City of Dmitrov, Assumption Cathedral: description, address

The Russian land is famous for its numerous monuments of history, architecture and culture. To get acquainted with one of them, today we will go to the ancient Russian city of Dmitrov. It is located north of Moscow, along Dmitrovskoye Highway.

The city was founded on the site of Slavic settlements by Prince Yury Dolgoruky in 1154. Its name was given in honor of the prince's son Vsevolod (Big Nest), who was christened Dmitry by baptism.

From the history of the city

In ancient times (XII century.) Outside Dmitrov began impassable swamps and dense forests - places that are not suitable for housing. In those days, the city of Dmitrov was a northwestern outpost of the principality of Vladimir-Suzdal. He occupied an important position (strategically), as he covered the way to Suzdal along the rivers Dubna and Velay. From Dmitrov, by water through Sister, Dubna and Yakhrom, you could get to the Upper Volga.

Accession to Moscow

In the first half of the fourteenth century the city was annexed to Moscow, and Moscow princes began to rule it. The first was Prince Peter - the youngest son of Dmitry Donskoy. In the second half of the 14th century, in the midst of the feud between Vasily Kosym and Dmitri Shemyaka with Prince of Moscow Vasily II the Dark, the city repeatedly passed from hand to hand. The last prince of Dmitrov is Yuri, the middle son of Ivan III. In 1556, Ivan the Terrible exchanged Dmitrov for the city of Staritsa, ruled by Prince Vladimir Staritsky. After his execution (1569), Dmitrov moved to Moscow definitively.

This small town was repeatedly subjected to devastating raids by the Tatars, and in 1372 Prince Mikhail Tverskoy ravaged it. The highest heyday Dmitrov reached in the 16th century, during the reign of Prince Yuri Ivanovich.

Uspensky Cathedral (Dmitrov)

The center of the Dmitrov Kremlin is decorated with a majestic and beautiful temple. First of all, all visitors to Dmitrov see it. The Assumption Cathedral is now existing, built at the very beginning of the XVI century, when the power was Prince Yuri Ivanovich - brother of Basil III. Nevertheless, historians are increasingly converging in the opinion that in the XIV-XV centuries, under Prince Petr Dmitrievich, there was already a stone church here. Evidence of this fact is first of all the basements of white stone, which were discovered under the podle of the cathedral today.

Architectural features

The basis of a complex and exquisite composition is a five-headed brick four-columned temple on a high basement. The features of the cathedral are facets of apses cut from the outside. To the right of the southern portal you can see a tiled round bas-relief. Its diameter is almost three meters. It depicts George the Victorious.

Experts believe that the Assumption Cathedral is very similar to the Archangel and Assumption Cathedral in Moscow, which were built at the same time.

The Assumption Cathedral is decorated with reliefs from tiles. On the northern and southern facades are images of the Holy Crucifixion. The portal on the south side has the relief of St. George the Victorious.

Today it is impossible to see the original appearance of the cathedral, having arrived in Dmitrov. The Assumption Cathedral has been rebuilt many times over its long history. Such works were conducted in the XVII-XIX centuries, although historians believe that they did not change the original appearance of the cathedral too much.

Two side-chapels were added to the temple in the XIX century - the northern (1823) by the architect F. M. Shestakov, and the southern (1841). This project was developed by DF Borisov. In 1796, a three-tiered bell tower was built in the style of classicism. The author of the project is M. Ya. Agafonov.

In 2001, a monument to Yuri Dolgoruky by the sculptor V. M. Tserkovnikov appeared at the southern gate of the Dmitrov Kremlin. In 2004 a monument to Cyril and Methodius was erected near the church. It was created by the sculptor A. I. Rukavishnikov, designed by architect R. V. Narski.

City of Dmitrov: Assumption Cathedral after 1917

After the October Revolution, the church was used for almost seventeen more years. However, in 1932 he suffered the fate of all Russian religious buildings - he was closed. True, they did not make a storage facility for grain or a local club. Here is a museum. This circumstance did not prevent to remove from him in the mid-thirties crosses. In August 1941, dismantled the upper part of the bell tower.

The restoration of the temple began in 1961 and lasted four years. The work was carried out by MOSNRPM, led by ER Kunitskaya. The belfry was restored, but it was decided to remove the corner drums.

Restoration

In 2001, the last restoration was started, which was successfully completed in 2003. These works were led by V. I. Nesterenko, implementing the idea of the architects I. Yu. Korovin and A. V. Yaganov.

It is interesting that the services in the church began to be held in one of the chapels in 1991. In 2002 the museum was transferred to a new building, the church was transferred to the ROC. It was consecrated in mid-2003.

Today, a small part of the premises of the church is used as a museum. Here there is a Sunday school, there is a library.

Interior decoration

All who have visited the Assumption Cathedral believe that it is beautiful. Here is a gilded five-tier carved iconostasis (XVII century.), Which houses unique icons of the XV-XIX centuries. One of the main ornaments of the cathedral is the carved bishop's place, which was transported from the archbishop's house of Krutitsky in 1792. From the inside it is covered with decorative painting. It belongs to the beginning of the XVIII century. The main pride of the cathedral is magnificent frescoes, the works of the greatest icon painter of all time - Andrei Rublev. In the temple there are niches-arkosoli, in which noble representatives of the Vladimir society and church hierarchs were buried.

Another icon of the cathedral is the icon on which Dmitry Solunsky is depicted. Before that, it was kept in a small village church. It happened between 1646 and 1713 years. The exact date is not set. It was written in the second half of the 12th century, presumably by VI Antonov, and was donated by Vsevolod the Big Nest to the city of Dmitrov in 1181. Today this icon is transferred to the exposition of the Tretyakov Gallery. The cross (XIV century), which was kept in the church until 1933, was also transferred to the Tretyakov Gallery

A great interest of specialists and ordinary tourists of the fresco (XIII century.). Today, you can admire the fragments of a large composition "The Last Judgment". Historians believe that it was performed by a painter, invited by Vsevolod from distant Greece.

Icon of St. Matrons

Today everyone can visit Dmitrov (Uspensky Cathedral) at a convenient time or on church holidays. The relics of Matrona and the icon with its image from 8 to 21 October 2015 were in the Assumption Cathedral. These shrines were given for the worship of Metropolitan Kolomensky and Krutitsky - Juvenal. This event was a real holiday for the parishioners. There were solemn services, everyone could see the icon of the Blessed Matron.

In conclusion, let's inform everyone who wants to visit the Assumption Cathedral in Dmitrov, the address of the temple: Moscow region, Dmitrov city, Historical square, house 11.