Golden Gate of Vladimir is an outstanding monument of ancient
medieval architecture designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Golden Gate was constructed by Andrew Bogolyubsky (God- Loving) in
1164 for defensive purpose of the city walls that once stood here.
It reaches a height of 14 meters. From the North and the South
Golden Gate was flanked by protective walls and moats. The name of
Golden Gate eludes to the Golden Gate of Jerusalem. According to the
New Testament Golden Gate was used by Jesus Christ to enter the
city.
Vladimir Golden Gate was the main triumphant entrance
to the city that was used by the princes and boyars (Russian
aristocracy) to enter Vladimir. Golden Gate of Vladimir is the only
gate that survived from the medieval times. In the 12th century
medieval Vladimir had seven entrance gates: Copper, Volgda, Silver,
Irina's, Trading, Ivanovo and Golden Gate. Golden was the highest
and most elaborate. Historians also believe that the main entrance
of the walled city of Vladimir protected by wooden doors with golden
plates depicting religious scenes. In fact during night Easter mass
service was held here. However during Tatar attack under leadership
of Chan Batiy in 1238 the plates disappeared. Presumably they were
hidden by the citizen of the city in the nearby lakes or buried
underground.
In the last 50 years the Golden Gate houses
Vladimir- Suzdal Military Historic Museum. The center of its
collection is dominated by a diorama of sacking of Vladimir by the
Mongol forces of khan Batu in 1238. Additionally there is a small
collection of various weapons that date back to the 18th and 19th
century including relics from the Patriotic War of 1812. In the
summer of 1991 thousands of residents of Vladimir came to the Golden
Gate to greed relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov, who were solemnly
transported from St. Petersburg to Diveevo. In the mid-1990s a
historic icon of Christ the Savior and the Mother of God was placed
above the main entrance of the Golden Gate.
Active construction in Vladimir fell on the reign of
Andrei Bogolyubsky. Andrei Bogolyubsky, even after he captured Kyiv,
preferred to have a capital in the north. And not in rich Suzdal, which
had its own traditions - no, the prince chose small Vladimir to build
the capital here anew. It was near Vladimir in the village of
Bogolyubovo that he created a residence for himself, but construction
began in the city itself. The masters who built Bogolyubovo, the
Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and the front Golden Gate belonged to
different nations. According to one of the lost chronicles, several
masters were sent to Prince Andrei by the Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire Frederick Barbarossa. Indeed, in all their works, the traditions
of not only Russian, but also Western European architecture can be
traced.
In the middle of the XII century, Vladimir was surrounded
by ramparts with wooden walls and a moat. There were seven entrances to
the city. The Golden Gate, built in 1164, became the main princely
entrance to the new capital. They really were “golden”: their wings were
covered with polished and gilded copper and shone brightly in the sun.
The gate was not only beautiful, but also truly functional and was an
excellent defensive structure. The doors themselves were made of heavy
oak, a bridge led to the gates across the moat, and above them a battle
platform was arranged, from which it was possible to go to the ramparts.
Above is another platform, with a serrated pommel and loopholes. On this
upper platform, a small church of the Deposition of the Robe of the
Mother of God was built and consecrated. The arch of the gate itself, 14
meters high, and the platform above it have survived to this day almost
unchanged, the rest was rebuilt.
By the middle of the 15th
century, the gates were dilapidated. They were restored by the famous
architect, merchant Vasily Yermolin. It was he who in those years was
engaged in the restructuring of the white-stone Moscow Kremlin, the
renovation of the cathedrals of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, as well as
the reconstruction of the famous St. George's Cathedral in
Yuryev-Polsky.
Golden Gate in the XVIII-XX century
In the
middle of the 18th century, under Catherine II, provincial cities began
to be rebuilt: dilapidated wooden and stone kremlins were dismantled,
regular city development plans were adopted, and special provincial
architects were hired for this. In Vladimir, according to the new
development plan, the city ramparts were torn down - they lost their
strategic importance and now only hindered the passage. When the
ramparts were torn down, the Golden Gate was also under threat. Shafts
supported the structure and gave it stability.
The modern
appearance of the Golden Gate is due to the then restructuring. In 1795,
round turrets appeared on the sides of the building, which hid the
buttresses attached to the building. The author of the project was the
provincial architect Ivan Chistyakov. He created not only the project of
the Golden Gate, but also the entire ensemble of the city square and
tried to make all the buildings look in a single complex and “rhyme”. It
was planned to turn the main square into a huge parade ground on which
it was possible to carry out military maneuvers - this was completely in
the spirit of the then reigning Emperor Paul I. But he did not manage to
fully implement his project of rebuilding the square.
The
Rizopolozhenskaya Church is being renovated not according to his
project, but after a few years. It was renovated in 1810 or 1806 - the
exact date is not yet known - and was rebuilt, most likely, according to
the project of the next provincial architect - A. Vershinsky.
By
the thirties, the church was used as a regimental one, and the
outbuildings around the Golden Gate housed a police unit with a
prisoner, a fire equipment warehouse and several city shops. By the
1950s, the church was almost non-existent. The internal ceilings and the
wooden staircase leading to the temple were very dilapidated - it became
simply dangerous to climb there. The staircase was slightly updated for
the arrival of Grand Dukes Nikolai and Mikhail in the city, and was
forgotten again.
In 1864, an idea appeared to rebuild the
Rizopolozhenskaya Church into a building for a water reservoir and turn
the Golden Gate into a water tower. But in the 1870s, worship was
nevertheless resumed. Through the efforts of the priest Simeon Nikolsky,
the stairs to the top are finally being put in order. On the occasion of
the 700th anniversary of the death of Andrei Bogolyubsky, who is revered
as a saint in Vladimir, in 1874 the Vladimir merchants built the
Vladimir chapel with icons of the prince in one of the turrets, and in
1898 the dome of the church was gilded.
At the beginning of the
20th century, in the wake of interest in ancient Russian history and
architecture, ideas arose to restore the historical appearance of the
Golden Gate - at least they were going to restore and upholster the
gates with shiny copper, otherwise it was not clear to anyone why the
whitewashed building with a green roof was called "Golden". Even a
special commission for restoration was created, but it did not manage to
do anything - the 1917 revolution happened. The archive of the Ministry
of Internal Affairs was located in the church, the extensions were
occupied by housing. Restoration began after the war, but the building
was not rebuilt, but the interior was replaced and slightly renovated.
Electricity and ventilation were provided here in 1972, at the same time
a modern museum exposition appeared. At one time, the building served as
a support for a trolleybus line - this had a negative impact on its
condition.
Since 1992, the Golden Gates, along with other
monuments of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture, have been included in the
UNESCO World Heritage List. The last restoration was carried out here in
2001.
Military-historical exposition
Inside the Golden Gate,
on the upper tier, there is now an exposition of a military-historical
orientation. Its main exhibit is a multimedia diorama with illumination
and voice acting about the Tatar-Mongol invasion of 1238, the defense
and the fall of Vladimir. It was established in 1972. The author of the
diorama is the honored artist E. Deshlyt, the founder of one of the
schools of the Soviet diorama.
It houses a collection of weapons
dating back to the 12th century. Swords, shields and details of chain
mail of ancient Russian warriors; a collection of weapons of the 18th
century, the period of the Russian-Turkish wars: captured Turkish guns
and sabers; commemorative signs and medals of the 18th century; stands
dedicated to the war of 1812, etc.
The third part of the
exposition is a gallery of Heroes of the Soviet Union, natives of
Vladimir and its environs. Here are 153 portraits and some personal
items of these people. A separate stand is dedicated to the feat of the
pilot Nikolai Gastello - he was not a native of Vladimir, but Gastello
Street has existed here since 1946. The personal belongings of Vasily
Degtyarev, a military pilot, lieutenant, who commanded one of the air
units that defended these places in 1942, are presented. His plane was
shot down, he sat down, fired back to the last and shot himself with the
last bullet. Another stand is dedicated to cosmonaut Valery Kubasov, a
native of Vladimir.
The gallery of the museum offers a beautiful view
of the town square.
Interesting Facts
The gilded gate leaves
were lost in the 12th century. According to local legends, they still
lie somewhere at the bottom of the Klyazma - they were hidden from the
invaders at the bottom of the river. They say that in the 70s the
Japanese promised to clear the mouth of the Klyazma - so that everything
found at the bottom would be given to them, but the Soviet authorities
refused.
The legend says that the ramparts around the Golden Gate
were torn down by the personal order of Catherine II: she was passing
through the arch and her carriage got stuck in a huge puddle. After
that, the Empress ordered to make detours.
In one of the descriptions
of the city of Vladimir in 1801, another church appears on the Golden
Gate - the Church of Peter and Paul. There are no other traces of this
church - either this is a mistake of the compilers of the inventory, or
the mention of some unpreserved temple is true.
On a note
Location. Vladimir, st. Dvoryanskaya, 1 A.
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.
Official site.
http://www.vladmuseum.ru/
Working hours. 10:00-18:00 daily, closed on the last Thursday of the
month.
Visit cost. Adult - 150 rubles,
preferential - 100 rubles.