Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery, Suzdal: photo, address, hours of work, history

If there is a city in the world, which in itself is a museum, it's Suzdal. Its eventful history is not only preserved in the annals, but is now represented in three hundred monuments that are part of the Vladimir-Suzdal complex of architectural antiquities.

Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery is one of the oldest monuments of architecture, which has its own history of "life", as well as the city itself.

Suzdal

The rich Suzdal princedom was part of the great Kyivan Rus, but the year of the founding of the city is unknown. For the first time it is mentioned in the beginning of the 11th century in the chronicle, which tells of peasant unrest.

Based on the site of earlier shopping settlements, Suzdal began to grow rapidly. Its construction began, like most of the cities of that time, from the Kremlin, around which residential buildings were formed. So far, Suzdal has kept the same building plan as it was in ancient times, although several times it was burned to the ground.

For the first time this happened because of the internecine strife of Prince Oleg of Chernigov with the heirs of Vladimir Monomakh. Reconstructed, Suzdal was subsequently burned by the Mongol-Tatars in 1238. Its new heyday began in the 14th century, when it became not only a rich city, but also the center of the Christian religion. For example, the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery built in 1352, numerous churches in the village and Pokrovsky Monastery attracted pilgrims and believers from all over Russia.

After Moscow became the seat of Moscow princes, Suzdal lost its former glory, became a provincial city, thanks to which today it is a real architectural museum. The industrialization of the country has not touched this beautiful place, therefore it is a pearl of the famous tourist route "Golden Ring of Russia".

Construction of the monastery

Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery, whose history began in the far 14th century, was founded by the decree of Prince Boris, who at that time ruled the Nizhny Novgorod-Suzdal Principality. Originally the monastery was called Savior-Transfiguration, but in memory of the hegumen Evfimiya, who headed it for over 50 years, was renamed. Being originally wooden, the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery was rebuilt anew in the 16th century with the use of bricks and in this form has survived to this day.

The location of the monastery on the banks of the Kamenka River and from the northern side of the city was of great strategic importance. Fenced at 1200 meters with a fortress wall with watchtowers, the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery (Suzdal) was a real fighting fortress and a defense for city residents.

These walls around the monastery were erected at the end of the 17th century, and 12 watchtowers with loopholes in their time were the most powerful in the Vladimir province. The largest is the travel tower, whose height is 22 meters. It is the entrance to the temple complex, although before its construction this function was performed by the Gate Church of the Annunciation, which entered the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery and was inside the fortress walls. In those troubled times, the construction of such a fortification at the monastery was a vital necessity, since it was in the temples that the Orthodox escaped the attacks of the conquerors.

Monastery constructions: The Transfiguration Cathedral

Today the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery (the city of Suzdal) has 14 architectural monuments, which are well preserved.

The first stone structure was the Church of the Savior, erected in 1507-1511 over the burial of the first hegumen of the monastery - Euphemia. When the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral was built in 1564, it became part of it, becoming a side-chapel.

For today it is not only the functioning cathedral, but also a unique architectural structure, in which the frescos created in the 16th century were preserved. The most significant is the wall painting made by the great masters from the Kostroma of the Savin Power and Guriy Nikitin (17th century). The frescoes are based on the biography of the Monk Euthymius, as well as the portrait of the Grand Duke Vsevolod of Vladimir. The images of the kings of Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich are also included in the plot of the colored murals.

The beautiful white-stone cathedral, which is part of the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal (whose address is Lenin Street, 148a), is the site of the holy relics of St. Euthymius. They are buried in a silver carcass made in 1823.

Also, the Transfiguration Cathedral is the burial place of Dmitry Pozharsky and members of his family. Here, too, are stored his things, donated to the cathedral - the shroud, which for the prince was embroidered by his own wife, and the Gospel with a dedication.

Entrance tower

Unlike other towers, the Entrance has a square shape. It is laid out of red bricks and is symbolically divided into two parts. The lower part, more strict, is a passageway and consists of two arched thoroughfares with cottages above them.

The upper part of the tower is more elegant. Since it was visible from afar (the height of the building is 22 meters), the upper tier was decorated with platbands and "belts" made of bricks, which gave it some "airiness" and grace.

The entrance tower ends with a four-slope roof. In the 17th century it was damaged by lightning and was not restored for many years. Restoration, held in 1860, is still perfectly preserved.

Today there is a ticket office and a bookshop on the site of the travel arches.

Monastery Belfry

Each church has its own unique bell ringing, and Suzdal Spaso-Evfimiev monastery is no exception. Belfry of this Orthodox building itself is a whole story, as it was built in different and time and with the use of different architectural styles.

The earliest part of the belfry is the so-called bell church of John the Baptist. The structure has 9 facets, which is not typical of the usual bell towers, which always have an even number of corners. According to legend, its name is associated with the birth of John 4.

Small in size, the bell church was intended for holding confessions of grand dukes and kings.

It leads to a gallery through which the prince could pass unnoticed, while avoiding the numerous pilgrims and believers. She connects the church with the house of the Archimandrite and with the clock tower. The bells of the 16th century, unfortunately, did not survive, as they were sent for remelting in 1932. Earlier they were a signal for the brethren to go to a meal or a prayer. Today, the bell ringing convokes believers to serve in the nearby Holy Transfiguration Cathedral.

The Assumption Refectory Church

Opposite the belfry is the Uspenskaya Refectory Church, which is one of the first architectural tent structures in Russia. It was built in 1525 and has, on the one hand, a chapel in the form of a pillar-shaped church, named after the martyr Diomidus, and on the other - a refectory room with a teak roof.

The lower part was used by monks for household needs, whereas the upper chamber was the most refectory.

The archimandrite corps adjoins this elegant church, which was originally built for state needs, but from the 18th century the archimandrite began to live in it, and it became a residential building. Built in the form of the letter "G", the building has a wooden gallery for "gulbishch", which is supported by stone pillars.

At one time the refectory church of the Assumption was painted from the inside with frescoes that did not survive to our days.

Church of St. Nicholas

The original church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was wooden and was built in connection with the expansion of the monastery even at the first hegumen. Since the Savior-Evfimi monastery (Suzdal) became famous far beyond its borders, many new monks came to serve the Lord in this place under the guidance of a wise mentor.

The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker had a large cellar, a refectory adjoined to it, which could accommodate many people at once. It is called a hospital church, as it was in the immediate vicinity of the building with cells for sick monks and lay guests of the monastery.

The stone church of St. Nicholas, with its adjoining hospital corps, was erected in 1669. It consists of a single-domed temple with a facade decorated with zakomars and platbands with kokoshniks.

The church was restored inside twice, and in the beginning of 2000 the wooden roof was completely replaced and the whole facade was painted.

Mausoleum of Pozharsky

Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery, whose address: Vladimir Region, the city of Suzdal, Lenin Street, 148a, became the resting place of the great Russian hero Dmitry Pozharsky and his family members. He was buried in 1642, and over his grave his son John and nephew Peter of Khovansky, the Grand Dukes, built a burial vault. However, after 100 years, the tomb was forgotten, it began to deteriorate, as a result, it was dismantled, and the stone was used for the needs of the monastery.

In 1851, archaeologist Earl Uvarov led an expedition to the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery, it was he who discovered the remains of the crypt with four stone tombs. Two of them belonged to Dmitry Pozharsky's son and nephew, and two to the hero and his wife.

In 1852 all the tombs were opened and carefully inspected. Thus, it was possible to find out where Dmitry Pozharsky is from. He was identified by partially preserved clothing.

Above the remains were liturgy with a requiem, after which all the graves were closed again, and above them in 1858 they began to erect a mausoleum at the behest of the sovereign Alexander 2. Construction was carried out at the expense of people's donations. Consecration of the mausoleum was held in 1885.

During the Soviet era the tomb was again destroyed, since in 1933 the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery became a prison for political prisoners.

In the 70s of the 20th century, a memorial stone was erected on the site of Pozharsky's burial ground, and only in 2007 the exact restoration of the mausoleum began according to the surviving plans, sketches and photographs. Today it is part of the architectural complex of the monastery.

Prison Castle

Since 1766, a prison corps appeared in the monastery, founded by the decree of Catherine II. Initially, it was intended for "insane" rebels, among which were not only peasants, but also people of noble origin, for example, the Decembrist prince Peter Shakhovskoy.

Later it was intended for apostates of the clergy and sectarians, and from 1923 to 1939 became an isolator for political prisoners.

Today, within these walls, there is a museum for the memory of prisoners both from the times of Tsarist Russia and from the years of Stalinist repression. The exposition of the museum gives information about the life, years of imprisonment and death of its most famous "inhabitants", among them scientists, revolutionary figures and persons of spiritual rank.

Fraternal complex

The so-called Brotherhood Complex was a building in which monastic cells were located. Built in the early 17th century, it is a strict structure, the only decoration of which are the platbands with kokoshniks on the windows.

This two-storey building, built in the form of the letter "G", stretches along the eastern wall of the monastery. Small cells were a place of solitude for monks, and today they can be inspected to get to know their life in a monastery of those times.

Towers and walls

Spaso-Evfimiev monastery (photo confirms this) until today has kept its towers and walls. All of them, except for Entrance, have a round shape with loopholes. Although the walls around the monastery were built powerful, they were never subjected to siege.

Builders in the 17th century when they erected took into account the terrain on which the Orthodox complex is located. So, the wall facing the Kamenka River is quite low, which can not be said of the southern side that faces the plain. Here the structure is much taller and thicker, it is able to withstand the shelling of guns.

The length of the walls is 1200 meters, which at that time was considered a significant defensive structure with embrasures, loopholes and observation towers.

The Vladimir-Suzdal complex

The Vladimir-Suzdal Historical Museum-Reserve was founded in 1958. It includes architectural monuments of the ancient Russian architecture of Vladimir, Bogolyubov and Suzdal.

The Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery became a part of the museum-reserve in 1968 in a very bad condition, since for more than 45 years it was a prison for political prisoners or for juvenile offenders.

Restoration of the monastery allowed to preserve this historical monument of architecture, which today is visited by thousands of tourists from different countries.

Monastery in our days

Inactive for today, the male Spaso-Evfimiev monastery, whose opening hours - from 10.00 to 18.00 (all days except Monday), pleases the visitors with a concert of bells every hour and numerous expositions.

Since 1991, this monastery was listed in the UNESCO heritage list and acquired the status of an international museum.