Vladimir, center of the Vladimir area, is located 190 km north-west of Moscow, on the high bank of the Klyazma on the outskirts of the Vladimir-Suzdal high plain.
How to get there from Moscow: by train from the Kursky railroad, by car following the Nizhegorodskoye shosse.
You can get there by bus as well. The bus station is located near the metro station Shchyolkovskaya.
Golden Gate
Golden Gate (1164) was modeled by Andrei Bogoliubsky on the prototype of the gate in Kiev with the same name in order to annoy arrogant people of Kiev.
It represents a monument of Russian fortification architecture of the 12th century. The passage arch was protected by heavy oaken folds plated with sheets of gilded copper. That is how the gate got the name Golden.
Near the gate foreign envoys and distinguished guests were met, the inauguration of Alexander Nevsky and the arrival of Dmitri Donskoi were celebrated.
The gate was flanked by a bulwark with deep moats outside. A bridge passed over the moat to the gate. From the tower one could get on the wall set on the rampart. The gate had proved its strength and reliability many times. Enemy could never pass into the town by the gate and had to selected less protected parts of the fortress for the break-through. That is what Tartars did in 1238 when they took the town by storm.
The gate has gone through many alterations.
Researches proved that the most ancient parts of the gate are the wide passage arch with solid battle quadrangular pillars and the machicoulis above them.
Nowadays, a military-historical exposition of the museum is opened in the gate church of the Deposition of the Robes of the Holy Virgin.
Assumption Cathedral
The Assumption Cathedral (1158 - 1160) is a world-famous monument. The white-stone temple was erected by the commission of Andrei Bogoliubsky. After the capital had been transferred from Kiev to Vladimir and the Metropolitan had moved there, the cathedral got the status of the major house of worship in Russia having in its possession the image of the Holy Virgin, the patron icon of Russia.
The Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir is taller than the cathedrals of St. Sophia in Kiev and Novgorod. Its height is 32 meters.
Its gilded cupolas and the facade, bearing a frieze of arches and columns, emphasize the impressiveness and solemnity.
The cathedral of Vladimir was the prototype of the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.
Vladimir's house of worship served as a reliquary for mortal remains of princes and high priests. The bones of Andrei Bogoliubsky, canonized in the 18th century, were laid to rest there.
The interior of the cathedral is conspicuous for its exquisiteness and luxury. Ancient chroniclers compared it to the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. The murals of the cathedral were executed in different periods. Most of them are dated by the late 19th century. The ancient paintings comprise only an insignificant part of the total surface of the frescoes.
In 1408 Andrei Rublev and Daniel Cherny painted some frescoes for the cathedral. The representation of "Last Judgment" by Andrei Rublev is the only one relatively intact. The saints, provided with human features, win the viewer's heart by their kindness and gentleness, their figures are graceful and refined.
Andrei Rublev painted 83 icons for the Assumption Cathedral. Some of them are on show in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and in the Russian Museum of St.-Petersburg.
In 1773 the iconostasis was replaced by a new one which still exists. Under the vaults of this cathedral Peter and Alexei of Moscow used to conducted services, in the period of 1917-1922 the future Patriarch Sergius read his sermons there.
In the periods of 1952 - 1954 and 1974 - 1982 the cathedral went through a restoration financed by the Russian Orthodox Church. The temple was prepared for its 800th anniversary celebrated in 1989 in Vladimir.
St. Demetrius's Cathedral
St. Demetrius's Cathedral (1194-1197) is dedicated to Dmitri Solunsky, the patron of the prince Vsevolod III. It was erected in honor of the birth of Vsevolod's son Dmitri.
The cathedral is built of white-stoned blocks. Outside it has a refined, truly imperial decor of fifteen hundred carved stones. The temple seems to be covered with the finest lace. The carved pattern adheres to one idea: glorification of the beauty and perfection of the universe created according to the laws of harmony.
The central figure of the carved ornament is Tsar David seated on the throne surrounded by animals, birds, plants, fantastic beasts, saints and horsemen. He blesses every living thing on earth.
The facades are ornate with figures of lions, eagles, swans, ounces and deer. There are as well some fairy-tale personages and characters of pagan myths.
At the end of the 12th century the cathedral was embellished with murals. Eminent Russian and Greek masters were involved in painting. The frescoes have survived but in a fragmentary state.
Nativity Monastery
The Nativity Monastery was founded in 1191 by Prince Vsevolod III. In the mid-13th century it became a residence of the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church retaining this status until 1323.
The Trinity, Resurrection, and St. Lawrence's chronicles were created in this monastery. Simon, the bishop of the cathedral, was the author of the "Kievo-Pechersky paterikon" (hagiography). The monastery boasts a unique library of manuscripts and printed incunabula.
In 1263 Alexander Nevsky, the military leader, was interred in the monastery's cathedral. In 1723 by the commission of Peter I his remains were transferred to the Lavra of Alexander Nevsky in Petersburg.
In the 19th century the ramshackle cathedral was dismantled. From the monastery ensemble only homestead secular constructions, the church of the Nativity of Christ (17th century), a stone fence and the Holy Gate have survived.
On the site of the Nativity Cathedral a monument to Alexander Nevsky (by the sculpture S.Orlov and the architect R.Kuznetsov) now stands. The decision to erect the monument in Vladimir was made in 1963 on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the commander's death.
Traditions
The handicraft of the Khokhloma painted woodwork has flourished since ancient times in the forest behind the Volga, in the village of Syomino and surrounding settlements. The name of the craft comes from a big merchant village where peasants brought their products for sale. The origin of the craft is linked with old believers who in the 17th century found there a refuge from prosecutions. Their icon-painters started to decorate gold chalices, spoons, candle-holders, and salt-cellars.
In the 18th century the craft spread among peasants and became famous outside the village. The Khokhloma patterns are noted for their archaic motifs as most of the craftsmen came from the old believers' environment and fervently protected art traditions from foreign influence.
Nowadays, the handicraft is represented by the "Khokhloma Artist" factory in Syomino.
The technique of the Khokhloma painting is painstaking. To lay color evenly and make it last long and retain its brightness, the surface needs a priming of liquid clay. As soon as the priming gets dry, the artist would take a flock of flax or tow, dip it into flax oil, and rub it into the surface. The bowl would become glossy. Then the item is put into an oven, left to dry, and covered with drying oil. In ancient times boiled flax oil was used as drying oil. To add drying qualities red lid was mixed with it, along with ashes for sonouresness. To get an outstanding durability drying oil had to be boiled for a long time.
The items are covered with three coats of drying oil and put into an oven to dry. When they start to rise, the next stage comes. The plates are then tin-coated with a piece of neatly cut sheepskin, aluminum or milled tin is rubbed into them in a thin solid layer.
The colors are prepared separately. Dry vermilion is ground on a plate, mixed with oily cadmium, turpentine, and drying oil to obtain the required paint mixture.
