Alexandrov Kremlin is a medieval citadel that protected an original
medieval settlement. Unlike other medieval military fortifications
it was not torn down after it lost its primary use. Alexandrov
Kremlin is second largest medieval fortification in Russia. Kremlin
with its towers and walls defended the original settlement. Its main
central building is a Trinity Cathedral. It was built in 1513 and
combines Russian medieval and Italian architecture. Alexandrov
Trinity Cathedral is covered by frescoes that date to the 16th
century. Large copper gates that stand at the entrance of this
Eastern Orthodox Church date back to the 14th century. They were
taken from another cathedral (either Tver or Novgorod) after raid of
Moscow tsar Ivan the Terrible.
The complex of buildings of
the Alexandrov Kremlin is designated as the State Historical and
Architectural Museum Reserve "Alexander Sloboda". Historical center
of Alexandrov is dominated by Crucifixion bell tower that was
erected in the 16th century. Small living quarters next to the tower
served as a house of future Russian Empress Elizabeth during her
exile.
Orthodox Church of the Assumption dates back to the
16th century. Church basement contains medieval cells that were used
to store royal regalia, jewels, documents and other artefacts of
Vasili III and Ivan the Terrible. Next to it is the Church of the
Intercession that dates back to the middle of the 16th century. It
served as a private chapel of tsar Ivan the Terrible. Famous Russian
ruler ordered painting of frescoes on the walls of the church. They
depict Russian princes and martyrs along with Old Testament kings
and saints.
History
Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda has been known
since the middle of the XIV century. By December 11, 1513, the
country palace of Grand Duke Vasily III was built here - he came
here with his family and court. The remains of the palace buildings
are now known under the name of the Alexander Kremlin.
In
1513, the Intercession Cathedral was consecrated in Sloboda, later
re-consecrated as Trinity Cathedral. In our time, it looks a little
different than in the 16th century: some architectural changes, for
example, in the form of windows, belong to a later time. But in
general, it looks almost the same as it was during the construction.
The architectural historian V. V. Kavelmakher, who has studied the
Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda for two decades, noted: "The Intercession
Cathedral is distinguished by incredible, almost phenomenal
preservation for our architecture." The cathedral was originally
two-colored: the now-whitewashed red-brick walls were decorated with
white stone decoration elements. The fresco painting preserved in
the cathedral belongs in part to the 16th century, but in general it
is a painting of a later period; the white stone carving of internal
portals dates back to the 16th century.
Ivan the Terrible
ended up in the Aleksandrovskaya Fortress - the "oprishny"
possession of Elena Glinskaya (that is, passed to her after the
death of her husband, Vasily III) - at the beginning of 1565, having
left "many stone deeds" so that "God would instruct him, sovereign."
In the letters that he sent to the capital, the tsar reported that
"anger and disgrace" were not for the boyars and nobles, who not
only "dragged" the royal treasury, but also "made treason", not
wishing to fight with their enemies.
The Sloboda turned into
the de facto capital of the state, the oprichnina was established
here, orders, the Boyar Duma and a number of other institutions
functioned in the settlement. From here a campaign was made to the
free Veliky Novgorod. The English traveler Fletcher wrote that the
Aleksandrov Sloboda under Ivan the Terrible was ranked first in
terms of income among other cities of Russia. Ivan IV went to Moscow
"for a short time."
Moreover, in 1575 Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich
"abdicated" the throne and elevated Simeon Bekbulatovich to him.
Wooden fortifications, erected at one time by order of Elena
Glinskaya, the tsar ordered to lay out with bricks "from the ground
to the arrows" (loopholes).
The famous Vasilievsky gates of
the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (1336), taken out by Ivan the
Terrible during the sack of the city, adorned the southern entrance
from the gulbisch to the Assumption (Trinity) Cathedral. Religious
plots on the gates coexist with fabulous ones (for example, the
image of a centaur - a fabulous whale race). The gates were made by
an ancient technique, in which liquid gold with mercury was ground
along the previously made slots.
The western entrance from
the gulbisch to the main cathedral of the fortress was also
decorated with the ancient gates (1344-1358), taken by Grozny from
the Tver Transfiguration Cathedral. One gate plate retained the
Trinity engraving.
The Alexander Kremlin has become almost
the main place for international negotiations and the signing of
agreements. Ambassadors and embassies of England, Sweden, Crimea,
the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (then the Commonwealth), Denmark, the
papal throne and other states arrived here. Since 1568, the tsar's
book-writing chamber and a printing yard were located in the
settlement.
In 1569 the first printing house in Russia was
transported from Moscow to the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. In it in
1577, the pupils of the first printer Ivan Fedorov, Andronik
Timofeev (Nevezha) and Nikifor Tarasiev, published the Psalter,
which repeated the first Russian textbook "Educational Psalter"
published in Moscow in 1568. Later, the printing house printed not
only books, but also leaflets against Stefan Batory, which were
distributed in "many German cities."
In 1581, the tsar left
the fortress in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda after the death of his
son Ivan, who, according to a widespread version, was accidentally
killed by his father, although there are other versions, and never
returned here.
Assumption Monastery
In the second half of
the 17th century, the Assumption Convent was built on the territory
of the former royal fortress. The Assumption Church is being
restored, fencing walls and corner towers are being erected, and a
cell building is being built. Sovereign Theodor Alekseevich,
together with Tsarina Agafya Semyonovna Grushetskaya, placed an icon
of St. Theodore Stratilates and the holy Martyr Agathia in the
iconostasis of the Alexander Dormition Monastery.
Now it is a
five-domed temple. The four domes added later were made deaf,
without windows, their drums were tied with two rollers. The crosses
on the scaly domes are crowned with ornaments. The appearance of the
church is partly distorted by its hipped roof, apparently made in
the 18th century. The belfry of the church is squat, its tent is
placed on a four, the edges of the latter are cut by an open arcade.
The two-tiered stone porches were partially
restored by the architect N.V. Sibiryakov in the basement of the
building. A fragment of the gallery's upper tier is revealed in the
interior of the church, on the southern wall of the John the Baptist
chapel. You can see the original white-stone carved portals of the
Assumption Church: the southern one is fully open, the northern one
- partially. The western portal was probably hewn out during the
rebuilding.
In Soviet times, a museum functioned on the
territory of the former fortress and the abolished monastery.
Nowadays the territory of the Alexander Kremlin is divided by the
Museum-Reserve "Alexander Sloboda" and the revived Holy Dormition
Monastery.
On May 18, 2013, a special cancellation of the
postal block “500 years of the Alexander Kremlin” took place at the
Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda Museum-Reserve.
In 2017, Russian
Post issued a 22 ruble postage stamp depicting the Alexander
Kremlin.
Trinity Cathedral
Trinity Cathedral is one of the
oldest cathedrals located on the territory of Alexander Sloboda. In
the inner part of the Kremlin, the cathedral is located on the side
of the western gate. Trinity Cathedral belongs to the monuments of
Vladimir-Suzdal architecture.
A huge cube rests on four
pillars of the cathedral, which has a three-part division of
semicircles on four sides. The arched covering has the end in the
form of a siege dome, located on a powerful, impressive drum. The
cathedral is covered with galleries on three sides, which somewhat
hide its beauty.
At one time, the Trinity Cathedral had a
very bright appearance, because its stones were painted with
alternating colors, for example, black, white, yellow, gilded, etc.,
but each stone had a cross marked, which referred to the presence of
an ornamental belt. Several bright stripes crowned the drum. The
walls of the monument were divided by means of an ornamental belt
into two tiers, without going over the pilasters. The wall cladding
in the interior was decorated in the form of white stone, and the
small spaces between the pilasters were decorated with bricks. The
entrance doors consisted of a pair of oak halves, which were lined
on the outside with plates made of red copper and decorated with
gold designs based on biblical themes.
Under the altar part
of the Trinity Cathedral there is a basement, in which there are
seven tombstones built of white stone. On the gravestones there are
inscriptions written in the Slavic language, which indicate the name
of the deceased. Under the first tombstone, the builder and
confessor of the Assumption Monastery Cornelius, who died in 1681,
is buried. Ivan Buturlin, a general of the times of Peter the Great,
is also buried here; there are two graves of unknown origin - some
scientists believe that there are burials of two illegitimate
daughters of Ivan the Terrible here.
Until the middle of the
17th century, the cathedral was called the "Church of the
Intercession of the Theotokos", which is confirmed by the painting
of the walls, characterized by theotokos.
Over the course of
five centuries, the cathedral has been altered and rebuilt more than
once, while the frescoes themselves have changed. In 1671, icon
painters from Rostov were sent to the Aleksandrov Sloboda. The faces
of all the depicted saints were distinguished by great
expressiveness: beards and hair were styled in sparse strands,
straight folds were visible on the clothes, and the figures
themselves seem to be somewhat elongated. Most of the frescoes are
shown against a blue background, and the inscriptions themselves are
clearly distinguished in whitewash. In the lower part of the pillar,
located on the south side, there are no records, but a certain event
from the life of the Holy Mother of God is depicted.
Throughout 1947, state restoration and scientific workshops carried
out repair work on a badly dilapidated monument. Four domes were
completely dismantled, a blind area was built around the cathedral
for water drainage, and the basements were restored, water heating
was installed and the central dome was repaired.