Suzdal

For other uses of "Suzdal", see Suzdal (disambiguation).

Suzdal (English) Суздаль (Russian)
-  Town  -
Central Suzdal
Location of Vladimir Oblast in Russia
Suzdal Location of Suzdal in Vladimir Oblast
Coordinates:
Coat of arms	Flag
Administrative status (as of September 2013)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Vladimir Oblast
Administrative district	Suzdalsky District
Administrative center of	Suzdalsky District
Municipal status (as of August 2009)
Municipal district	Suzdalsky Municipal District
Urban settlement	Suzdal Urban Settlement
Administrative center of	Suzdalsky Municipal District, Suzdal Urban Settlement
Head	Olga Guseva
Statistics
Population (2010 Census)	10,535 inhabitants
Time zone	MSK (UTC+03:00)
Founded	1024
Town status since	1777
Postal code(s)	601291
Dialing code(s)	+7 49231
Official website
Suzdal on Wikimedia Commons

Winter Suzdal

Center of Suzdal

Suzdal (Russian: Суздаль; IPA: [ˈsuzdəlʲ]) is a town and the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Kamenka River, 26 kilometers (16 mi) north of the city of Vladimir, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 10,535 (2010 Census); 11,357 (2002 Census); 12,063 (1989 Census).

History

The history of the town dates back to at least the year 1024 For centuries it functioned as the capital of several Russian principalities. According to O.N. Trubachyov the name of the town comes from the old Slavic verb to create (съзьдати) which also means clay-built. It forms part of the Golden Ring. It was chartered in 1777.

After a decline in political importance, the town rose in prominence as a religious center with numerous monasteries and a remarkable ratio of churches to citizens: at one point, forty churches for four hundred families. Today, the town operates as an important tourist center, featuring many fine examples of old Russian architecture—most of them churches and monasteries. Walking through the town, one might get the feeling that every third building is a church. Although having over ten thousand residents, Suzdal still retains a rural look with streams and meadows everywhere and chicken and livestock a common sight on the streets, some of which remain unpaved. This juxtaposition of stunning medieval architecture with its pastoral setting lends Suzdal a picturesque charm and in the summer artists and easels are a common sight.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Suzdal serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District, to which it is directly subordinated. As a municipal division, the town of Suzdal is incorporated within Suzdalsky Municipal District as Suzdal Urban Settlement.

Tourism

In March, the Suzdal tourist center is home to the Open Russian Festival of Animated Film. The Cathedral of the Nativity in Suzdal is one of the eight White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal, a World Heritage Site.

The Spaso-Evfimiev monastery

Monuments

• Wooden Church of St. Nicholas. This church was built in Glotovo in 1766 and was moved to Suzdal in 1960 to be part of a museum of wooden architecture. The church is elevated off the ground about a story high from when it was moved across the country. This church is made out of all wood and represents the close relationship between wood and stone architecture and how precise the Russians were while building this back in 1766.

Museum of Wooden Masterpieces, Suzdal

• St. John the Baptist Church. This church was built in 1720, at the same time that the St. Nicholas church was built, although the difference between the types of architecture of the two churches is quite remarkable. Whereas the St. Nicholas Church is all wooden, the St. John Church is made out of white plastered walls with wooden supports.
• The St. Alexander Convent. This church was built in 1240 by an unknown architect. It is said that the princesses of Suzdal, Mariya and Agrippina, were buried here in the 14th century.
• Convent of Intercession. The convent was founded in 1364. In its center stands the cathedral of the Intercession; it was an add-on built in 1518 financed by Moscow knaz (king) Basil The Third.. The interior of the cathedral has no paintings or stained glass, it is simply plain white stone walls all around. The church was and still is one of the richest convents in Russia. The convent is the home of many nuns and is also the burial vault for twenty nuns of noble birth. Connected to the white stoned wall cathedral is an art museum which can be toured. There are many paintings but none in the cathedral itself. This building is filled with arches and art created in the 16th and 17th century.
• The Spaso-Evfimiev monastery was founded in 1352 to the north of the city centre on the high bank of the Kamenka river. It was built under the order of the Suzdal-Nizhniy Novgorod prince Konstantin. The monastery was planned as a fortress and was originally enclosed by a wooden wall, later destroyed by the Poles. Today's reddish brick walls of the Suzdal monastery were erected over four years, from 1640 to 1644. The solid fortifications have 12 towers constructed according to the artillery power which appeared at that time. When the value of the monastery as a fortress was lost, a new application was found - it became a prison. Prisoners were most brutally punished there, and the place fell into disrepute. In 1905 the prison was abolished.

Convent of the Intercession

International relations

A Kholuy box depicting the town of Suzdal

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia

Twin towns and sister cities

Suzdal is twinned with:

• Évora, Portugal
• Klec, Czech Republic
• Oberlin, United States
• Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
• Windham, United States

Notable people

• Aleksei Gastev (1882–1939), participant in the Russian Revolution of 1905, a pioneer of scientific management in Russia
• Sergei Shirokogorov (1887–1939), anthropologist
• Dmitry Vinogradov (1720–1758), chemist, the founder of the Imperial Porcelain Factory
• Rudolph Yanovskiy (1929–2010), philosopher, professor, Ph.D.

References

Sources

• Brumfield, William. Suzdal: Architectural Heritage in Photographs (Moscow: Tri Kvadrata, 2009) ISBN 978-5-94607-118-5
• Администрация Владимирской области. Постановление №433 от 13 июня 2007 г. «О реестре административно-территориальных образований и единиц Владимирской области», в ред. Постановления №169 от 5 марта 2015 г. «О внесении изменения в Постановление Губернатора области от 13.06.2007 №433 "О реестре административно-территориальных образований и единиц Владимирской области"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Владимирские ведомости", №114, 20 июня 2007 г. (Administration of Vladimir Oblast. Resolution #433 of June 13, 2007 On the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Formations and Units of Vladimir Oblast, as amended by the Resolution #169 of March 5, 2015 On Amending Resolution #433 of the Oblast Governor of June 13, 2007 "On the Registry of the Administrative-Territorial Formations and Units of Vladimir Oblast". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
• Законодательное Собрание Владимирской области. Закон №190-ОЗ от 26 ноября 2004 г. «О наделении Суздальского района и вновь образованных муниципальных образований, входящих в его состав, соответствующим статусом муниципальных образований и установлении их границ», в ред. Закона №90-ОЗ от 5 августа 2009 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Владимирской области "О наделении Суздальского района и вновь образованных муниципальных образований, входящих в его состав, соответствующим статусом муниципальных образований и установлении их границ"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования (27 ноября 2004 г.). Опубликован: "Владимирские ведомости", №331, 27 ноября 2004 г. (Legislative Assembly of Vladimir Oblast. Law #190-OZ of November 26, 2004 On Granting Suzdalsky District and the Newly Established Municipal Formations Comprising It an Appropriate Status of the Municipal Formations and on Establishing Their Borders, as amended by the Law #90-OZ of August 5, 2009 On Amending the Law of Vladimir Oblast "On Granting Suzdalsky District and the Newly Established Municipal Formations Comprising It an Appropriate Status of the Municipal Formations and on Establishing Their Borders". Effective as of the day of the official publication (November 27, 2004).).

External links

• Suzdal travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website of Suzdal (Russian)
• Unofficial website of Suzdal (Russian)
• Suzdal Festival of Russian animation (films from the 2005-2007 festival program, with Esperanto subtitles)
• "Temples of Russia" - 3D model of the Nativity of the Theotokos cathedral in Suzdal
• Suzdal: A Living Museum of Russian History (audio slide show)
• Museum of Wooden Architecture and Peasant Life (Suzdal)