Город Владимир Путешествие по древним городам Владимирской земли Старый Владимир Old Russian Towns Памятники архитектуры Музеи Музеи, экспозиции

Город Суздаль История Суздаля Герб суздаля Архитектура Суздаля Музеи Суздаля

Досуг и развлечения Где поесть во Владимире Где поспать во Владимире Что можно посмотреть во Владимире Где поесть в Суздале Где поспать в Суздале Что можно посмотреть в Суздале

We are now entering the large village of Bogolyubovo which played an extremely important role in Russian history and culture during the twelfth century. It is beautifully situated on high hills with an excellent view of the Klyazma water-meadows, the sharp bends of the river, the forests beyond and the gleaming white Church of the Intercession on the Nerl in the distance. The build­ings that have survived in Bogolyubovo take us back to the turbulent early period of Prince Andrei Bogo-lyubsky's reign, the years 1158-1165, when Vladimir had become the new capital of the principality and was being adorned with a multitude of beautiful new build­ings. The royal residence at Bogolyubovo was also built during this period. The Klyazma has since changed course southwards, but at that time it used to run along the bottom of the Bogolyubovo hill and has left a marshy lake there called Old Klyazma. Above it rose a bank almost fifty feet high, from which you could see the bright, calm waters of the Nerl flowing into the Klyazma from the heart of the Suzdal lands, the fertile, open meadowland. The Nerl formed an important link be­tween the Klyazma and the Volga, cutting diagonally across the vast, rich lands of northeast Russia. The powerful, wealthy boyars of Rostov and Suzdal with their selfish interests, had extended their influence over the whole of Zalesye as far as the Moskva River. The transfer of the capital to Vladimir, a comparatively young town consisting predominantly of small artisans and traders, was a tremendous blow to the independ­ence of the boyars, threatening to undermine their political influence. Control of the confluence of the Nerl and Klyazma was an extremely important factor in the ensuing struggle. It was here, therefore, that Andrei built a new fortress and the sumptuous royal castle of Bogolyubovo.

As in the case of Vladimir, the site of the fortress was determined by the natural relief. The deep gully running down to the Klyazma from the north became the western limit. The plateau had no natural borders to the north and east and the builders from Vladimir were obliged to encircle it on all sides with earth ramparts, adding a deep moat on the north and east. All trace of these fortifications has disappeared in the north­west section, but they have been excellently preserved along the western edge above the gully. The main road cuts through what was once the earth ramparts. On the left you can see their broad slopes now covered with old elms, and on the right, on top of the mound, is a new white monastery wall. The main road enters Bogo-lyubovo at exactly the same point as the old road did in the twelfth century, and at this break in the ramparts stood the gate tower of the castle. In an account of Prince Andrei's building, the chronicle tells us that he "did build himself a town of stone". Scholars were not inclined to treat this seriously, since there were no traces of stone fortifications, and the idea of a stone fortress being built in the remote forests of northeast Russia during the twelfth century seemed most un­likely. However, excavation work carried out over the period 1934-1954 revealed remains of the foundations of a beautifully constructed wall or tower made of white stone on the southern slope of the hill, and the base of some very strong wall foundations made of stones set in slaked lime, on the ridge of the western rampart. So there is evidence that a stone stronghold really did appear between 1158-1165 on the bank of the Klyazma where it is joined by the Nerl. The Bogolyubovo fortress completed the chain of fortifications along the left bank of the Klyazma, consisting of Vladimir itself, the Mo­nastery of St. Constantine and St. Helena, and the for­tress on the Sungir. Like these other strongholds, the Bogolyubovo fortress stood on the site of a settlement dating back to the ninth century before the appearance of Russian settlers in these parts.

The building of the castle at the mouth of the Nerl was bound to arouse the hostility of the boyars. For this reason, the church authorities, who supported the prince, attributed its founding to a number of miracles. Legend has it, for example, that when Andrei was bringing the miraculous icon of Our Lady from Kiev to Viadimir, the horses bearing the sacred object stopped on this spot and refused to go any further. It was also said that the Virgin Mary herself appeared to Andrei when he was sleeping in his tent during the journey, and inter­ceded on his behalf, taking him under her divine protec­tion. This legend is reflected in the large icon of the Virgin Mary commissioned by Andrei and now in the Vladimir Museum. She is shown standing and praying to Christ with the Deesis on the upper border of the icon repeating the theme of intercession and protection which was very popular in Vladimir art of the twelfth century. Judging by the fragments of the painting that have sur­vived (111. 41) the icon was just as beautiful and expres­sive as the famous Vladimir one. It was called the Bogolyubskaya Icon. As a result of all these different legends the new town was also called Bogolyubovo ("a place loved by God") and the prince became known as Andrei Bogolyubsky.

The southern part of the old compound is occupied by the Bogolyubov Monastery, founded in the thirteenth century after the castle had been deserted. In order to attract pilgrims, the monastery exploited the wondrous legends surrounding the spot, the Bogolyubskaya Icon, and particularly the murder here of Prince Andrei, who was canonised by the Church in 1702. All this increased the monastery's revenue enabling it to build extensively. The white walls of the monastery along the main road obviously follow the line of the old inner wall of the castle, which divided off the palace buildings. The royal servants and craftsmen probably lived in the northern half. Above the monastery's Holy Gates there is a huge bell-tower built in 1841, with an impressive arch and a small church under the bell-tier. Immediately behind the bell-tower looms the huge monastery cathedral erected in 1866 in conventional Russo-Byzantine style. The bell-tower and the cathedral do not fit in with the dimen­sions of the natural relief and the remains of the twelfth-century palace. Their massive dimensions seem to domi­nate everything around. Passing by these two buildings, let us go through the gates to the left of the bell-tower and stop in the middle of the small monastery courtyard •. we are now roughly in the centre of the castle's main courtyard whose surface, paved with white stone, lies about five feet below ground level under layers of rubble and earth.

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