Description of the attraction
The Cathedral of the Robe is located on the territory of the Robe Deposition Convent, located in the city of Suzdal. The temple was built in the middle of the 16th century (1520-1560), probably on the initiative of Ivan Shigonei-Podzhogin, one of the boyars close to Vasily III, who was related to the imprisonment of the latter's wife, Solomonia Saburova, in the Pokrovsk monastery.
The Cathedral of the Robe has three chapters, three apses are attached to the altar part - this is very unusual for the Suzdal architecture of that period. The pillarless quadrangle covered the groin vault, for this reason, it was decided to put lightweight, graceful and high domes on the roof, devoid of internal supports. The side facades of the building are decorated with false zakomaras and shoulder blades. These decorative elements do not fully correspond to the internal organization of the church and are not very randomly placed. Pilasters divide the smooth walls of the temple into three parts; in the middle part there are perspective portals. The portal from the south side is decorated with semi-columns with "melons", and from the north - white stone inserts.
In 1688, a small, but very beautiful and luxuriously decorated porch with tiled inserts was added to the cathedral from the west. It was built by architects Shmakov, Mamin and Gryaznov. They also built the Holy Gates of the monastery. The porch is framed with a rich perspective portal. Its small windows are decorated with patterned platbands with various "plaits", "melons", polychrome tiles. The heads of the cathedral have undergone several changes. The original helmet-shaped domes were replaced by onions in the 19th century.
In 1929, the temple, despite its status as an architectural monument, was transferred by the local authorities to the building of a power plant. The domes and drums were destroyed, and because of the power plant, the interior of the church was seriously damaged. Only in 1969 was it restored under the supervision of O. G. Guseva. The drums were re-introduced and the domes returned to their original helmet-like shape. But after the restoration work, a warehouse of cultural goods was equipped in the cathedral.
Currently, the Suzdal Cathedral of the Position of the Robe of the Mother of God is a functioning temple.
