The Transfiguration Cathedral in Yaroslavl is the main church in the former male monastery. This is a famous monument of architecture and painting of the XVI century. It was erected in the years 1506-1516 at the direction of Basil III.
Construction
In order to build the Transfiguration Church in Yaroslavl, Moscow masters from those who built churches in the Moscow Kremlin sent to the city. This church is on the foundation of the cathedral, which was built in the 13th century, but collapsed during a fire in 1501. At the moment, it is the oldest stone building in Yaroslavl.
As can be seen in the photo, the Transfiguration Cathedral in Yaroslavl is a four-pillar cross-domed structure. The basement is quite high. On 3 sides it is surrounded by galleries - open two-tier structures from the western and southern parts. It has helmet-shaped heads that were once covered with white German iron.
The architecture of the Yaroslavl Transfiguration Cathedral contains signs of an order system. A decor in some places inspired by Renaissance motifs. In general, the monument is light and strict. It is quite in the style of architecture of Russia of the 16th century.
The history of the Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl contains numerous episodes of perestroika. It was constantly restored, and the most ambitious works of this profile have been carried out since 1919. This process was completed in 1957-1961 by E. Karavaev. This was done with the goal of final restoration of the ancient appearance of architectural buildings.
Interior
The walls were painted in the years 1530-1540 by Moscow and local masters. This information is very accurately and succinctly preserved in the history of the Transfiguration Cathedral of Yaroslavl: mention of this moment is in the annals, which are in the hallmarks of the inner edge of the western pillars. There was a signature that perpetuated the names of the masters for centuries. The brothers Athanasius and Dementy Sidorov who signed there became thus the first local artists whose names are known to today's descendants.
In addition, with their signature they immortalized the name of the temple. At the moment, the Transfiguration Cathedral of Yaroslavl is generally the only Russian monument of Grozny time, the exact date of the painting and the names of the masters of which are known.
The temple was painted according to the traditional system. In painting, quite high artistic merits, monumentality, spirituality are noted. It is known that the painting was restored several times. In the years 1700-1781 it was completely restored again. In 1814, painting in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Yaroslavl was painted with oil paint and the consequences of these corrections are most significant. The composition of the Last Judgment suffered, several frescoes were lost during the rebuilding.
Monastery
The history of the Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl is very interesting. It was here that in the XVII century they found the "Word about Igor's Regiment" - the most important monument of ancient Russian literature. The monastery was known separately, because the date of its foundation is the 12th century.
The Yaroslavl Transfiguration Monastery played a key role in the history of the city. For a long time it was a spiritual and economic center. Around him gathered the surrounding land. The cloister was a rival to Posada.
It is known that Ivan the Terrible often liked to spend time here. He gave local monks several villages, 200 villages, fishing grounds. His son Fedor also loved to be here. Most of the buildings available here were erected later than the foundation of the monastery itself. For example, the walls here were originally made of wood. And only in the XVII century they were rebuilt into stone. Then the towers appeared.
In the XVIII century, the library was equipped in the monastery and began to actively rewrite books. By the end of the same century, the metropolitan lived here. When the revolution thundered, the Transfiguration Cathedral of Yaroslavl was preserved, and the monastery was made a museum.
sights
There are many of them in this area. The Transfiguration Cathedral of Yaroslavl is the main building of the monastery. Its frescoes are an ancient monument of architecture. It has an iconostasis, some icons of which came from ancient times.
Near the Transfiguration Cathedral of Yaroslavl there are many interesting ancient structures. For example, the Holy Gate deserves attention. They were created at the beginning of the 16th century. They were at the main entrance to the monastery. In addition, it was from them that the neighborhood was viewed from a watchtower.
An important part of the complex is the refectory. Three buildings stand out in it - itself, the Church of the Nativity of the 16th century, the insistent building of the 17th century. Cells were preserved in which monks lived in the 17th century.
At the Transfiguration Cathedral in Yaroslavl there is also a museum. The monastery is no longer considered operational, it has become one large reserve. There are guided tours telling about wooden sculpture, carvings of ancient Russian cathedrals. In addition, there is a rich collection of ancient manuscripts. A separate exposition is compiled from the "Word on Igor's Regiment".
The rich history of the complex
One of the most ancient buildings of the city is the Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl. He observed virtually the entire history of the city over the past 800 years. When Yaroslavl was founded, Prince Rostov Yaroslav laid down the Kremlin, called the Chopped City. Local pagans were evicted, and here came from the princely capital city. They began to develop the riverine zones very actively. According to the results of archaeological research, this area was densely populated in the XI-XII centuries.
However, on the shores of Kotorosli there was a place of cult significance for the Gentiles. It was the Veles temple. According to some reports, in the second half of the XII century a monastery was founded here in order to destroy the pagan place of worship. By that time, it was a tradition: to build a temple on the site of pagan temples.
In addition, often people sought to make a celebration or the nature of worship close to the Orthodox shrines. So the pagan day of Veles and the day of the Transfiguration of the Savior were celebrated on the same day - August 6. On the site of existing buildings in the XIII century, Prince Konstantin the Wise laid the "stone church" of the Transfiguration of the Savior. Yaroslavl was of particular importance, since there were princely outposts.
Prince Konstantin founded the first school in the north of Russia until 1214. There were monastery libraries in which more than 1000 Greek manuscripts were stored - the richest reserves at that time. There were also scribes, translators. Probably, the famous Spassky Gospel of the 13th century was created here. This is the most important exposition in the museum of Yaroslavl.
Archaeological site at the Cathedral
The construction of the temple was completed by Vsevolod Konstantinovich in 1224. But due to the Tatar-Mongol invasion, the flowering of the Volga city was interrupted for many years. The fire of 1221 resulted in the destruction of 17 churches. Like many other Russian cities, in 1238 Yaroslavl was captured, devastated and burned to the ground. Residents who defended themselves to the last were killed. This is evidenced by archaeological excavations of 2005-2006 on the site of the former Assumption Cathedral on Strelka.
Group burials were discovered. Almost all the bones in them belonged to women, the elderly and children. There were almost no others, since the warriors were on the River Cit, where they jointly opposed enemy units. Blows leading to death were inflicted from above, from the side, or from behind. Studies have shown that the burial was not carried out immediately, but somewhat later, in the spring. This suggests that the inhabitants of the destroyed city in the winter made an exodus, and after partially returned with the heat.
A valuable find in the cathedral
The elevation of the monastery took place at the end of the 13th century. Then he became a princely tomb. Earlier, the princely family was buried in the Petrovsky Monastery or in the Assumption Cathedral. But starting with Fedor Cherny they began to be buried here.
The wooden and stone monastery buildings were not preserved. However, archaeological excavations shed light on their original location. It became clear and their appearance. The walls were in the shape of an irregular pentagon, there were towers and gates.
The cathedral was built in 1216-1224. Nearby was the Temple of the Entrance to Jerusalem of 1218-1221. Around the monastery there was a moat. There was also a dungeon. After another fire in 1430, 3 people were found in the basement of the Transfiguration Cathedral. There was evidence that miraculous healings were once performed there. The fire revealed miraculous relics, which later became saints. These were the Yaroslavl princes Fedor and his two sons - David and Constantine.
Golden age
This period for Yaroslavl is considered the time of the reign of Fedor. In the late 1250s, the princely throne was left without an heir and the daughter of Konstantin, who died in the legendary battles on Tugovaya Hill in 1257, could not be an heiress according to the traditions of those years. For this reason, her mother Ksenia decided to find a noble son-in-law, but not rich enough to join Yaroslavl to her principality. She chose Fyodor Cherny, the Chernigov prince, whose rule was very successful.
Afterwards
If events would develop further favorably, it is possible that Russian statehood would form around this center. The children of Fedor - David and Constantine - did not achieve their former greatness. Later, for many centuries, the city with its monastery played a crucial role in the history of Russia.
Soviet era
In Soviet times, there were many institutions here, at one time a school functioned on the territory of the monastery, the military were located and the entrance was strictly by passes, ordinary locals also lived. But most of the time there were open exhibitions and a museum. The complex received a lot of damage during the shelling of the Red Army in the 1920s. But after intensively restored. Buildings returned to their original appearance.
Working hours
The cathedral is closed from October 1 to May 1. In the rest of the time it is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, there are no breaks. Weekends are Wednesday, as well as rainy days. Priest is Priest Andrei Rykov.
How to get there
It is located at: Yaroslavl, Epiphany Square, 25. You can get to the cathedral by bus from the railway station, as well as from the Yaroslavl arrow. The stop is called the "Epiphany Square".
Reviews
According to reviews, the Transfiguration Cathedral needs restoration. Most tourists note the beauty of this place, as well as the spirit of the history of this ancient cathedral. The reviews say that at the entrance to the complex, which houses the Transfiguration Cathedral, a fee is paid.