Description of the attraction
The Zaraisk Kremlin is small - but it is a real fortress of the 16th century, which repeatedly withstood the raids of the Tatars from the Crimean Khanate. There are two cathedrals and a museum in it, and in one of the cathedrals there is an ancient miraculous icon of St. Nicholas Zaraisky.
Mammoth hunters
On the territory of the Zaraisk Kremlin, the most ancient traces of a person in the Moscow region have been recorded. So-called Zaraiskaya parking »Was discovered literally a few meters north of the earthen ramparts. In the 1980s-90s, excavations were carried out here.
The age of the Zaraisk settlement is approximately 15-20 thousand years … Ancient people lived in dugouts, and the role of overlappings was played by the bones of mammoths. Hearths, household pits were found (mammoth bones again served as pit lids), and many tools. There are so many bones here that scientists assume that the ancient people did not hunt so much as ravaged a millennial mammoth cemetery located somewhere nearby. The most interesting finds are Paleolithic artwork: realistic figurine of a bison and bone-carved figurines of women - "venus". Now most of the finds can be seen in the Zaraisk Museum.
Zaraiskaya fortress
The original name of the city was Novogorodok-on-Sturgeon … It was a trading town south of Moscow. The first mentions of a settlement on the Osetra River in the annals refer to XII century … According to legend, it was here that the residence of the Ryazan prince Fyodor was located at the time of the invasion of Batu. Then this place was called the village of Red.
In the first third of the 16th century, it was necessary to urgently strengthen the southern borders of the Moscow lands - there were regular raids by the Horde. Strengthening in the south, the Crimean Khanate wants to regain control over the Russian lands. Vasily Dark in response, he builds fortresses in Tula, Serpukhov, Kolomna and here on Sturgeon.
At his behest, wooden fortifications are replaced with stone ones. This takes place in 1528-1531, and already in 1533 and 1541 the city withstands the siege of the Horde. It is called now the city of Nikola Zarassky or Zaraisky, and then simply Zaraisky.
The origin of the name is debated. The word "infection" could mean not a disease, but an impenetrable thicket or ravine area. According to another version, the name means "behind the duckweeds", that is, "beyond the swamps" - this is how the inhabitants of Ryazan called the city. According to the third version, the name is due to the fact that it was here that Princess Eupraxia of Ryazan was killed, “infected” so as not to be captured by Batu. One way or another, since the 16th century the city has been called Zaraisk.
The fortress was rectangular, with seven towers and three gates (in the 18th century, more were pierced). The sides of the rectangle are 185 and 125 meters. For two hundred years, the fortress has been successfully repelling the raids of the Tatars, but during the time of troubles the Poles manage to occupy it and plunder it. The city has preserved a mound, poured over the bodies of those killed in an attempt to liberate the city.
In 1610-11 Zaraisk was liberated. The famous Prince Pozharsky … The last hostilities took place here in 1673. The fortress repels another attack of the Tatars, and in memory of this, a Kazan icon of the Virgin.
From this moment, the fortress loses its military significance. But, unlike many dilapidated Kremlin near Moscow, they did not disassemble it, but preserved it.
Nicholas cathedral
The wooden St. Nicholas Cathedral was replaced by a stone one at the same time when the fortress itself was built, in 1528. Tradition connects the founding of the cathedral with the 13th century. It is believed that in 1225 "in the Ryazan limits" was transferred the miraculous image of St. Nikolay from Korsun, that is, Chersonesos. The image went to the Ryazan prince Fedor Yurievich … When hordes came to Russia Batu, the prince himself was killed, and the princess Eupraxia together with the child she threw herself from a high tower, "got infected". Since then, the icon has become the image of "Nikola Zarassky".
The current building was built in 1681 at Fedora Alekseevich - it is no longer stone, but brick. The painting of the cathedral was renewed twice - in 1760 and 1849, some of the 19th century murals have survived to our time.
The cathedral was closed in 1928. Former abbot of the cathedral, O. John Smirnov tried to resist this: he collected signatures of parishioners, campaigned for the opening of the cathedral, and then was arrested and shot at the Butovo training ground. Now he is canonized as a new martyr.
The building of the cathedral during the Soviet years belonged to the museum - it housed funds and a museum archive. In the 1970s, the cathedral was put under state protection and restored. Since 1992 it has been handed over to believers.
Nikola Zaraisky
The main shrine of the cathedral is the very ancient miraculous icon of Nikola Zaraisky … The day this icon was transferred from Korsun - July 29 (or August 14 in the new style) - was a citywide holiday. On this day, the "Story of Nicholas Zaraisky" was solemnly read and a memorial service for the prince's family was served, and then they walked in procession to the source. According to legend, this source, “ White well ”Appeared exactly at the place of the solemn meeting of the Korsun icon. Now this spring, located north of the Kremlin, is still considered miraculous. A chapel has been restored above it and a font for ablution has been built.
The icon was a large image of St. Nicholas "with brands", that is, surrounded by episodes from his life. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rewritten and updated - this was considered the norm. They revered the image itself, but the artistry of the image was of little interest to anyone. The last time it was "repaired" was in 1797 - at the same time a corresponding inscription was made about it. The icon was decorated with a precious setting, on which there was also an inscription about the donor - it was the king Vasily Shuiskyand the salary was created in 1608. However, by the 19th century the setting was double: the very image of St. Nicholas in a gold setting with stones and pearls made by Shuisky and the hallmarks in a silver setting with gilding.
Of course, the salaries were not preserved. But the icon itself survived - it was transferred to the local museum of local lore, and in 1966 - to the museum. Andrey Rublev in Moscow. In the museum, it was cleared of later strata and returned to its original form. In 2013, the icon was returned to believers and is now in the Nikolsky Cathedral. A lot of controversy was connected with this - the icon is very ancient and requires special storage conditions. It is placed in a special capsule, where the necessary microclimate is maintained, and its condition is monitored by specialists from the Zaraisk Museum.
Cathedral of the Beheading of John the Baptist
The second cathedral of the Zaraisk complex was built on the site of the legendary burial place of the Ryazan prince Fyodor and his family. The building itself was changed several times. Initially, the temple was wooden, then it became stone - since 1525, earlier than Nikolsky.
In the middle of the 16th century, it was dismantled and a new one was made, by the forties of the 18th century it was dilapidated again and the next church was built, already brick. There is a correspondence that the construction is being delayed due to a lack of bricks. Apparently, there was not enough money for high-quality building materials: in 1818 it did not even decay - it simply fell apart. The next church, in the Empire style, was built in 1822 and stood until the end of the 19th century.
A new church was built 1901-1904 in pseudo-Russian style … Became an architect Konstantin Bykovsky, renowned restorer and architect. Over the centuries, the building of the temple "moved" from the prince's graves and a separate monument in the form of three tombstones with crosses was built and consecrated above them. They gave money for the next restructuring Bakhrushins - the famous merchant family. The Bakhrushin family comes from Zaraisk; in the 19th century they moved to Moscow. They owned tanneries and cloth factories, did a lot of charity work, invested in the development of culture, built a lot in Moscow, but, as we see, they did not forget their hometown either.
In Soviet times the bell tower was blown up, and in the temple itself is arranged cinema … The building was handed over to believers in 1992. Until 2006, the temple was restored and now it is completely put in order, the bell tower and the tombstones destroyed in the Soviet years have been restored.
Museum
Now the museum is located in the Kremlin in the former building of "public places", that is, the residence of the city administration in the 19th century. The building was built in the first half of the 19th century. This is a typical one-storey office building of the Classicist era. In the XX century, it was significantly reconstructed from the inside: in almost two hundred years, the wooden floors had rotted away and in the 80s they were replaced with metal ones. Initially, city officials were housed here, then - Zaraisk theological schoole, then a museum.
The history of the museum dates back to 1910 year … Then the first museum of natural history was created in the city. In 1918, another one was created - an artistic-historical one, and in 1924 they were merged.
The exposition of the Zaraisk Museum now includes five halls … Here, as in many museums near Moscow, after the revolution, an extensive collection of paintings from the surrounding estates was collected. This is a Russian portrait of the 18th-19th centuries: the owners of the estates, members of their families and the Zaraysk merchants. But there is also Western European painting and paintings by Russian Itinerant artists.
There is a large 19th century porcelain collection: both the largest and most famous factories, such as the Gardner factory and the Sevres manufactory, and small provincial porcelain factories. A lot of furniture came here from the estates - for example, a lot of French furniture of the 18th-19th centuries was brought from the Sennitsa estate.
Interesting Facts
The Zaraisk Kremlin is the smallest Kremlin in the Moscow region.
Protopop Alexei, who rebuilt the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in the 18th century, had been whipped a few years earlier because he "incorrectly inscribed the royal title." These were the severe times of Anna Ioannovna, when one could lose one's head for such a thing …
On a note
- Location: Moscow region, Zaraysk, pl. Revolution.
- How to get there: by regular bus to Zaraysk from the Kotelniki metro station or by train in Ryazan direction to the Lukhovitsy station, then by bus to Zaraysk.
- Official website:
- Cost of admission: adult - 100 rubles, school - 50 rubles.
- Working hours: 10: 00-18: 00, Monday - day off.
