Description of the attraction
The Church of the Annunciation is one of the earliest structures of the Intercession Monastery, together with a bell tower and a cathedral (no later than 1515).
The Gate Church is a wonderful piece of ancient Russian architecture. The architecture of this building is a combination of a fortress tower and a church. The two-span tower, which has a rectangular shape, with a miniature, almost toy church standing on it, copies the shape of ordinary large cathedrals in its type. It has a central part (5x4 m), an altar and galleries, like a real large temple, from which perspective portals lead inside. In the southeastern part, there is a room for a separate throne. This side-altar is so small that it can barely fit two people. According to the monastery legends, the prayer house of the Grand Duchess Solomonia, who was exiled to the monastery and named Sophia, was located here.
In the northeastern part there is a square room, which is separated from the central altar; it used to be connected to the gallery. It is a separate chapel with a throne in the name of the Archangel Michael. During the stay of the exiled Evdokia Lopukhina in the Suzdal Intercession Monastery, this chapel was broken and turned into a prayer room. This room housed her armchair, decorated with a coat of arms on the back and upholstered in dark green cloth (currently on display in the local museum). On the ceiling hung a Venetian crystal chandelier with a gilded inscription "Tsaritsina" (today also displayed in the museum).
Due to the arrangement of the prayer room, the interior of the church was redesigned, and the corner chapters of the chapels above the thrones were dismantled. The open arcades of the gallery were laid, and the gallery itself was divided into separate rooms. In the arch of the western part there is a door connecting the church with wooden passages with the cell of nun Helena, the exiled queen. In the gallery for the installation of stoves, chimneys were pierced for heating the premises intended for the stay of Moscow secret messengers here.
The southern facade of the gateway Church of the Annunciation is decorated with rollers and a curb enclosed between them, as well as zip lines. It all reminds of folk woodcarving. This is one of the first examples of the use of folk art elements in the architecture of Suzdal.
The Church of the Annunciation is entirely the creation of local builders. The church is located in a chain of walls on the southern façade of the Intercession Monastery and faces Moscow, the "stromynka", the main Moscow road along which the road to Suzdal passed from the capital. On this road, guests came here from Moscow. Ivan the Terrible also traveled along it to celebrate the Intercession and bow to his ancestors, bringing here with him precious gifts that replenished the already rich sacristy of the Intercession Monastery.
Today the church has been restored to its original form according to the project of the architect A. Varganov.
