Donskoy monastery in Moscow - history, photo and description

One of the oldest and most beautiful monuments of architecture of 16-19 centuries is in the capital. This is the Donskoi Monastery. In Moscow, perhaps everyone knows it. But for the visitors of the city will be interesting and useful information about what he imagines and how to get there.

Where is?

The history of the creation and development of the monument is very interesting. And where is the Donskoy monastery in Moscow? The address is the following: Don Square, 1-3. If you go here by public transport, it will be more rational to get on the metro: on the Kaluga-Riga branch to the station "Shabolovskaya". Then you should go out and, turning to the right, pass along the Shabolovka street to the first T-junction (crossing with the 1st Donsky passage). Then once again to the right and, without turning anywhere, go along the monastery walls. The main entrance of the monastery is on the side of the Donskoy Square.

1. The Great Cathedral.

2. Small Cathedral.

3. Belfry with the church of Zachary and Elizabeth.

4. The Tikhvin Church.

5. Kitchen (XVIII century.).

6. Church of St. John Chrysostom.

7. Archimandrite chambers (XVIII century.).

8. Church of Tikhon.

9. Church of the Monk Alexander Svirsky.

10. Church of St. John of the Ladder.

11. Cells.

12. Theological Seminary (XVIII century.).

13. The Chamber.

14. Brotherly cells (XVIII century.).

15. The Chapel.

16. Church of the Archangel Michael.

17. Hospital cells.

18. Hosts. Construction.

19. Hoz. Construction.

20. Fence of the monastery.

21. The tomb of Levchenko.

22. Church of St. George the Great Martyr.

23. Church of Alexander Nevsky.

24. The Shrine of the Prostak.

25. Tower of the fence.

26, 27. The towers of the wall.

28. Tower of the fence.

29.30. The towers of the wall.

31. Tower of the fence.

32, 33. The towers of the wall.

34. Tower of the fence.

35, 36. Towers of the wall.

37. Museum of military equipment.

38. High reliefs from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

39. Summerhouse.

40. Mosaic icon.

41. Obelisk, road sign.

History of erection

It is for sure not known when the Don Monastery was founded. Most historians tend to believe that it was founded in 1591. Other experts believe that this happened a little later: in 1592-93. Up to now, a legend has come about the circumstances of this charitable cause of four hundred years ago. At the end of the 16th century, there was a mobile fortification of Russian troops or, as it was then called, "walk the city". In this nomadic hailstones there was a camp church, founded in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The main shrine in it was the Don icon of the Mother of God, the same as the legend says, which the great elder blessed Prince Dimitry Ioannovich for a battle with the Tatar-Mongols, who went down in history under the name of the Kulikovo battle. Later, she gave the name of the monastery, built here by Tsar Fedor Ivanovich in 1593 in honor of saving the city from the Crimean Khan Gaza II Giray. The icon of Our Lady of the Don has survived to this day. It is located in the Tretyakov Gallery. Since Khan Giray was disgraced from the walls of the city, our capital has never been attacked by Tatars. And the Donskoy monastery in Moscow became the final link in the defensive ring of the city along with Novodevichy and Danilov monasteries.

Abode in ancient times

An interesting fate at this monastery. There were years of desolation in his life, there was a time of heyday, when he became one of the richest and most privileged monasteries of Russia. In the era of the Great Troubles, it was captured and plundered by Polish troops, led by Hetman Khodkevich. For the next few years there was desolation here. Restored the abode of the Romanovs: the kings Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich. Since that time the favorite place of prayers of princes is the Don monastery in Moscow. His address is well known to all Orthodox people. Here the processions are made. The earths of the monastery are expanding. New stone buildings are being built. The monastery is one of the largest, richest and revered in the country. In 1698, on the vow of the sister of Tsar Peter I, a new beautiful cathedral was built here in honor of the Don Icon, which is now called Bolshoy. The construction of the royal treasury was financed. The walls of the temple were richly decorated. They painted the famous Italian Antonio Claudio. Until now, a large carved 8-tiered iconostasis with icons written in the style of the "Fryazh letter" has been preserved. On August 21 of the same year, the cathedral was consecrated by Metropolitan Tikhon. At the same time, there is a wall with twelve towers, outwardly resembling the fence of the Novodevichy monastery. In 1712, under the altar of the Great Cathedral, the Church of the Presentation of the Lord is consecrated. The money for its erection was donated by the king of one of the regions of Georgia Archil, who was buried here afterwards with his sons. This church has since become a burial vault for many Georgian cultural and political figures. In addition, the Donskoi Monastery maintains contact with Ukraine. Thus, at this time the monastery becomes not only a spiritual unifying center, but also a political one. 18 century for the monastery - the era of prosperity. It becomes a rich feudal economy, which is in charge of vast lands and many serfs. There are new buildings. A majestic architectural ensemble is being formed, which can be seen in our time. Necropolis is being built. The monastery becomes a place of rest for many celebrities of our time. Looking ahead, it is worth mentioning that at different times it became the burial place of the Georgian kings David, Matvei and Alexander, the philosopher P. Chaadayev, the poets M. Kheraskov and A. Sumarokov, the writer V. Odoyevsky, the historian V. Klyuchevsky, the architect O. Bova , The artist In Perov, the writer I. Shmelev, the philosopher IA Il'in and General AI Denikin. Here in 2008, the famous Russian writer A. Solzhenitsyn was buried. And there was a cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow in 1591. Now it is divided into Old and New. This will be discussed below.

The tragedy of the Plague of times

In 1771 there was one of the most widely known at that time gloomy events. It is about the murder within the walls of the monastery of Archbishop Ambrose. It was a terrible time - Plague in the country. A monstrous epidemic was raging, killing thousands of lives. There is an opinion that the plague was brought to Moscow from the Black Sea countries during the Russian-Turkish war. The disease quickly developed, covering all new territories and houses of the capital. Mortality was increasing every day. People were in a panic. There were not enough coffins. On the streets of Moscow, you could see both the sick and the healthy and the dead. And corpses are often just thrown out of houses. They were lying on the street. In such conditions, the plague quickly conquered all new territories. Doctors often could not help the sick. People sought salvation in their faith in the Lord. The people gathered daily at the Barbaric gate in China Town near the miraculous icon of Bogolyubsky Our Lady. Both sick and healthy kissed the shrine, contributing to the spread of the epidemic. Archbishop Ambrose, realizing this, forbade prayer, and the icon itself was ordered to be removed. The frenzied crowd the next morning after that went to smash the Miracles Monastery in the Kremlin. And soon the rebels reached the Donskoy Monastery, in the walls of which Amvrosy took refuge. The rebels killed the archbishop, and then began to destroy the houses of the nobility and quarantine outposts. Three days later, the popular revolt was suppressed. By order of Catherine II, the murderers Ambrose was executed through hanging in Red Square. The plague epidemic claimed almost 57,000 lives.

Changes of the 19th century

Recall that since 1764 the monastery has become a stauropegic status. This means that from now on he was subordinate to the Holy Synod and had the right to choose the archimandrite himself. In the 19th century, the fate of the monastery changed many times. A new turn makes the history of the Don monastery. In Moscow in 1812 there was desolation. Many residents by this time left the capital. The French, led by Napoleon, advanced. It was obvious to all that the enemies would occupy the city. Soon it happened. The Don monastery was looted by the French. The fire that burned in 1812 in Moscow destroyed many houses and cultural monuments. But soon the restoration of the city began. The monastery was also reconstructed. At the beginning of the century, the Spiritual-censorship Committee, moved later to the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, is housed in the monastery. Since 1834 there is a spiritual school, which prepared candidates for seminarians, and since 1909 - and a school for training novices. Also in the monastery at this time there is an iconic chamber named after. Seleznev. Here, artists are painters, perform work on orders. On the territory of the monastery is built the church of the Archangel Michael and the Church of St. John Chrysostom. Every year on August 19 in this era the Day of the Don Icon is celebrated. On this day, a religious procession is made to the monastery from the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. Currently, there is a gold embroidery workshop. People who want to understand the art of embroidery with gold threads tend to get to the Donskoy monastery in Moscow. Reviews of tourists say that the beauty of the products of local craftsmen is simply amazing. On the courses in the studio will help to master the old technique of facial and gold embroidery, which has been used since ancient times for painting items of church utensils.

After the October Revolution of 1917

Century 20 brought a lot of trials to the share of the community. The October Revolution of 1917 contributed to the fact that the Donskoi Monastery in Moscow was officially closed. However, the services in the churches continued here for some time. Further here are various Soviet institutions, and later - a children's labor colony. It is known that people who seized power in the country at that time not only did not pay priests, but also fiercely persecuted believers. In the 1920s, anti-religious exhibitions were held in the monastery. A little later, the so-called Antireligious Art Museum was opened here. In May 1922, Patriarch Tikhon was brought here as a prisoner. Here he spent most of his time in prison. Despite constant arrests and psychological pressure from the Soviet authorities, Tikhon ruled the Church during this difficult period for her. He did much to unify the Russian people. The Patriarch sharply condemned the seizure of church values by the state, called upon believers to stand up for the defiled and "oppressed now holy mother of ours." In December 1924, Tikhon, who lived in the cell of the Donskoy Monastery, was assassinated. Two intruders penetrated here to kill the Holy One. The door was opened by the cell-mate Yakov Polozov. He was killed by intruders. In 1925 Tikhon fell ill and died in March at the Annunciation. The funeral of the saint took place in the Small Cathedral. Looking ahead, it is worth noting that in 1989 Tikhon was ranked among the saints. In 1964, the branch of the Scientific Research Museum of Architecture. Shchusev was turned into a Donskoi monastery. In Moscow, its main link was located on Vozdvizhenka. In 1946 divine services were resumed in the Small Cathedral. In 1991 the monastery was transferred to the Moscow Patriarchate. At the same time, an arson attack occurred in the Small Cathedral. During the repair work during the excavations were discovered the relics of St. Tikhon. They were put in a gilded crab and moved to the Great Cathedral, where they are kept to this day.

Architectural ensemble

Here we can distinguish the following:

• The Great Cathedral. It was created in 1686-1698 in honor of the Don Icon of the Mother of God. It has a peculiar architecture. It is five-domed with a large gallery around the perimeter.

• Small Cathedral. Built in 1591-1593 in honor of the Donskoy Icon of the Mother of God. It is executed in the style of one-domed temple Russian architecture of the XVI century.

• Church of St. Alexander Svirsky. It is located from the east of the Great Cathedral. Built in 1796-98 at the expense of Count N. A. Zubov over the grave of his father, who was a senator during his lifetime. It is a temple-tomb of the Zubov family. It is made in the style of classicism, like many of the buildings that now make up the Donskoy Monastery. In Moscow, photos of this rotunda can be seen at the exhibitions of famous photo artists.

• Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. It was built in 1713-14. Located above the northern gate of the monastery.

• Church of the Archangel Michael. Year of construction - 1714. Located in the corner of the southern part of the monastery. It is the family burial vault of the Golitsyn family.

• Church of St. John Chrysostom. It was built by VP Gavrilov, VD Sher and MP Ivanov according to the project of the architect AG Vincent in 1888-1891. It is executed in the Byzantine style. It is the tomb of the Pervushins. It is located in the northern part of the monastery, the one that is closed for access.

• Gate bell tower. Years of construction - 1730-53. It is located above the western gate.

• Church of St. Tikhon. It was created in 1997. It stands on the site of the former kitchen gardens of the novices. The lower church is the burial vault of the Shevchenko family.

• Church of Prince Alexander Nevsky. This is a modern structure. It was built in 2006.

• Water-bearing well. Today it is not used because water is unsuitable for drinking.

• Chapel. Created in the late 19th century in honor of the miraculous rescue of the royal family during the train accident on October 17, 1888. It was located outside the monastery. To our days, unfortunately, has not survived.

Everything that now constitutes this monastery is sacred to us. The Donskoy Monastery in Moscow is our cultural and spiritual heritage, which must be protected.

Monastic Necropolis

This structure occupies most of the territory of the monastery. He appeared in the late 17th century. NM Karamzin in his book "The History of the Russian State" mentions that the cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow in its time was the burial place of the noble elite and rich merchants. On the monuments of the necropolis you can find such famous names as Grushetsky, Vyazemsky, Golitsyn, Trubetskoe, Cherkassk and others. Here, many famous writers, poets, politicians, scientists and architects have found their last shelter. Among them, AP Sumarokov, P. Ya. Chaadaev, MM Kheraskov, VI Maikov, VO Klyuchevsky, and others. According to rumors, many well-known figures of the White movement were buried in the necropolis (P. N. Krasnov, K. V. Rodzaevsky, G. M. Semenov, and others). Here the graves of his relatives AS Pushkin: Uncle Vasily Lvovich, Sophia's sister and brother Pavel, grandmothers and aunts. In the period of repression, the bodies of those who were executed or tortured in the Lubyanka were brought here by trucks. Here they were cremated. There is evidence not documented that the necropolis of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow is the burial place of the ashes of MN Tukhachevsky, VK Blucher, AV Kosarev, MN Ryutin, V. Meyerhold and many others. There are also new graves. So, in 2000, the ashes of writer IS Shmelev were reburied here, in 2005 - by the philosopher IA Il'in and General AI Denikin. In 2007, the remains of the lieutenant-general of the White Movement, V. O. Kappel, were transferred here. In August 2008, the famous Russian public figure and writer AI Solzhenitsyn settled here. Anyone can pay tribute to these people by visiting their graves. Address: Moscow, Donskoy Monastery. How to drive here was described above.

Memorial to the White Warriors

The monument was opened on May 24, 2009. Here many famous activists of the White movement are buried: General AI Denikin and his wife, General V. O. Kappel and philosopher I. A. Ilyin with his wife. The initiative to create the monument belongs to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, who, after seeing the unfortunate graves of white generals, commissioned the construction of new tombstones. Further, Vladimir Vladimirovich personally supervised the work on the construction of the memorial, approving new sketches of plates. Only two weeks was required for specialists to erect it. The monument is a small granite area with five tombstones. On the opening day, it was consecrated by Patriarch Kirill. The President delivered a speech at the ceremony about the unity of Ukraine and Russia. Thus, once again the unifying center between the fraternal peoples was the Don monastery in Moscow. The photo of the memorial is presented here.

Shrine of the Donskoi Monastery

In Moscow, there are many ancient monasteries that attract us with their beauty. Why is it worth it to visit this one? Here you can see the following shrines and worship them:

• The Don icon of the Mother of God. It is a spiritual pearl, the main value of the monastery. According to legend, it was she who blessed Sergius of Radonezh Prince Dimitri Donskoy for a battle with the Tatars. The first mention of it dates back to the middle of the 16th century. The image is currently stored in the Tretyakov Gallery. But every year on September 1, on a festive day, it is delivered to the Donskoy Monastery for the performance of divine services.

• Tikhon's holy relics, stored in gilded carcass here, in the Great Cathedral.

• The icons of the Mother of God "Theodore" and "The Sign". To worship these shrines many believers aspire to visit the Donskoy monastery in Moscow. These icons are considered miraculous.

• List of the Don image of the Most Holy Theotokos. These are letters from Simon Ushakov from 1668, miraculously preserved during the fire of 1991. Decorated with a special canopy.

• Mosaic icon of St. Nicholas. It is stored in the tomb of Levchenko.

• The grave of the cell attendant, who served St. Tikhon, Yakov Polozov. It is located at the walls of the Small Cathedral. It was Jacob who opened the cell doors to intruders, who came to kill Archbishop Tikhon. As a result, Jacob was killed.

Temples of the monastery are active. Parish Trebs of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow are performed regularly. Also there are organized excursions.

Don Cemetery "The Old"

It arose in 1591. There is a cemetery in the south-west of Moscow. Its area is about 13 hectares. Famous political figures, scientists, writers, Decembrists, participants in the war of 1812 were buried here. By the beginning of the 20th century, it was overcrowded. Therefore, it was necessary to enclose a large territory behind the southern wall of the monastery in order to expand its borders. So there was a cemetery, which was called "New". It has its own separate entrance. At the eastern wall of the "Old" cemetery you can see high reliefs, which were taken from the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and preserved from destruction. The burials as such today are not made here. Everyone who aspires to visit the monastery of Dmitry Donskoy in Moscow and the "Old" cemetery on its territory, it will be useful to know that it is open from 08.00 am to 6.30 pm daily.

Don Cemetery "New"

It was formed, as already mentioned above, at the end of the 19th century. Before the revolution in October 1917, the "New" cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow was the burial place of mainly intellectuals: professors, scientists, various officials. In 1927, the first columbarium and crematorium was built here in the capital. Documentary evidence of the fact that VI Lenin in 1918 ordered the purchase abroad of equipment for cremating corpses has reached the present day. The following year, the most intense year of the Civil War, the current government announced a competition for the best crematorium project. Soon this institution was built here. It is known that only soldiers who died in hospitals during the Second World War were cremated at least 15,000. In the depth of the cemetery stands a stele in memory of all those tortured and killed in the years of repression. The corpses of people from Lubyanka and Lefortovo were brought here by hundreds in trucks for burning. Currently, traditional burials, burial of urns in the ground, in open and closed columbarium are held here.

We met with the architectural buildings that make up the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow. The map of their location is also presented here.