Constructed: 1158- 60
Open: Tue- Sun: 1-4:30pm
Closed: Monday
Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir is an UNESCO World Heritage site. Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir is famous for its frescoes from 1408 made by Andrey Rublev and Daniil Cherniy. The church was originally constructed in 1158- 61 during reign of Andrey (Andrew) Bogolubskiy (God- loving). After his death he was buried inside the church. The white stone for the construction was brought from the Volga Bulgars. In September 21th, 1164 most sacred miraculous icon of Vladimir Mother of God was transferred here. After fire of 1185 the original church was surrounded by galleries on its three sides. Further renovations in the 13th century increased the size of the building and added four domes on each side. The central dome was supposed to represent the head of the Church, Jesus Christ, and four smaller domes represented the four writers of the Gospels: Mark, Luke, John and Matthew. In the necropolis of the church many of princes of Vladimir, their families and bishops were buried.
The Assumption Cathedral was built in 1158-1560.
Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky made Vladimir his capital and began new
pompous construction in it. The best masters were invited - according to
some reports, some of them were sent by Frederick Barbarossa himself.
The new temple was taller than the famous Kiev and Novgorod Sophia.
In 1185 there was a fire that destroyed part of the murals and the
temple was renovated and remodeled. This happened under the next prince
- Vsevolod the Big Nest, Andrei's younger brother. It was under him that
the Vladimir principality became the most extensive and powerful of the
Russian lands, and the Assumption Cathedral was its main temple and the
tomb of the rulers: both Andrei Bogolyubsky, and his sons, and Vsevolod
himself were buried there.
During these years, the Assumption
Cathedral was surrounded by wide closed galleries, and arches were made
in the old walls - it turned out that the old temple was, as it were,
inside the new one. Part of the carving was transferred to the new outer
walls, part was made anew. Scholars debate whether the original temple
had five domes or one dome, but the new temple definitely had five
domes.
In 1238, the cathedral was on fire during the storming of
Vladimir by the Tatar-Mongolian troops, but only the interior was badly
damaged, while the external appearance remained unchanged. In the XIV
century, under Dmitry Donskoy, he re-signed the team of Andrei Rublev
and Daniil Cherny. By the 18th century, the building was badly
dilapidated. At the beginning of the 18th century, the roof of the
cathedral was rebuilt - it was replaced with an ordinary four-pitched
one. But his condition still leaves much to be desired.
In 1769
Catherine II visited Vladimir. She allocated 14 thousand rubles for the
repair of the ancient temple. In the process of this repair, the old
Rublev frescoes were whitewashed and the iconostasis was dismantled.
Instead of the old one, they put a carved baroque one in the spirit of
the new time. It was carved by masters Kalistrat and Stepan Bochkarev.
New icons were also placed in it - the work of the Vladimir icon painter
Strokin.
At the very beginning of the 19th century, the
earthworks of the old fortress were demolished, and the temple was
surrounded by a new fence. In 1810, a new bell tower was built to
replace the old one, which was struck by lightning. The bell tower was
already built in the classicist style, but made in such a way as to fit
into the overall ensemble - for example, its plaster decorations partly
repeat the white stone carving of the temple. A chapel was built on the
ground floor of the bell tower. In 1862, according to the project of N.
Artleben, the warm aisle of St. George the Victorious was rebuilt - now
it connects the temple and the bell tower. During these years, the
discovery of the ancient frescoes of the cathedral gradually begins.
Cathedral in the XX-XXI centuries
Since 1917, the famous Sergius
Stargorodsky, the future patriarch, has been serving here. He was
appointed Metropolitan of Vladimir in 1917, in 1922 he accepted
Renovationism, and then renounced it. The next archbishop of Vladimir,
Nikolai Dobronravov, served here from 1923 to 1925, and in 1937 he was
shot at the Butovo training ground. Now revered as a saint. In memory of
him, a commemorative plaque was installed on the St. George's aisle of
the temple.
In 1922-23, all valuables were confiscated, and a
branch of the museum was set up in the St. George's chapel. At first it
was a museum of church antiquities, then it was the anti-religious
department of the Vladimir museum. In the pre-war and war years, the
temple was almost abandoned for some time and no one cares for the
unique frescoes. But in 1944 the temple reopens, and it is a little put
in order both outside and inside. In the 50s, at the same time, a new
heating system was installed in the building, which normalizes the
temperature regime.
The last restoration was carried out in
1974-82. At the same time, burials in niches with inscriptions were
restored. In 1995, a monument to Andrei Rublev by the sculptor O. Komov
appeared near the western wall of the temple, and in the early 2000s, a
bow cross in front of the temple and a memorial sign to the 600th
anniversary of the Vladimir diocese.
Now the temple functions as
a cathedral.
Saints of Vladimir
The history of the Assumption
Cathedral is connected with the tragic events of 1238, when Vladimir was
devastated by the Tatar-Mongolian troops, and Vladimir Prince Yuri
Vsevolodovich himself and his entire family died, except for one
daughter.
Prince Yuri was killed in the battle on the river City
or Set. The younger son of Yuri Vsevolodovich, Vladimir was captured.
The Tatars offered to surrender the city in exchange for his life, but
the defenders refused, and then Vladimir was executed at the Golden
Gate. The Ipatiev Chronicle tells that when it became clear that the
city could not be saved, two other brothers - young Vsevolod and
Mstislav - took the monastic vows and went to negotiations, but were
brutally killed. During the last assault on Vladimir, Princess Agafya
Vsevolodovna, with her daughters, grandson and daughters-in-law, and
Vladimir Bishop Mitrofan locked themselves in the Assumption Church. All
of them prepared for death and took on a monastic image. The Tatars set
fire to the temple, and everyone who took refuge in it perished.
All of them were buried right there, in the Assumption Cathedral, after
it was repaired. In 1645, the body of Yuri Vsevolodovich was found
incorrupt, and in the same year he and his family were canonized.
In 1702 Andrei Bogolyubsky was also canonized. After the revolution,
the relics were opened, examined and placed in the Georgievsky side
chapel as part of a museum exposition. The body of Andrei Bogolyubsky
was studied for many years, and was transferred to the Church only in
1987.
Another saint is the son of Andrei Bogolyubsky Gleb.
Chronicle information about him has not been preserved, there are only
hagiographical ones. He died before reaching the age of twenty shortly
before the death of his father, and during his lifetime he was
distinguished by piety and meekness and was very loved by the people. He
began to be revered as a locally revered saint from the beginning of the
17th century - it is believed that in 1608 the city was delivered from
the Lithuanian invasion precisely thanks to prayer to him. In 1702, his
body was found incorrupt and he was canonized along with his father.
Not only princes, but also bishops were buried in the cathedral.
Saint Mitrofan was canonized, who at the very beginning of the 14th
century made Vladimir the center of the Russian metropolis.
Now
burials are the main shrine of the cathedral.
Frescoes of the
Assumption Cathedral
The cathedral has preserved several fragments of
the original paintings - 1161 and 1189. These are images of two saints
on the northern wall of the Andrei Bogolyubsky limit and several
ornamental fragments. But, of course, the most important thing here is
the frescoes by Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny, dating back to 1408.
The Assumption Cathedral is a temple where the paintings of great
artists have been preserved most of all - more than three hundred square
meters. meters.
It is not surprising that the masters were sent
here from Moscow. Moscow princes - first of all, Dmitry Donskoy,
considered themselves the successors of Vladimir and cared about the
beauty of the family tomb and the ancient temple, which was associated
with historical memory.
These frescoes have survived a lot.
They dilapidated, cracked and crumbled, and under Catherine II they were
whitewashed. Their new discovery took place already from the middle of
the 19th century: they begin to gradually open and be restored. Some of
the Rublyov frescoes were discovered in the 50s of the 19th century, and
some in the 80s. A large restoration took place immediately after the
revolution, when in 1917 a commission was sent here under the leadership
of the artist I. Grabar. The frescoes in their current state are the
result of restoration in the 1980s.
It is extremely difficult to
distinguish who is the author of the specific subjects of these
frescoes. Two masters worked here with similar, but still individual
manners - Andrei Rublev and his friend Daniil Cherny - and a whole artel
of assistants, because such frescoes are not painted alone.
The
fresco “The Last Judgment” on the western vaults is best preserved - it
is confidently attributed to Andrei Rublev. A distinctive feature of his
painting is its tranquility. Even the Last Judgment tells not so much
about anger towards sinners, but about mercy to the righteous and
forgiveness. And now this painting creates the impression of amazing
light and joy, and once the colors were much brighter and deeper.
The frescoes "Bosom of Abraham" and "Procession of the Righteous to
Paradise" were most likely executed by another icon painter. They are
more traditional and the saints depicted by him have slightly different
types of faces. But this painting is also airy and elegant. It fits
perfectly into the architecture of the temple and emphasizes its
volumes, increases the amount of light.
Now the ancient frescoes
are still under threat, and their preservation is the subject of close
attention of restorers. The fact is that in the current cathedral it is
very difficult to observe the temperature regime, the baroque
iconostasis accumulates dust and soot on itself, so scientists are
watching the fate of the unique murals with anxiety.
Interesting
Facts
Thanks to the opening of the relics of Andrei Bogolyubsky, we
have the opportunity to see his appearance. His skull was examined in
the early 40s. and M. Gerasimov performed his famous reconstruction. At
the beginning of the 20th century, new research was carried out and
another reconstruction was made, which differed from Gerasimov's.
Icons from the dismantled iconostasis of the Assumption Cathedral are
now in the Tretyakov Gallery. Experts argue whether their author is
Andrei Rublev himself or one of his imitators.
On a note
Location. Vladimir, st. Bolshaya Moskovskaya, 56.
How to get
there. How to get there. By train from the Kursk railway station or by
bus from Schelkovskaya metro station to Vladimir, then by trolleybuses
No. 5, 10 and 12 to the city center, or up the stairs to the Assumption
Cathedral. Free admission.
Official website of the cathedral:
http://sobor33.ru/