Open: 10am- 5pm
Mon, Wed: 10am- 4pm
Closed: Mondays and last Friday of the Month
Vladimir Trinity Church that is commonly known as the Red Church due to color of its red bricks was constructed in 1913- 16 as an Orthodox Church of the Old Believers sect. The architect for this pseudo- medieval Russian church was famous architect S.M. Zharov. The fact that Trinity Church was constructed in the centre of Vladimir near medieval Golden Gate gives an idea how influential they were despite semi- legitimate existence within borders of the Russian Empire. It once had black oak iconostasis, but it didn't survive turbulent Russian history. During atheistic rule the church was closed in 1928 and in the 1960's it was on a brink of destruction, but active objection of Vladimir residents saved Trinity Church. Instead it was turned into an art gallery.
The famous Trinity Church is a religious building
of the oldest city of Vladimir. But despite all her merits, her life
was very short. The opening of the temple was planned for numerous
believers, which happened in the pre-revolutionary years.
The
Trinity Old Believer Church was built between 1913 and 1916, when
the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Imperial House of the
Romanovs was celebrated, which was built according to the project of
the famous architect Zharov S.M. on the funds of Old Believer
merchants in Vladimir. Their influence was especially strong, which
is why permission was given to build a temple on the central square
of the city, not far from the Golden Gate. Residents of the city
call it the "Red Church".
The project of the Trinity Church
was planned by the architect Zharov, and its style belongs to
pseudo-Russian. The temple is not only majestic and beautiful, but
also decorated with rich and skillful decoration. The temple used to
have a carved iconostasis made of black oak. The icons included in
the iconostasis were made long before the founding of the temple
according to ancient models.
The construction of the
church was made of red brick using the "cross masonry" method. The
temple had a high cupola, and next to it was a bell tower. Trinity
Church has become a symbol of the improved building technology of
its time, which carried the inherent elements of a variety of
architectural styles. It has excellent acoustic properties, which
allow even in modern times to arrange performances of various choirs
here.
Temple services continued until 1928. In the mid-1960s,
a decision was made to destroy the shrine, which would significantly
expand the available area. But numerous intercessors of the Trinity
Church, with the active intervention of the writer Soloukhin V.A.,
were able to save the temple.
During 1971-1973, a large-scale
restoration was carried out. In the late spring of 1974, an
exhibition entitled “Crystal. Embroidery. Lacquer miniature”,
belonging to the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum.
As for the new
exhibition, it is worth noting that its creators were pursuing the
idea of a complete change in people's attitude towards Gusev glass
works in order to move away from the traditional view in ordinary
showcases. The task was solved by the artist Ozernikov L.V., who
played with the exhibition space, in which arts and crafts and
architecture act as a single whole. The hall is decorated in shades
of gray-blue and blue, which evoke a sense of depth. These colors
literally fascinate visitors when considering amazing glass. It
tells how Vladimir archaeologists discovered some traces of work
with glass ceramics in the distant past. The modern glass industry
is represented by 23 enterprises of the Vladimir region.
The
exhibition presents unique works by talented glass artists who still
continue the traditions of the classic diamond cut, as well as the
gouge technique known in the past.
In a new form, the crafts
of the one-of-a-kind center related to decorative and applied arts
are presented - this is the city of Mstera. A logical combination
was made in a small hall intended for an exhibition of artistic
embroidery, as well as lacquer miniatures, which together look much
brighter and more attractive. The exhibition contains the themes of
fairy tale, historical and epic stories presented in lacquer
miniature. Here you can see unique holy images, the date of creation
of which is the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, as
well as icons of contemporary artists of Mstera.
In the new
exposition of the museum you can get acquainted with the activities
of Nechaev-Maltsov Yu.S., who was the owner of a company store in
Moscow and St. Petersburg.
There is also an art salon in the
building of the Trinity Church, where it is possible to purchase
some products of talented craftsmen.