Today the whole American Home staff went on a trip to the ancient town of Suzdal, which is about 15 miles from Vladimir. In it's time, Suzal was one of the most important cities in all of ancient Russia--much more important than Moscow or Vladimir. There were 13 or 15 monasteries in this little town, and people like Ivan the Terrible and the prince Dmitri Pozharski (who united Russians to rise up against the Poles and Lithuanians during the time of troubles in the 16th Century) have strong ties to Suzdal.
Today, we visited the main monastery, a convent, the ancient kremlin (fortress), and a little village of wooden buildings that have been rebuilt to show different times in styles of Russian wooden architecture. We got a perfect fall day for this trip--around 55 with lots of sun. The leaves are all turning colors and falling off the trees, and it definitely feels like Halloween could be right around the corner. Here are some pictures of our trip to Suzdal.
Today, we visited the main monastery, a convent, the ancient kremlin (fortress), and a little village of wooden buildings that have been rebuilt to show different times in styles of Russian wooden architecture. We got a perfect fall day for this trip--around 55 with lots of sun. The leaves are all turning colors and falling off the trees, and it definitely feels like Halloween could be right around the corner. Here are some pictures of our trip to Suzdal.
the pictures are beautiful! It was an ancient city you say? So what is the population there now? What happened to it during the Soviet days?
ReplyDeleteThanks! It still very much exists, and I think the population is capped to 5,000 permanent residents (it would lose its world heritage site status if more people moved in). In the Soviet period, it was a place for relaxation and company retreats, and so many of the churches were converted into theaters and clubs. They have been mostly restored, but you can still see the scars from 80 years of neglect and reapportionment.
ReplyDelete