which was associated with historical memory.
These murals have gone through a lot. They were dilapidated, cracked and crumbled, and under Catherine II they were whitewashed. Their new discovery took place already from the middle of the 19th century: they gradually begin to open and be restored. Some of the Rublev frescoes were discovered in the 50s of the 19th century, some in the 80s. Big restoration happened immediately after the revolution, when in 1917 a commission was sent here under the leadership of the artist I. GrabarI am. The frescoes in their current state are the result of restoration in the 1980s.
It is extremely difficult to discern who is the author of the specific subjects of these frescoes. Two masters worked here with similar, but still individual manners - Andrei Rublev and his friend Daniil Cherny - and a whole artel of assistants, because such frescoes are not painted alone.
Best preserved fresco "The Last Judgment" on the western vaults - it is confidently attributed to Andrey Rublev … A distinctive feature of his painting is its serenity. Even the Last Judgment tells not so much about anger at sinners, but about mercy to the righteous and forgiveness. And now this painting creates the impression of amazing light and joy, and once the colors were much brighter and deeper.
Frescoes "Bosom of Abraham" and "Procession of the Righteous to Paradise" most likely they were executed by another icon painter. They are more traditional and the saints depicted by him have slightly different types of faces. But this painting is also airy and graceful. It fits perfectly into the architecture of the temple and emphasizes its volumes, increases the amount of light.
Now the ancient frescoes are still under threat, and their preservation is the subject of close attention of restorers. The fact is that in the current cathedral it is very difficult to observe the temperature regime, the baroque iconostasis accumulates dust and soot on itself, so scientists are watching the fate of the unique paintings with alarm.
Interesting Facts
- Thanks to the autopsy of the relics of Andrei Bogolyubsky, we had the opportunity to see his appearance. His skull was examined in the early 40s. and M. Gerasimov performed his famous reconstruction. At the beginning of the 20th century, new research was carried out and another reconstruction was made, which was different from Gerasim's.
- Icons from the disassembled iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral are now in the Tretyakov Gallery. Experts argue whether their author is Andrei Rublev himself or one of his imitators.
On a note
Location. Vladimir, st. Bolshaya Moscow, 56.
How to get there. How to get there. By train from the Kursk railway station or by bus from metro Shchelkovskaya to Vladimir, then by trolleybuses No. 5, 10 and 12 to the city center, or up the stairs to the Assumption Cathedral. Free admission.
The official website of the cathedral:
