Far beyond the borders of our country, the ancient Russian city of Suzdal is famous for its historical sights. Without exaggeration, each monument located on this earth can be called a masterpiece of not only Russian, but also world architecture.
Today we want to invite you on a virtual tour to Suzdal. Pokrovsky monastery is of great interest to tourists, so we will explore this monastery.
Location
The monastery is located on the banks of the picturesque Kamenka River, which carries its waters along Suzdal. Snow-white buildings located in a flowering meadow give the monastery some unreal, fabulous look. And Kamenka itself is a very beautiful river, especially in June, when it is covered with blooming water lilies. We inform everyone who plans to visit the Pokrovsky Monastery (Suzdal), the address of the monastery: st. Pokrovskaya, 76.
The history of the monastery
The walls of this ancient structure hold many secrets and interesting facts that still cause great interest among historians and researchers. The fact is that Pokrovsky Convent was not a monastery in the usual sense of the word: women of a higher class were serving a life exile here. Often they were exiled here not for some grave sins, but only because someone needed to get rid of them. Forced nuns whiled away the remnants of their lives in wooden cells, their fate was predetermined, so the monastery had an underground crypt, where the unfortunate ended their earthly journey.
It is believed that the Holy Protection Monastery (Suzdal) owes its appearance to a miracle. According to an ancient legend, Prince Andrei Konstantinovich returned to his hometown from Nizhny Novgorod when a storm of unprecedented power began. The prince vowed that if he survived, he would certainly build a monastic monastery in his hometown. It should be assumed that the journey ended successfully, since in 1364 the Pokrovsky Monastery (Suzdal) began to be built in the lowland of the banks of the Kamenka River. The history of the monastery dates back to 1364.
The Holy Pokrovsky Convent (Suzdal) reached its peak during the reign of Vasily III. He donated to the monastery at the beginning of the XVI century huge funds that were used to build the Holy Gates and the Intercession Cathedral, which have survived to this day, as well as the preserved fence and cells.
Mysterious nuns
One of the first noble prisoners of the monastery was the wife of Vasily III Solomoniya Saburova - the Grand Duchess. In 1525, Vasily III accused his wife, with whom he lived twenty years, of infertility. He forcibly tonsured her as a nun and sent her to the Intercession Monastery. In those days, divorce was unheard of, and in order to get permission from the spiritual authorities for another marriage, Vasily III allocated huge funds for the development of the monastery.
However, it soon became clear that Vasily III’s accusations of infertility were in vain. A few months after the tonsure, a son was born to Solomonia, but, fearing the machinations of the new wife of her ex-wife Elena Glinsky (the future mother of Tsar Ivan the Terrible), she was forced to report the death of the prince.
There is a version that Solomonia sent the baby to the Crimean Khan, who later played a role in history, becoming famous as the robber Kudeyar. After the tonsure, Solomonia received the name Sofia; after her death she was canonized by the church as the Reverend Sofia of Suzdal. Later, they began to consider her the patroness of Suzdal.
Further history of the monastery
In 1551, when the one-year-old daughter of Ivan the Terrible passed away, the Zachatievsky Church was re-built by his decree, which replaced the shabby wooden structure (XIV century). The apse was added to it much later (XVII century). Around the same time, a cookery appeared on the territory of the monastery and the construction of the fence continued, which was started back in the 16th century.
Suzdal, Pokrovsky monastery in the XX century
Like most religious buildings in Russia, the monastery was closed and sacked in 1923. Since 1933, there has been a military biological laboratory, the Special Purpose Bureau of the OGPU - an organization in which prisoners worked. These were experienced specialists of various specialties. All of them were engaged in the development of biological weapons. In 1935, prisoners B. Ya. Elbert and N. A. Gaysky created a vaccine against tularemia here. The laboratory worked on the territory of the monastery until 1936.
In the sixties of the last century, restoration works were carried out in the monastery buildings, and later museum displays appeared in them. In the late eighties, a tourist complex was located here, in which there was a restaurant and a bar, and in the magnificent Pokrovsky Cathedral there was a concert hall. A hotel for tourists has even appeared here, but we will talk about it a little later.
In the nineties, the changes taking place in the country also affected Suzdal. The Pokrovsky monastery in 1992 was returned to the church, in it a sedate monastic life was revived. Today it is a working monastery. He owns the cathedral, outbuildings, the building of the almshouse, huts-cells.
Architecture
The first buildings of the monastery were wooden. Today you can see the later buildings, which experts attribute to the XVI century. White-stone walls, wonderful architecture, combining both Old Russian and Western European elements, sophisticated decor.
But, of course, the central monument of this marvelous ensemble is the Intercession Cathedral of the Intercession Monastery in Suzdal. It was built in 1518 on the site of a wooden temple. Unfortunately, the names of the masters were not preserved in history. This is a massive four-pillar building with a high basement and surrounded by a two-story open gallery on three sides, to which two covered staircases lead.
From the river to the building adjoins the altar with high windows located in deep niches. The apses are separated by smooth columns and decorated with a carved cornice with a small pattern. It is repeated in the design of light drums, which are crowned with helmet-shaped heads. The walls of the cathedral are divided into three parts by shoulder blades. They end with keeled zakomaras.
The interior of the cathedral is quite strict: there are no traditional murals on the white walls, the floor is tiled with black tiles. The main decoration of the interior has always been magnificent icons and exquisite artistic embroidery. Some of these exhibits can be seen today in the museum of the monastery. The cathedral was rebuilt many times over its long history, but in 1962 its original form was restored.
Interesting Facts
- The cathedral became the tomb for many noble nuns of the monastery.
- The monastery and the temple during the celebration of the centenary of the Romanov dynasty were visited by Nicholas II.
- In the spring of 1994, the Archbishop of Suzdal and Vladimir Evlogy consecrated the Cathedral of the Protection of the Virgin. A few years later, a new four-tier iconostasis was installed here, which is decorated with icons painted by nuns.
Bell tower
This building is immediately seen by everyone who comes to Suzdal. Pokrovsky monastery has a very beautiful bell tower. It is located northwest of the cathedral. Its lower part is a pillar-shaped church, built in 1515. It was an octagon crowned with a glaucus. In the second half of the 17th century, an arched tier was built over the church, which was combined with a fence standing next to it and a high tent decorated with three rows of dormer windows framed.
The covered gallery connecting the bell tower and the cathedral has a sophisticated decor: two original arched openings are ennobled by rust, and the windows, framed by elegant platbands, are separated by rusticated pilasters.
Holy gate
Another ancient monument of the monastery is the Holy Gate and the Gate Church. These structures also date back to 1515. The gates are unique, first of all, the function assigned to them: at the same time they were a church and a powerful fortress tower.
The head church is located in the upper part of the quadrangle, which is cut by two arched openings, and the overall composition is very similar to the outline of the Intercession Cathedral. At the corners of the church there are two small aisles, which are crowned with light drums with helmet-shaped domes, and the central, more massive drum with narrow windows rests on two tiers of zakomar.
The exterior walls are decorated with intricate decor that resembles wood carvings. The gate church was also rebuilt many times, but in 1958 the restoration work carried out according to the project of A. D. Varganov returned the original appearance to the unique monument.
Refectory of the Intercession Monastery (Suzdal)
This building, located north of Pokrovsky Cathedral, has more similarities with Polish than with Russian architecture. It was built in 1551. The very small Zachatievskaya church adjoins the strict in form of the two-story refectory building, which can be recognized by the small chapel. The massive arches of the refectory located on the second floor are supported by a pillar in the center.
The lower floor was reserved for utility rooms. The only decoration of this building can be called an ornament in the form of red brick rhombuses, enveloping the entire structure around the perimeter. On the west side is a hexagonal belfry.
The refectory in the Pokrovsky monastery (Suzdal) used to be surrounded by several utility rooms. The one-story cookery, which was used for cooking, was erected in the 17th century. Today it is restored and is a rare example of monastic architecture.
Order hut
In the southern part of the territory of the monastery, a monument of civil Russian architecture - the Order hut. Its interiors at the beginning of the 18th century were restored in 1970. In the dungeon of this building is the so-called stone bag. It contained prisoners of the monastery.
Fence
The very first fence of the monastery from stone was built back in the 16th century, later it was rebuilt several times, and in the 20th century A.D. Varganov restored it. The site of the old fence with tent towers devoid of decor dates back to the 17th century. It is located in the northern part of the territory and forms a small enclosed courtyard. The towers (XVIII century), decorated with hemispherical domes, are very picturesque. Experts believe that perhaps in the beginning they also had a tent-like finish.
Hotel "Pokrovskaya"
Ancient and foreign Suzdal delights Russian and foreign tourists. Pokrovsky monastery is included in the program of almost all excursion programs. Many travelers are surprised that at the entrance to the monastery they see neat wooden houses.
The thing is that in dashing perestroika times, the Pokrovskaya Hotel was located in the monastery, which was a stylized hut. They were very fond of staying in foreign tourists. In 2008, the hotel ceased operation, and its owners donated houses to the monastery. Now there is a shelter for girls, as well as monastic cells.