Ancient golden gate in Vladimir. Golden Gate (Historical appearance)

Prince ANDREY Yurievich BOGOLYUBSKY

Icon of St. martyr Andrey Bogolyubsky

Andrey (1111-1174) is the second eldest son of Prince Yuri Dolgoruky and his wife Polovtsian princess, in holy baptism Maria, daughter of the Polovtsian khan Aepa Asenevich.
Wife: Ulita, daughter of boyar Kuchka.
Sons: Yuri, Izyaslav, Vladimir, Mstislav.

Before his baptism, Andrei was called China, he grew up and matured in Suzdal, received an excellent education, which the Rurikids gave their sons according to the behest of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (who knew five European languages, was fluent in the art of war, knowledge of urban planning, and theology). Like Vladimir Monomakh, Prince Andrei had an inquisitive philosophical mind, loved to read the Holy Scriptures, and engage in the thought of God. Since childhood, he had become accustomed to standing idle for long church services, the entire annual liturgical cycle: he knew the calendar by heart. For his piety he received the name Bogolyubsky. The upbringing of the young prince included exercises in the art of war, the development of courage, resourcefulness and other qualities necessary for a prince-military leader. The habit of military discipline, the ability to organize himself and even in the most urgent matters to find time for prayer more than once helped him later in life.

Prince Dorogobuzhsky: 1150 - 1151

Ritual grand-ducal hatchet of Andrei Bogolyubsky

In the battle near the city of Lutsk, in which Izyaslav’s brother Vladimir was besieged, in 1150 St. Andrei courageously smashed the front ranks of the enemy, his spear broke, his saddle was pierced with a pike, and only a fervent prayer to the Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates, whose memory was celebrated that day (February 8), saved the prince from the spear of a German mercenary.

Prince Ryazan: 1153

In 1146, Andrei, together with his older brother Rostislav, expelled Izyaslav Mstislavich's ally, Rostislav Yaroslavich, from Ryazan, who fled to the Polovtsians.
In 1153, Andrei was placed by his father on the reign of Ryazan, but he returned from the steppes with the Polovtsians and expelled him.

Prince Andrei loved the Zalessk region, his homeland. Upon reaching adulthood, princely sons were usually given a city to govern. Andrei received from his father Vladimir, at that time an insignificant city inhabited by artisans, merchants, and “little” people.

Prince Vyshgorodsky: 1149, 1155

After Yuri Dolgoruky became the prince of Kyiv in 1155, he surrounded himself with his sons, giving them neighboring Kyiv appanages. He placed his eldest and talented son Andrei closest, making him the prince of Vyshgorod, located just 10 miles from Kyiv, so that he would always be “at hand” of his father. Andrei reigned in Vyshgorod for about a year. But he didn’t like life here. He did not like revelry or feasts, and he could not tolerate the constant unrest and strife of his relatives. Realizing the futility of attempts to change the order in the south, Prince Andrei began to look for the possibility of his departure to the north in order to organize life there on the principles of a strong and wise princely power.

Even in his youth, Prince Andrei, having reached adulthood, undertook a journey to the shrines of the East. He was in Jerusalem and Constantinople, where he lived for several years, studying the life and customs of the peoples of the Byzantine Empire. The Greek kings were his relatives, because through his grandfather Vladimir Monomakh, born from the Greek princess Irina, he was the great-grandson of the Byzantine emperor Constantine Monomakh. It was then, during his stay in Byzantium, that Prince Andrei conceived the idea of ​​​​creating the same integral Orthodox state with an autocrat at its head on the territory of the Russian lands that were fragmented and disunited at that time.
He understood that behind the princely strife in the struggle for the Kiev throne and the best cities, behind the fratricides and perjuries, there was a great threat and danger for Rus'. In Kyiv, the grand ducal power was severely limited by the influential and changeable city council.
The noble Kiev squad was too willful, and the southern border with the restless Polovtsian steppe lay nearby, so a new capital was needed to implement the plans of Prince Andrei. The city of Vladimir was designated by God's providence.

Immediately after the beginning of his reign in Vyshgorod, Prince. Andrei began to ask his father to let him go home in the Rostov-Suzdal region, but Prince. Yuri categorically refused him, not wanting to lose his most reliable and loyal assistant. Book Andrei began to pray, asking the Lord Himself to decide his fate. At this time, in the Vyshgorod convent there was a miraculous icon of the Mother of God.
The wonderful image of the Mother of God, painted in Byzantium around 1130, belonged to the type of icons called “Eleus”, and in Rus' this word was translated as “Tenderness”. This name is attached to this type of composition. This icon became the national shrine of the Russian land, and the name “Vladimir” came to it later.
Many residents told amazing things about this icon: several times it left its place in the temple and hovered in the air. When the icon was moved to the altar, it left its place there too, turning to face the exit. The devout Prince Andrei often prayed at night in front of this shrine, and the miracles coming from the icon revealed the will of the Lord to him. Taking with him this and several other icons, a family and a small squad of faithful people, Prince. Andrei left for his homeland, secretly, without his father’s will.
Russian people believed that Our Lady of Tenderness was capable of performing miracles.

The secret transfer of the icon of the Mother of God from Vyshgorod

IN. Klyuchevsky says that Bogolyubsky with the icon from Vyshgorod sailed by water to Moscow, across the Vazuza River and the Moskva River, then “through the Rogozhsky fields on Klyazma to Vladimir” (V.O. Klyuchevsky. Soch., vol. 2, M., 1957 , p.9).
The pristine town of Moscow, as the western border outpost of the Vladimir-Suzdal land, was, in the 12th century, according to I.K. Kondratyev, a certain center or gathering place “for the militias passing through it, because the princes and governors of Vladimir, Novgorod, Ryazan and Chernigov converged on it with their troops, heading to different directions of the vast appanage Russia.” (I.K. Kondratyev. The gray old man of Moscow. M., 1893, p. 6.)
Then Bogolyubsky sailed along the Klyazma in boats to Vladimir-Zalessky with the flow.
Prince Andrey decided to take the miraculous icon from Vladimir to Suzdal. The land route from Vladimir to Suzdal apparently passed through the modern village. Bogolyubovo, Prince Andrei drove along it.
On the way from Vladimir to Rostov, eleven miles from Vladimir, the horses carrying the icon suddenly stopped, and no force could move them. The chronicle text says: “And from then (from the Rogozhsky fields) they reached near the city of Vladimer and while they were on the river on Klyazma, there was a group of horses with an icon”...
Everyone considered this a wonderful omen. After serving a prayer service, we decided to spend the night here. Long after midnight the light burned in the prince's tent, pitched on the steep bank of the deep Klyazma. The prince prayed at night in front of the miraculous icon, when the Most Pure Mother of God herself appeared before him in an indescribable radiance and said: “I don’t want to bring My image to Rostov, but in Vladimir place it: in this place, in the name of My Nativity, erect a church and create a dwelling for monks " Andrei fell to his knees in awe, ready at that very moment to fulfill the Heavenly command. Then, in memory of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God to him, Prince. Andrew ordered the icon painters to paint an icon of the Mother of God as the Most Pure One appeared to him, and established the celebration of this icon on July 1. Called the Bogolyubskaya (God-loving) icon of the Mother of God, it later became famous for its numerous miracles.

Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God

In connection with all these circumstances, the new city at the site of the appearance of the Most Pure Mother of God was named Bogolyubov (“God’s beloved place”), and the prince himself was nicknamed Bogolyubsky.

Grand Duke Vladimir
1157 - 1174

In 1157, Prince Yuri Dolgoruky was poisoned during a feast at one of the Kiev residents named Petrila, who was an osmenik, i.e. senior over eight warriors. His death led to robberies of the courtyards of both the prince himself and other Suzdal residents. After the riot subsided, the people of Kiev began to expect retribution from Prince Andrei. But he was in no hurry to go to Kyiv with a sword in order to establish himself on the “golden” Kiev throne by force, like his predecessors. He remained in the northeast in order to create a new capital of Rus' here, based on a policy of strengthening unified and absolute power.
After the death of his father, Andrei was elected Prince of Rostov-Suzdal, but he did not stay to live in either Rostov or Suzdal, but went to his beloved city of Vladimir. In order to strengthen autocracy, Andrei expels several boyar families from Rostov and Suzdal, the most faithful servants of his father, and also sends his relatives to reduce the risk of internecine disagreements and attacks on his princely authority. Mstislav, Vasilko and Vsevolod, together with their widowed parent (Andrei's stepmother), left for Constantinople in 1162.

Emperor Manuel received them with honor. Vsevolod spent 7 years in exile. Gleb at that time reigned in Pereslavl South.

Since 1149 Rostov, Suzdal and Murom diocese.
Since 1164 (1172) Rostov and Murom diocese.
Since 1198 Rostov, Suzdal and.

Before his death, Dolgoruky asks Frederick Barbarossa for craftsmen. First, the masters are sent by Friedrich to Yuri, then the masters come to his son Andrey in Vladimir. From a message by V.N. Tatishchev follows that they built, at a minimum, the Assumption Cathedral and the Golden Gate in Vladimir. We do not know when exactly the construction of the Golden Gate began (their approximate dating is 1158 - 1164). But regarding the Assumption Cathedral, it is known for certain that it was founded on April 8, 1158.
From Barbarossa came masters of sculptural decoration and, possibly, an architect. But if the arrival of the latter took place, then rather narrow tasks were set before him:
- development of decorative iconography and supervision of relevant craftsmen;
- increasing the size and improving the quality of buildings.
Despite the arrival of craftsmen from Western Europe, the local construction personnel formed under Yuri still played a decisive role under Andrei.

ASSUMPTION CATHEDRAL OF ROSTOV THE VELIKY

In 1160, the oak cathedral Church of the Assumption in Rostov burned down. In 1162, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky founded a stone cathedral church on the site of a burnt church.
At the same time, the incorruptible relics were found when digging ditches under the walls of the newly founded temple. Prince Andrei sent a stone coffin in which the relics of Leonty were placed and a small chapel was built in his honor on the south side of the altar of the cathedral church. The white stone cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1204.
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COUNTRY FORTRESS - BOGOLYUBOVO

On the site of the settlement there was a Meryan settlement of the 9th-10th centuries, possibly fortified.

Construction of the country fortress lasted from 1157 to 1165. According to Andrei Bogolyubsky’s plan, it was a small but well-fortified castle, following the example of a Western European one, surrounded by powerful earthen ramparts that had a base of up to 20 m and a height of up to 6 m. Their perimeter reached 800 m. Stone walls with white stone military towers were erected on top of the ramparts . During excavations 1934-1954. the remains of the base of a beautifully built white cut stone wall or tower were discovered, and on the crest of the western rampart - the base of a powerful wall foundation made of cobblestones and lime mortar.
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The prince is launching a grandiose construction project in Vladimir. The city turned into a huge fortress, surrounded by ramparts 7 km long, surpassing in this regard both Kyiv (4 km) and Novgorod (6 km).
Military fortifications with high wooden walls and loopholes were erected around the city, in front of which a wide ditch was dug.
Cutting through the rampart in the western part of the Monomakhov city showed that it was built somewhat later than Ivanovsky, on the cultural layer of the 12th century, had powerful wooden structures inside in the form of log houses measuring 5.4x5.8 m, made of logs 0.2-0.4 m thick, connected by “ in the region."

Bookmark of the city of Vladimir and the Assumption Cathedral of the book. Andrey Bogolyubsky. Miniature of the Front Chronicle. Laptevsky volume. 2nd half XVI century (RNB. F. IV. L. 133)

Golden Gate

Golden Gate. Reconstruction of A.V. Stoletova.

Golden Gate. Reconstruction of E.I. Deshalta.

The Golden Gate (1158-1164) was built by analogy with the main gates of Kyiv and Constantinople, which had the same name.
During the construction of the Golden Gate, the following miracle occurred. The prince wanted to coincide the opening of the Golden Gate with the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. The scaffolding and circles were removed ahead of schedule, and the lime had not yet had time to dry and harden. During the prayer service, with a large crowd of people, part of the gate collapsed, and 12 people were covered in stones. Then the prince fervently prayed to the miraculous icon of the Mother of God: “If You do not save these people, I, a sinner, will be guilty of their death!” When they lifted the gate and dismantled the stones, all those crushed were safe and sound.
On April 26, 1164, construction of the Golden Gate was completed.
Above the triumphal arch, the gate church of the Deposition of the Robe was erected, renovated in 1469 by V.D. Ermolin; rebuilt in 1810

Golden Gate of Vladimir

We entered Vladimir from the west through the Golden Gate, and from the east through the Silver Gate. The fortress also had the Volga Gate - access to the Klyazma River, Mednye - access to the Lybid River and Irinin Gate - not far from the Golden Gate.
The Golden Gate has survived to this day and has become the oldest defense monument in Russia. This is a powerful structure made of white stone, more than 20 meters high, cut through by a high arch. The gate leaves used to be bound with gilded copper and could be seen from afar. The dome of the small temple that completed the construction also sparkled with gold.
The church, which from a distance looks like a toy, actually seats more than a hundred people.
In 1238, the Golden Gate served the people of Vladimir during the defense of the city from the Mongol-Tatar army.
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In different parts of the Monomakhov city, the remains of above-ground and semi-dugout buildings have been studied. The above-ground buildings were of log construction, mostly single-chamber, their dimensions did not exceed 5-6x4-6 m. The buildings were without foundation structures or with the simplest “chairs” made of log stumps in the corners of the log house, usually with large and deep underground pits. The walls of the semi-dugouts were decorated with wood. As a rule, these were log houses lowered into the foundation pit of a semi-dugout. The stoves in both above-ground and semi-dugout dwellings were predominantly made of adobe.
Among the finds from the Old Russian layer of the Monomakhov city are Old Russian and late medieval pottery, numerous and varied artisan tools, household items, and many glass bracelets. Finds of majolica tiles are frequent.
At the Knyaginin Monastery, the remains of an above-ground residential building were examined, in the collapse of the furnace of which two silver hryvnias were discovered, apparently hidden during one of the enemy invasions. Near the Golden Gate, a semi-dugout measuring 4.0 x 3.6 m was excavated with traces of wall cladding with wood (probably a log house) and an adobe oven in the south-eastern corner.

Church of the Savior

The Prince of Kiev in 1108 founded the first stone church in Vladimir. “That same summer, Volodymyr Monomakh built the city of Vladimir Zaleshsky, and created in it the church of the stone of the Holy Savior.” After the fire, this temple was completely dismantled.

Under Andrei Bogolyubsky, a new white stone Church of the Savior grew up next to the Golden Gate (1164). The white stone Church of the Savior stood for about six centuries, until a severe fire in 1778 destroyed it. A few years later, at the end of the eighteenth century, the remains of the church were dismantled, and in its place a new Church of the Savior was built, which has survived to this day.

Spasskaya Church

Before construction began, archaeological excavations were carried out on the site of an ancient temple from the twelfth century. Researchers managed to restore the original appearance of the Church of the Savior Andrei Bogolyubsky; of course, most of the architectural elements were restored based on guesswork. However, archaeologists found slabs that lined the floor of the temple, and fragments of carved stone decorations on the facade.
The architects tried to repeat as accurately as possible the image of the Church of the Savior, built under Prince Bogolyubsky. Archaeologists claim that the new Church of the Savior is indeed very similar to the ancient one. The church building is surrounded by a series of semi-columns, starting from the middle of the walls and reaching almost to the gate. In addition, the walls are richly decorated with carved stone details. The architects used a special method of applying plaster, thanks to this it seems that the Church of the Savior is laid out of natural white stone (like its predecessor).
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Vladimir Assumption Cathedral

In the Middle City, Andrei creates the white stone Assumption Cathedral (1158-1160).
The Assumption Cathedral was built at the direction of Andrei Bogolyubsky on a high terrain and is visible from afar. The temple was assigned a role similar to Sophia of Kyiv. The model was the cathedral of the Pechersk Monastery of the same name in Kyiv. The desire to make Vladimir the new political and cultural center of Rus' led to the search for hitherto unknown ideological and artistic means. The appearance of the main temple had to correspond to the assigned tasks. The prince allocated a tenth of his income for the construction of the temple and invited craftsmen from different lands.

Scientists believe that architects from Western Europe participated in the construction of the Assumption Cathedral. They creatively used the experience of local builders and the traditions of this land. The temple was lavishly decorated outside and inside with stone carvings, frescoes, and gilding.
The architect of Barbarossa failed to achieve either a fundamentally new design, or a significant increase in size, or sufficient reliability of the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral. The Great Rostov Cathedral (the side of the dome square is 6.7 m) did not stand for long - only 42 years.

The icon of the Vladimir Mother of God decorated the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in 1160. For her salary, according to legend, the prince gave more than 30 hryvnia in gold, in addition to silver, precious stones and pearls.
After the death of the prince, many hunters were found to take possession of this shrine.
The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God visited the hands of the Ryazan prince Gleb. She was exposed to terrible danger when in 1238 hordes of Tatars broke into Vladimir. According to legend, Khan Batu himself peered at the mournful face of the Mother of God for a long time and, unable to bear Her gaze, left the temple.

Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir

The historical days of May 21, June 23 and August 26, associated with this holy icon, became memorable days of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The most solemn celebration takes place on August 26, established in honor of the meeting of the Vladimir Icon during its transfer from Vladimir to Moscow.
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Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sretenskaya Church was built on the banks of the Klyazma by order of Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1164.
A special reason was chosen for its erection - in this place the prince, accompanied by the clergy, with a large crowd of local residents, met the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God being transported to the Assumption Cathedral from Bogolyubov on September 21, 1160. In memory of the meeting of the icon, at the meeting place to perpetuate the memory of such On a glorious and significant event for Vladimir, the wooden Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built.
During the construction of the Sretenskaya Church, the prince established a religious procession on September 21 (old style), which was performed by the clergy of the Assumption Cathedral. This tradition did not last long, and already in 1177 the cathedral clergy canceled the religious procession.
During the sack of Vladimir in 1238, the “wild hordes of Mongols” burned, among others, the Sretenskaya Church. Since then, it was not renewed for a long time and only in 1656 was it mentioned in the archives as “arriving again.” Rebuilt and updated, the temple is later found in documents of the second half. XVII century At this time he was also assigned to the Assumption Cathedral, but already in 1710 his own priest conducted services in the Sretenskaya Church. Cm. .

Shoulder of St. Prince Andrey. Enamel plate with the image of the Crucifixion of Christ

Armillas of Barbarossa - two paired copper gilded plates of a pentagonal shape. Decorated with enamel miniatures with gospel scenes of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. The shoulder pads were made around 1170-1180. jewelers of the Mosel school and, possibly, are ceremonial shoulder bracelets - armillas, which were one of the regalia of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. Their probable owner is Friedrich Barbarossa, who, according to legend, gave them to the Grand Duke of Vladimir Andrei Bogolyubsky.

Sculptural portrait of Andrei Bogolyubsky


Plan of Vladimir XII-XIII centuries. (according to N.N. Voronin)

The numbers on the plan indicate:
I - the city of Monomakha (Pecherny city); II - Vetchany city; III - New City; IV - child; 1 - Church of the Savior; 2 - Church of St. George; 3 - Assumption Cathedral; 4 - Golden Gate; 5 - Orina's Gate; 6 - Copper gate; 7 - Silver Gate; 8 - Volga Gate; 9 - Demetrius Cathedral; 10 - ; 11 - Nativity Monastery; 12 - Assumption (Princess) Monastery; 13 - Trade gate; 14 - Ivanovo Gate; 15 - Detinets gate; 16 - Church of the Exaltation at Torg.

In 1158-1164. the western part of the city, called New town, is also surrounded by a line of defensive fortifications - ramparts (about 9 m high), on which the wooden walls of the fortress are erected. In this part of Vladimir there were four gate towers, three of them were wooden. The gates located in the towers were called “Volzhsky”, “Irininy” and “Copper”.
Excavations here revealed the remains of the Irina Gate passages in the form of a wooden base and passage flooring.
In the central part of the New Town, in the area of ​​the Trading Rows, approx. 2000 sq. m. The oldest buildings here date back to the 12th-13th centuries. These are underground pits of above-ground dwellings, ruins of adobe stoves and stoves, utility pits, traces of palisades that separated estates. At the junction of two estates, a construction victim was discovered: a special burial of the heads and parts of the skeletons of two horses.

The posad was intensively populated in the 12th - early 19th century. XIII century Here, at the supposed Silver Gate in the area of ​​modern street. Frunze examined the remains of two half-dugouts measuring 4.2x3.0 m, one of which belonged to a blacksmith.
The eastern part of the city of Vladimir, where in the second half. XI century The settlement was located during the reign of Andrei Bogolyubsky, and was also protected by ramparts and wooden fortress walls. On this side there was another white stone gate known as Silver. But here the wooden walls of the fortress soon fell into disrepair, and therefore the eastern part of Vladimir received the name Ham Town(i.e. “dilapidated”).

Archaeologists have identified two construction horizons in the construction of defensive fortifications in the eastern part of the city (Ivanovsky Val). the preserved height of the first construction horizon is 0.9 m, the body of the shaft was poured on an ancient soil horizon, and on the outer side the embankment of the shaft was reinforced with a wooden palisade. On the surface of the shaft of the first construction horizon, the remains of wooden structures adjacent to the shaft that were damaged in the fire were recorded. Stoves were found inside the log houses. Numerous fragments of pottery vessels were collected in the fire layer. XII - mid. XIII centuries

In ancient times, the fire layer was leveled and an embankment of the second building horizon was erected, which was preserved to a height of 1.8 to 1.9 m. It was erected in two stages without intra-shaft structures: first, the core of the shaft was poured, then the front side was further strengthened. The shaft body was significantly increased in height and width.

On the second construction horizon, thick undisturbed soil layers that formed on the rampart by the 16th century were traced. The upper part of the shaft was buried in the end. XVIII - beginning XIX centuries
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By the 13th century. territory st. B. Moskovskaya, received four wooden churches and 200 courtyards. XVI - XVII centuries here there were already settlement settlements, which were adjacent to the territories of the Sergievsky, Uspensky and Bogoroditsky monasteries and monastic settlements.

Most of the finds from the Old Russian period are represented by glass bracelets, knives for woodworking and bone carving, bone products and tools for drilling bone, and stone products. The most widespread finds are represented by fragments of ceramic products, from which it was possible to reconstruct 3 vessels for wine and oil. Decorative elements of temples were also discovered.

During the years of Andrei's reign, over 30 churches were built. All visitors: both Latins and pagans, Prince. Andrei ordered to take them to the erected churches and show them true Christianity.

Scattered lands united around the city of Vladimir, which at that time became the spiritual and cultural center of Rus'.
In 1153, Ryazan was captured by Andrei Bogolyubsky, but was expelled by Rostislav with Polovtsian help. Solovyov S.M. dates this event to 1154, and Ilovaisky D.I. pushes back the death of Rostislav until 1155, considering the last chronicle news about him to be the news of the Ipatiev Chronicle about the kissing of the cross of the Ryazan princes to Rostislav, while the news refers to the one who took at that time the Kiev grand-ducal throne to the Smolensk prince Rostislav Mstislavich.
In 1159, the Murom regiments took part in the campaign of the troops of Andrei Bogolyubsky in support of Svyatoslav Vshchizhsky and his uncle Izyaslav Davydovich, who at that time was fighting for the Kiev and Chernigov thrones against the Smolensk-Volyn-Galician coalition.

In 1160, he sent his son Mstislav with an army against the Polovtsians to the upper Don.

One of the state tasks set by the book. Andrei saw the conquest of the Great Volga Route, which passed through the territory of Rus' and connected the countries of Scandinavia with the eastern states. Since the time of Prince Svyatoslav's campaigns (972) against the Khazars, Volga Bulgaria posed a serious danger to the Russian state.
A crushing blow to the enemy was dealt in 1164, when Russian troops burned and destroyed several Bulgarian fortresses.
In 1164, Prince Yuri of Murom sent troops to help Andrei Bogolyubsky against the Volga Bulgarians. Andrei took with him on this campaign the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and a double-sided icon, which depicted the Savior Not Made by Hands on one side and the Adoration of the Cross on the other.
A great miracle was revealed to the Russian army from the holy icons on the day of the decisive victory over the Bulgarians on August 1, 1164. After the defeat of the Bulgarian army, princes Andrei, his brother Yaroslav, son Izyaslav and others returned to the infantry, standing under the princely banners at the Vladimir icon, and, bowing icon, “giving praise and songs to it.” And then everyone saw dazzling rays of light emanating from the face of the Mother of God and from the Savior Not Made by Hands. That year, by order of Saint Andrew, it was established August 14 celebration of the All-Merciful Savior () and the Most Holy Theotokos - in memory of the baptism of Rus' by Saint Vladimir Equal to the Apostles and in memory of the victory over the Bulgarians.

Soon the prince established a holiday, hitherto unknown to either the Latin West or the Greek East: a holiday (held on October 1/14), which embodied the faith of the holy prince and the entire Russian people in the Mother of God’s acceptance of Holy Rus' under Her Protection. The initiative to create the holiday is attributed to Andrei Bogolyubsky himself and the Vladimir clergy, who did without the sanction of the Kyiv Metropolitan. The emergence of a new Mother of God holiday in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality seems to be a natural phenomenon, arising from the political aspirations of Prince Andrei. In the “Word on the Intercession” there is a prayer for the Mother of God to protect her people with divine protection “from the arrows flying in the darkness of our division”, a prayer for the need for the unity of the Russian lands.
In 1165, a church () arose at the mouth of the Nerl, dedicated to a new holiday in honor of the Virgin Mary - the Intercession.

The prince’s participation is noticeable in the compilation of the Vladimir chronicle, completed after the prince’s death by his confessor, priest Mikulitsa, who included in it a special “Tale of the Murder of Saint Prince Andrew.” The final edition of “The Tale of Boris and Gleb” dates back to the reign of Prince Andrei, since the prince was their special admirer: the main home shrine of Andrei Bogolyubsky was the hat and sword of the holy martyr Prince Boris (Prince of Rostov). The “Prayer”, entered into the chronicle in 1906, after the “Teaching of Vladimir Monomakh,” remains a monument to the prayerful inspiration of the holy prince. From the Volga Gate of the city of Vladimir, the Old Ryazan Highway began, which ran along the bed of the Pol and Buzha rivers, bypassing the lakes - to the left bank of the Oka, to Ryazan.
When the patriarchal department was still in Kyiv, the winter Patriarchal route from Kyiv through Ryazan to Vladimir ran along the ice of Pra, Meshchersky lakes and Buzhe.
In 1171, according to the chronicles, Andrei Bogolyubsky founded Meshchera in the southern limits Andreev Gorodok. Then another trade route arose along the left bank of the Kolp and Gus rivers, connecting Vladimir with Gorodets Meshchersky. Cm.
From 1158 to 1165 Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky strengthened the southern borders of Zalesskaya Rus': he created a chain of fortifications on the left bank of the Klyazma: Vladimir, a fortress above Sungir (), - the latter also blocked the path of Rostov and Suzdal along the Nerl route to the Klyazma - this was a very daring and courageous step of the prince, it caused strong discontent among the Old Boyar nobility.

Fortified guard posts and abatis are built along large rivers and important roads. Such posts can obviously be considered Makeeva Mountain (Kameshkovsky district, Makeevo village), a settlement near the village of Kunitsyno in the same area, and villages nearby (Kovrovsky district).

Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky, paying his last debt to his parent who died in 1157 by building churches and monasteries in Vladimir and down from the city of Bogolyubov along the Klyazma River on its right bank, built the first church in the name of the Savior, which is in Kupalishchi (where there were still pagans and worshiped God - Kupala).
On the day of the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Grand Duke arrived at the place where the village of Lyubets (Kovrovsky district) is now located, which has the most picturesque location. The Prince fell in love with this place. “Like here,” he said and ordered to build a church in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God.
The Prince wanted to visit Starodub, but circumstances distracted him to the Princes of Suzdal. The Grand Duke, returning in winter from Suzdal again to Starodub, lost his way due to a blizzard and, no longer hoping for salvation, ended up in the camp of the village of Elifanovka (the future city of Kovrov) on the eve of the Nativity of Christ. On the occasion of his miraculous deliverance from certain death, he ordered the construction of the Nativity Church here.
In the morning, having warmed up and rested, the Grand Duke went to mass in (now called the Klyazma town). From here he went further and at the mouth of the Tara and Msterka rivers he ordered the construction of a church in the name of the Epiphany of the Lord, where now.
Since the Grand Duke ordered the construction of a wooden church in the village of Elifanovka, this village received the name of the village of Rozhdestvenskoye.
Eliphan's son Vasily Elifanov undertook to cut down and erect this church. At its consecration, the Grand Duke awarded him with wastelands, forests and meadows from the Nerekhta River along the Gremyachiy Enemy along the Klyazma on a crooked oak and an old willow to Nerekhta, as it appears in the scribe books of Clerk Mikhail Trusov and Fyodor Vitovtov. Later, these lands passed from generation to generation under the name of the Elifanovsky wastelands. In 1162, wanting to create an episcopal see in the new capital of Rus' - the capital city of Vladimir, Andrei Bogolyubsky asked the Patriarch of Constantinople to separate the city of Vladimir from the Rostov diocese and create a metropolitanate separate from Kyiv. He proposed his favorite abbot Theodore as a candidate for the metropolitan see. But Patriarch Luke Chrysoverg did not agree to this, and advised the flattering and sneaky Theodore, who slandered the Rostov Bishop Nestor, to be removed from himself.
In 1168, a large Council was convened in Kyiv, consisting of 150 clergy, on the occasion of disputes about fasting on Wednesday and Friday. From Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky of Vladimir, Abbot Theodore was sent to the Council with a proposal to overthrow Metropolitan Constantine of Kyiv and elect a new one, but the proposal was not accepted. Then Abbot Theodore, with a supply of gold and silver, went to Constantinople to the patriarch with a report that there was supposedly no metropolitan in Kyiv, and asked to be installed as Metropolitan of Kyiv. The Patriarch did not agree. But this did not bother Abbot Theodore. He brought rich gifts to the patriarch and asked to be installed as bishop of Rostov, saying that there was supposedly no bishop there, and in Russia there was no one to appoint as bishop, since there was no metropolitan in Kyiv. The Patriarch heeded his plea, and on June 16, 1170, Theodore was consecrated Bishop of Rostov (see). At the same time, trying to maintain the favor of Prince Andrei, the most powerful among the rulers of the Russian land, he honored Bishop Theodore with the right to wear a white hood, which was a distinctive sign of church autonomy in ancient Rus'.

In 1167, Saint Rostislav, Andrew’s cousin, who knew how to bring pacification to the complex political and church life of that time, died in Kyiv, and a new metropolitan was sent from Constantinople. The new metropolitan demanded that Bishop Theodore appear before him for approval. Saint Andrew again turned to Constantinople for confirmation of the independence of the Vladimir diocese and with a request for a separate metropolis. The response letter of Patriarch Luke Chrysovergus has been preserved, containing a categorical refusal to establish a metropolitanate, as well as a demand to accept the exiled Bishop Leon and submit to the Kyiv Metropolitan.
Andrei convinced Bishop Theodore to go to Kyiv with repentance to restore canonical relations with the metropolitan. Bishop Theodore's repentance was not accepted. Without a conciliar hearing, Metropolitan Constantine, in accordance with Byzantine morals, condemned him to a terrible execution: Theodore’s tongue was cut out, his right hand was cut off and his eyes were gouged out. After this he was drowned by the Metropolitan's servants.

In 1159, Izyaslav Davydovich was expelled from Kyiv by Mstislav Izyaslavich of Volyn and the Galician army; Rostislav Mstislavich, whose son Svyatoslav reigned in Novgorod, became the prince of Kyiv. In the same year, Andrei captured the Novgorod suburb of Volok Lamsky, founded by Novgorod merchants, and celebrated the wedding of his daughter Rostislava with the prince of Vshchizh Svyatoslav Vladimirovich, nephew of Izyaslav Davydovich. Izyaslav Andreevich, together with Murom help, was sent to help Svyatoslav near Vshchizh against Svyatoslav Olgovich and Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich.
In 1160, the Novgorodians invited Andrei's nephew, Mstislav Rostislavich, to reign, but not for long: the next year Izyaslav Davydovich died while trying to take control of Kiev, and Svyatoslav Rostislavich returned to Novgorod for several years.

Capture of Kyiv

Mstislav (prince of Kyiv and son of Izyaslav) continued the family tradition, gathering in the early spring (following the example of Monomakh) 1169 the troops of twelve princes - all the available forces of Southern Rus' - in one of the largest campaigns against the nomads. Crowned with an almost bloodless victory at the mouth of the river. Aurelie, where many slaves were again freed. The Polovtsians did not try to resist and fled. The light cavalry of the black hoods, under the command of their commander Basty, pursued them at a great distance, capturing crowds of prisoners. The Dnieper group was again significantly weakened, but the outbreak of another strife did not allow the success to be consolidated.
In March 1169, the troops of the allied princes, led by Andrei's son Mstislav, besieged Kyiv. At this time, Prince Mstislav Izyaslavovich ruled in Kyiv. The allies of Mstislav of Kyiv (Yaroslav Osmomysl of Galicia, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Chernigov and Yaroslav Izyaslavich of Lutsk) did not undertake a relief strike against besieged Kyiv.
On March 8, the city was defeated and burned. The Polovtsians who participated in the campaign did not spare even church treasures. Russian chronicles viewed this event as a well-deserved retribution: “they are still doing it for their sins, especially for the metropolitan’s untruth.” The city was taken by storm “on the shield”, which the Russian princes had never done before in relation to Kyiv. The Kyiv prince Mstislav fled. The victors robbed him for two days, and there was no mercy for anyone or anything. “We were in Kyiv then,” said the chronicler, “all the people were groaning and melancholy, inconsolable crying and incessant sorrow.” Many Kiev residents were taken captive. In monasteries and churches, soldiers took not only jewelry, but also all sacred things: icons, crosses, bells and vestments. The Polovtsians set fire to the Pechersky Monastery. St. Sophia Cathedral was looted along with other temples.
Andrei's younger brother Gleb reigned in Kyiv; Andrei himself remained in Vladimir.

Hike to Novgorod

In 1168, the Novgorodians called Roman, the son of Mstislav Izyaslavich of Kyiv, to reign. The first campaign was carried out against the Polotsk princes, Andrei's allies. The land was devastated, the troops did not reach Polotsk 30 miles. Then Roman attacked the Toropetsk volost of the Smolensk principality. The army sent by Mstislav to help his son, led by Mikhail Yuryevich, and the black hoods were intercepted by the Rostislavichs on the road.
Having subjugated Kyiv, Andrei organized a campaign against Novgorod. Prince Yuri of Murom sent troops to help Andrei Bogolyubsky at the end of 1169 against Roman Mstislavich of Novgorod.
In the winter of 1170, Mstislav Andreevich, Roman and Mstislav Rostislavich, Vseslav Vasilkovich of Polotsk, the Ryazan and Murom regiments came to Novgorod.
By the evening of February 25, Roman and the Novgorodians defeated the Suzdalians and their allies. The enemies fled. The Novgorodians captured so many Suzdalians that they sold them for next to nothing (2 nogat each). However, soon there was a famine in Novgorod, and the Novgorodians chose to make peace with Andrei with all their will and invited Rurik Rostislavich to reign, and a year later - Yuri Andreevich.
According to other sources, the residents of Vladimir were driven back by the miracle of the Novgorod Icon of the Mother of God of the Sign, which was carried to the city wall by the holy Archbishop John. But when the admonished prince changed his anger to mercy and peacefully attracted the Novgorodians to himself, God’s favor returned to him: Novgorod accepted the conditions set by Saint Andrew.

Siege of Vyshgorod in 1173

After the death of Gleb Yuryevich during the reign of Kiev (1171), Kyiv, at the invitation of the younger Rostislavichs and secretly from Andrei and from the other main contender for Kyiv - Yaroslav Izyaslavich of Lutsk, was occupied by Vladimir Mstislavich, but soon died. Andrei gave the reign of Kiev to the eldest of the Smolensk Rostislavichs - Roman. Soon Andrei demanded from Roman the extradition of the Kyiv boyars suspected of poisoning Gleb Yuryevich, but he refused. In response, Andrei ordered him and his brothers to return to Smolensk. Andrei planned to give Kyiv to his brother Mikhail Yuryevich, but he instead sent his brother Vsevolod and nephew Yaropolk to Kyiv, who were then captured by Davyd Rostislavich.
Rurik Rostislavich reigned in Kyiv for a short time. An exchange of prisoners was carried out, according to which the Rostislavichs were given Prince Vladimir Yaroslavich, who had previously been expelled from Galich, captured by Mikhail and sent to Chernigov, and they released Vsevolod Yuryevich. Yaropolk Rostislavich was retained, his older brother Mstislav was expelled from Trepol and was not accepted by Mikhail, who was then in Chernigov and laid claim to Pereyaslavl in addition to Torchesk.
The Kiev chronicler describes the moment of Andrei’s reconciliation with the Rostislavichs as follows: “Andrei lost his brother and Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, and approached Rostislavich.” But soon Andrei, through his swordsman Mikhna, again demanded from the Rostislavichs “not to be in the Russian land”: from Rurik - to go to his brother in Smolensk, from Davyd - to Berlad. Then the youngest of the Rostislavichs, Mstislav the Brave, conveyed to Prince Andrei that before the Rostislavichs held him as a father “out of love,” but they would not allow them to be treated as “helpers.” Roman obeyed, and his brothers cut the beard of Ambassador Andrei, which gave rise to hostilities.
In addition to the troops of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, regiments from the Murom, Ryazan, Turov, Polotsk and Goroden principalities, Novgorod land, princes Yuri Andreevich, Mikhail and Vsevolod Yuryevich, Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, Igor Svyatoslavich took part in the campaign. The Rostislavichs chose a different strategy than Mstislav Izyaslavich in 1169. They did not defend Kyiv. Rurik locked himself in Belgorod, Mstislav in Vyshgorod with his regiment and Davyd’s regiment, and Davyd himself went to Galich to ask for help from Yaroslav Osmomysl. The entire militia besieged Vyshgorod to capture Mstislav, as Andrei ordered. Mstislav took the first battle in the field before the siege and retreated to the fortress. Meanwhile, Yaroslav Izyaslavich, whose rights to Kyiv were not recognized by the Olgovichi, received such recognition from the Rostislavichs, and moved Volyn and auxiliary Galician troops to help the besieged. Having learned about the approach of the enemy, the huge army of the besiegers began to retreat randomly. Mstislav made a successful foray. Many, crossing the Dnieper, drowned. “So,” says the chronicler, “Prince Andrei was such a clever man in all matters, but he ruined his meaning through intemperance: he became inflamed with anger, became proud and boasted in vain; and the devil instills praise and pride in a person’s heart.”
Yaroslav Izyaslavich became the prince of Kyiv. But over the following years, he, and then Roman Rostislavich, had to cede the great reign to Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich of Chernigov, with whose help, after the death of Andrei, the younger Yuryevichs established themselves in Vladimir.

The Patriarchal Garden in Vladimir, according to legend, was founded by the holy noble prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. There was no residence of the patriarch in Vladimir, but a cherry orchard was specially planted where the capital’s clergy came to rest. Cm.

In Georgia, this Vladimir prince was called “Sovereign Andrew the Great,” and in Armenia – “Tsar of the Russians.” Princes: Kyiv, Smolensk, Chernigov, Ryazan and Murom, even Volyn princes, and in the end, the free “Mr. Novgorod”, walked according to his grand-ducal will. The prince spent most of his time in Bogolyubovo in solitude and prayer. There he received foreign ambassadors and merchants. He often went to the mouth of Sudogda to hunt with a small number of close people.

Cancer with the relics of St. Gleb Vladimirsky in the Assumption Cathedral

Having performed the funeral for his son Gleb () in the Church of the Mother of God on June 20, 1174, Andrei evaded the noisy life of the capital to his beloved Bogolyubov, so that here, in the quiet of the monastic solitude, he could satisfy the sorrow of his soul with his pious activities. While he was here, in his secluded chapel, casting his sorrow before the Lord, in Vladimir, in his absence, among his relatives and friends, in the summer of 1174, a villainous conspiracy was formed.
He was then 63 years old. This was the work of the boyars Kuchkovich, relatives of his first wife, the daughter of the boyar Kuchka, the original owner of Moscow, executed by Yuri Dolgoruky, and Andrei’s second wife, a Bulgarian by birth, she could not forgive him for the glorious victories over her tribe. The reason for the murder was Andrei’s order to execute one of the Kuchkovichs. There were twenty conspirators, and none of them were personally offended by the prince, but many, on the contrary, were favored by him, especially two foreigners - Anbal, of Yas (Ossetian) origin, and the Jew Efrem Moizich.

On the night of June 28-29, the day of remembrance of St. App. Peter and Paul, a drunken crowd of twenty people made their way to the palace, slaughtered the guards and broke into the bedchamber of the unarmed prince. The day before, the housekeeper Anbal treacherously stole the sword of St. Boris, which was constantly hanging over Andrei’s bed.

Sword of Saint Boris

Andrei, who even in his old age possessed powerful strength, managed to throw the first of the attackers to the floor with a blow, whom the conspirators immediately hacked to death with swords, mistaking him in the dark for a prince. But soon the killers realized their mistake: “and therefore, having known the prince, I fought with him as a velma, who was strong, and cut him with swords, and sabers, and gave him spear wounds.”

The saint's forehead was pierced with a spear; all other blows were delivered by the cowardly killers from behind. When the prince finally fell, they abandoned him, carrying away their murdered accomplice. But the prince was still alive. Groaning and bleeding, he went down the palace stairs, calling the guards. But the killers heard his groans and turned back. The prince managed to hide in a niche under the stairs. “We face destruction, for the prince is alive,” the villains cried in horror, not finding the prince in the bedroom. But it was quiet all around, no one came to the aid of the sufferer. Then the villains grew bolder, lit candles and followed the bloody trail to find their victim. Boyar Joachim Kuchkovich cut off his left hand. “What have I done to you? God will take revenge on you for my blood and for my bread! Lord, I commend my spirit into Your hands,” were the last words of the holy prince-martyr.

When in the morning his friend Kuzmishche the Kievite came to the place of the prince’s murder and, not finding him, began to ask: “Where was the gentleman killed?”, the conspirators answered him that “he was dragged into the garden and lies there, but don’t you dare take him, so we’ll give you everything.” We say that we want to throw him to the dogs, and if anyone takes hold of him, he is our enemy and we will kill him.” Undaunted by the threats, Kosma said: “The monster Anbal! Take off at least the carpet or lay something down or cover our lord with something. Oh, infidel! And do you really want to throw him to the dogs? Do you remember, Jew, what you came here wearing? You are now standing in Aksamite, and the prince is lying naked; but I beg you, throw me something.” And Anbal threw off the carpet and bedspread. Having wrapped them around the prince’s body, Kosma carried him to the church; but it was locked. “Unlock it,” he said to the church servants. “Throw the party here,” they answered, “get drunk,” notes the chronicler. The villains had already managed to get them drunk. “And your servants do not recognize you, Master,” Kosma cried and said, “and sometimes a guest comes from Constantinople or from other countries, you order everyone to be taken to the church, to the chamber (choir) - let them look at the Glory of God and the decorations; and now you yourself are not allowed into your church.” Kosma was forced to leave the prince’s body on the porch, where it lay for two days. On the third day, Abbot Arseny convinced the Bogolyubov choir members to bring the prince’s body into the church. “Although we have been waiting for the senior abbots for a long time, how long will this prince lie like this? Open the church for me, I’ll sing him and put him in a coffin.” A faithful servant from Kiev, Kosma, took the body of his prince to the temple, which was placed in a stone coffin and, together with Abbot Arseny, they performed the burial ceremony, the prince was buried and lowered into a tomb lined with stone.
The rebels plundered the prince’s house, “gold, silver, ports and pavoloks and estates, there is no limit to his number,” they gathered a squad of people who were ready to do anything for money and wine, and, having caused indignation among the people, they left for Vladimir. There were also unworthy people in Vladimir, who, probably with the help of the Kuchkovichs, created an indignation among the people here. Both in Bogolyubovo and here, the rebels robbed and beat posadniks (posadniks in ancient times were called chiefs in the family of civil governors), tiuns (tax collectors), swordsmen and other princely servants, and only on the 5th day, according to the conviction of the clergy, the rebellion subsided. Archpriest Mikulitsa (Nikolai) with the clergy in vestments with icons walked through the streets of the city and calmed the rioters. On the 6th day (Friday, July 4), the people of Vladimir asked Abbot Theodulus and Luke, the steward of the Most Pure Mother of God, to properly prepare the funeral bier and go with the clergy and people to Bogolyubov to transfer the body of the Blessed Prince to Vladimir; and Archpriest Mikulitsa was asked to meet the coffin at the Silver Gate with all the city clergy in robes and with the icon of the Mother of God. Many people gathered to meet the funeral procession. As soon as the grand ducal banner appeared from a distance (the banner usually worn in front of the coffin during princely funerals), all the residents of Vladimir began to cry. “Ilyudya,” says the chronicle, “cannot hold back, but everyone is screaming, but because of the tears I can’t see and can’t hear the cry from afar.” Are you going to Kyiv, Master, the people lamented over the prince, “whether by those golden gates, or by that church that you wanted to build in the great courtyard, on Yaroslav” (Shortly before his death, Andrei decided to build a temple in Kyiv similar to the Vladimir Cathedral “yes there will be a memory for his entire fatherland” and has already sent craftsmen there from Vladimir.). After the solemn requiem service was performed in the Assumption Cathedral Church, with due honor and songs of praise, the coffin with the body of the sufferer was placed in the Cathedral Church of the Mother of God.

Murder of Prince Andrei. Frescoes in the staircase tower of the princely castle

In 1702, the incorruptible relics of Prince Andrei were discovered. “Seven centuries have passed since Grand Duke Andrei Georgievich Bogolyubsky transferred the Grand Duke’s throne here from Kyiv, and Vladimir became the capital of the Grand Duchy and the center of government - the Vladimir reign was the first destined to mark the beginning of a beneficent autocracy in Russia: Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky, the first of the Russian Princes, expressed in their actions, the idea of ​​autocracy,” wrote the famous Vladimir local historian K.N. Tikhomirov after the end of the celebrations on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the transfer of the Grand Duke's capital from Kyiv to Vladimir, which was celebrated on July 4, 1857, on the day of remembrance of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky. In 2007, 850 years passed since the transfer of the grand ducal capital of Ancient Rus' from Kyiv to Vladimir. This event, which undoubtedly became one of the key events in Russian history, made us think about the historical significance of the figure of Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky, whose personality and deeds for many years were clearly underestimated by official Soviet science, and were even presented in a distorted light.

St. Blgv.vl.kn. Andrey Bogolyubsky. Icon from the iconostasis of the Bogolyubsky Church

2011 marked the 900th anniversary of the birth of Andrei Bogolyubsky.

Cancer with the relics of St. Andrey Bogolyubsky

Relics of St. Andrey Bogolyubsky is in cancer in Vladimir.

Saint Andrew. Fresco of the Assumption Princess Monastery. North side of the southwest pillar. Vladimir. 1647-1648

Saint Andrew. Fresco of the Assumption Princess Monastery. Vladimir. 1647-1648

Icon ap. Andrew the First-Called and St. Andrey Bogolyubsky. 1650 - 1660s). 167 x 112. From the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir.

Children

Julitta gave birth to five children:
mind. 1158
Prince Yaropolk Rostislavich. 1174 - 1175 - Prince of Vladimir.
1175-1176 - Prince of Vladimir (Suzdal).
. 1176-1212 - Grand Duke of Vladimir.

Copyright © 2015 Unconditional love

VLADIMIR GOLDEN GATE

The Nikon Chronicle, reporting on the expansion of the defensive belt of Vladimir by Andrei Bogolyubsky, emphasizes that the prince “founded the city of Vladimer very much larger than the first (Monomakhov middle city).” The Ipatiev Chronicle also indicates the extreme points of the growing city: “Prince Andrei built the city of Volodymer with great strength, he built a golden gate to it, and built another with silver.”

Plan of Vladimir XII-XIII centuries. (according to N.N. Voronin).

The numbers on the plan indicate:
I - the city of Monomakha (Pecherny city); II - Vetchany city; III - New City; IV - child;
1 - Church of the Savior; 2 - Church of St. George; 3 - Assumption Cathedral; 4 - Golden Gate; 5 - Orina's Gate; 6 - Copper gate; 7 - Silver Gate; - Volga Gate; 9 - Demetrius Cathedral; 10 - Ascension Monastery; 11 - Nativity Monastery; 12 - Assumption (Princess) Monastery; 13 - Trade gate; 14 - Ivanovo Gate; 15 - Detinets gate; 16 - Church of the Exaltation at Torg.
The Golden Gate is located at the extreme western point of the princely part of the city. Silver Gate were located at the opposite eastern end of the city, at the very top of its triangle: near the Silver Gate in 1174 there was a meeting of the coffin with the body of Prince Andrei, killed in Bogolyubovo; these gates, still preserved in the 16th century, are called “Andreevsky” in sources. Along this entire vast length, the city was surrounded by earthen ramparts with a chopped wooden wall running along their crest. From the Silver Gate they went west, joining the transverse ditch and rampart of the Monomakh city, into which the Ivanovo Gate entered from this side. The remainder of the northern line of ramparts of the eastern third of the city has survived to this day under the name of Zachatievsky Val. Further to the west, from the western transverse ditch and the rampart of the old fortress, new ramparts were interrupted by a number of gates. At the very north-eastern corner of the New City was the Copper Gate; from them the shaft ran along the edge of the cliff of the city hill along Lybid, bending to the south along the border outlined by a deep ravine (Nikitsky descent); at the upper end of the ravine the shaft was cut through by Irina's gate. They were at the same time an important battle tower on the western line of defense of the city, which here overlooked the flat area. The Golden Gate stood in its center.
In front of the rampart there was a deep ditch that connected the ravine with an oncoming ravine that began south of the Golden Gate and went to Klyazma. Along the ditch and ravine there was again a rampart (Kozlov Val), covering from the west a large amphitheater-shaped depression in the city heights. From the Klyazma side, this section was apparently covered only by a chopped wall with towers, descending down to the mouth of the ravine (Murom descent) both from the corner of the Monomakhov city to the west, and from the southwestern corner of the New city to the east; the walls closed at the wooden tower of the Volga Gate, which stood at the mouth of the ravine almost on the bank of the Klyazma.
From the Volga Gate of the city began the Old Ryazan Highway, which ran along the bed of the Pol and Buzha rivers, bypassing the lakes - to the left bank of the Oka, to Ryazan.
This is how the defensive system of Vladimir developed as a result of St. Andrew’s construction in 1158-1164.

The Golden Gate was built by princely craftsmen. This is evidenced by the princely sign left by the builder on one of the white stone blocks.
The building was built using the semi-ruble masonry technique, which was widely used in Vladimir-Suzdal architecture.
On combat area There was a small door with an arched top in the southern wall of the gate, cut through the entire height by an internal stone staircase that rose from inside the city. On the western jamb of this door, ancient grafitti has been preserved, mainly in the form of crosses, apparently scratched by soldiers coming out onto the platform. In the wall opposite the door there is a brick fill in the shape of an arch; Perhaps there was a second door through which one exited from the stairs and the flooring onto the rampart, but whether this was really so is difficult to say, since the door would have opened into the thickness of the embankment of the rampart, the ridge of which was slightly higher than it. That here, on the middle landing of the stairs, two human streams nevertheless crossed is evidenced by the significant bell of the white stone walls, now lined with brick.
A wooden staircase led further to the upper battle platform of the gate, in the center of which was the gate church. The real defensive role of the upper battle platform is clarified by the chronicle's story about the siege of Vladimir by the Tatars. When the Tatars, during negotiations with the besieged, brought the captured Moscow prince Vladimir Yuryevich to the gates, the besieged were at the top of the gate: “Volodimirtsi let an arrow at the Tatars and the Tatars also let an arrow at the Golden Gate” (option: “at the city and at Golden Gate"); and further: “Vsevolod and Mstislav stood on the Golden Gate and knew their brother Volodimer.” It is very likely that the staircase was illuminated by a small narrow window placed in its upper flight and overlooking the western facade of the gate: as we will see below, in the miniature of the 16th century Facial Chronicle vault. the window is depicted but on the other (northern) side of the arch, where it clearly could not have been, since the northern pylon of the gate is monolithic.
In order to achieve the best adhesion to the embankments of shafts adjacent to the sides of the gate, their side walls, pyramidally expanding downwards, are cut into deep niches with a semi-circular top. There are five of them on the northern façade, running from top to bottom without interruption; their outlines are very irregular, the lines of the piers are not vertical - only in the upper part, not covered by shafts, do they acquire a more or less regular shape (perhaps due to major repairs). Thanks to the construction of the internal staircase, the niches of the southern wall have a different character: the staircase interrupts them.

Golden Gate. Reconstruction of A.V. Stoletova.

Golden Gate. Reconstruction of E.I. Deshalta.

In the winter of 1238, the main blow of the Tatar assault was directed from this flat side. From here the Tatar “vices” hit the city walls with heavy stones; from here, having filled the ditch with brushwood, the enemies burst “by sign” into the city through a gap in the wooden wall opposite the Church of the Savior. From the chronicle texts it is not clear that the Tatars wasted their strength on the siege of the stone stronghold of the Golden Gate; Apparently, the shelling of the vices was not directed at them either. But there is no doubt that, having captured the city, the Tatars stripped the precious “heavy goods” - gilded copper from the torn off gates, and perhaps from the top of the gate church.
The name of the Golden Gate has been explained in various ways. It was suggested that their name was reminiscent of the Golden Gate of the “mother of Russian cities” of Kyiv, the beauty and importance of which rivaled Bogolyubsky’s capital. Others believed that there were some gilded decorations "on the facades" of the gate; finally, that the very panels of the gates or the top of the building were bound with gilded copper. All these assumptions are quite plausible and do not exclude one another. The idea of ​​the very combination of the passage fortress tower with the solemn “triumphal arch” of the main gate, as well as its very name, is undoubtedly inspired by the Kyiv Golden Gate. Gilded copper, which was abundantly used in the decorative decoration of churches of St. Andrew's time and created in the eyes of contemporaries the deceptive effect of decorating buildings with “gold,” was undoubtedly used in the processing of the main gates of Vladimir. The top of the gate temple could also be covered with it, and at the same time the heavy oak doors that closed the passage could be covered with thick sheets of gilded copper. The text of the “Tale of Miracles” also inclines towards the latter, where it is said that the people came to admire the beauty of the gate, and that’s when their hinges were pulled out; this clearly indicates the rich decoration of the panels, perhaps not just with smooth sheets of gilded copper, but also some kind of artistic processing of these sheets.

Golden Gate. Reconstruction of S.V. Zagraevsky

In 1164, the Church of the Placing of Robes at the top of the Golden Gate was consecrated. The story of sources about the disaster that befell the newly completed Gate building also dates back to this year. In the later life of Prince Andrei it is said: “There the Grand Duke Andrei created the Golden Gates of the stone city and on them the church was built. The Order of the Robes of the Most Holy Theotokos: and then many people came to see their beauty, but the lime was wet and the gates fell, and under them were twelve a man is covered with stones.” According to this text and also later depictions of this plot in the Front Chronicle of the 16th century. and in the 1764 painting of the “chambers” of Andrei Bogolyubsky in Bogolyubovo, where the complete or partial destruction of the arch of the Golden Gate is presented, one might think that the circles were removed early, which caused the collapse of part of the fragile masonry. However, a more reliable source, “The Tale of the Miracles of the Icon of Our Lady of Vladimir,” compiled in the first years of Andrei’s reign, clearly speaks of the fall of only the gate panels themselves: “before the lime in the gates was not yet dry, but suddenly the gates were torn from the walls and fell on the people ... and took the gate, and saw those under the gate alive and well.” This was attributed to the “miracle” of the Vladimir icon. Based on this text V.O. Klyuchevsky believed that the disaster consisted only of the fall of the gates. This problem did not prevent the consecration of the gate church in 1164.

The miniature of the Front Chronicle Vault of the 16th century, illustrating the plot of the fall of the Golden Gate and the “miracle” of the Vladimir Icon, depicts the monument quite clearly - it is a large gate tower, completed by an overhanging crenellated parapet with a machismo, from behind which one can see the gate church, apparently covered with a tetrahedral tent; its base is conveyed in the form of a second tier of parapet with round “loopholes”.

In the documentary image of the Golden Gate on the plan of Vladimir in 1715 (Fig.b), the gate still stands within the boundaries of the earthen rampart, which adjoins it from the north and south. The main mass of the building ends with two overhanging horizontal projections; There are no teeth or machismos. At the rear is a cubic gateway church with three zakomars along the façade, aligned with a straight cornice; on it there are triangular kokoshniks, behind which rises an apparently tetrahedral, rather squat tent, topped with a dome. The preservation of the tented top of the gate is convinced by the indication that “before the fire that happened in 1778 on July 28, the Gate was higher, and they even remember that its spire was decorated with a huge ball.”

Golden Gate in Vladimir. Drawing by von Berk and Gusev. 1779

The image of the Golden Gate in the painting of the transition to the choir of the Cathedral of the Bogolyubov Palace, made in 1764, i.e. before the fire of 1778 (Fig. c), gives, along with the crenellated top of the main gate platform (but without the machicolle), a small gate church with a flat faceted tent.

The Golden Gate itself and the church built above it suffered severely from the Tatar-Mongol devastation and were in dilapidated condition for a long time.
In the 15th century The Golden Gate required major repairs. In the literature about the Golden Gate, the message from the Ermolin Chronicle went unnoticed that in 1469 “two stone churches were renewed in Vladimir, the Exaltation in the Trade, and the other on the Golden Gate, and through the intercession of Vasily Dmitriev, Ermolin’s son.” This was one of the first “restoration” works undertaken by the Moscow government to “update” the monuments of Vladimir, which were of enormous artistic and political interest to Moscow, which was heading towards its victory.
Events beginning XVII century Vladimir was again involved in a period of military troubles, and the Golden Gate again required repairs: in 1641, the famous Moscow architect Antipa Konstantinov drew up an estimate for their repair, but the work was actually carried out only between 1687-1695. The scope of this work is also unknown to us.
The church above the Golden Gate was restored in 1687 and consecrated in 1691, as can be seen from the note in the affairs of the patriarchal government order.

Golden Gate of Vladimir

During the fire that occurred in Vladimir in 1778, the Golden Gate and the church above it burned down.
In Catherine's time, in connection with the redevelopment of Vladimir, the Golden Gate suffered particularly severe damage. In order to expand the main street of the city, the ramparts adjacent to the building were taken away and it lost its old support on the sides. Apparently, this had a disastrous effect on his condition, since white stone buttresses immediately had to be placed at the corners of the gate. However, before the work of the architect Chistyakov (1795), the gate still retained its old top intact.

Compiled by Chistyakov, the “Project for the plan and facade to strengthen and restore the ancient building” proposed “the church above the gates and those vaults with lintels on which it has a foundation, since they are dilapidated, therefore, to dismantle”, and “then to build the above-mentioned church, in a sign of a landmark, according to its previous location.” These works were carried out: the gate church was dismantled, and the large arch of the gate was rebuilt from old white stone with the addition of brick; on the new vault a church of a different character, compared to the project, was erected; finally, the corner buttresses were covered with round towers, between which were built from the south - the premises of a new staircase to the church, and from the north - living quarters. It is in this form that the monument has reached us, having been preserved from the 12th century. only its ancient bottom and leaving us with the question of the nature of its original top.
The temple was restored in 1810 by the zeal of the then governor of Vladimir, Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Dolgoruky, then it was repaired in 1867.
“There is currently only one throne in the church in honor of the position of the Lord’s robe. It is unknown when the change in the name of the throne occurred; probably during the restoration of the church in 1810. Of the antiquities in the church, only the Typikon, issue 7190 (1682), was preserved. It contains a preface, at the end of which it is said that after the compilation of this Typikon, on behalf of Patriarch Joachim, 10 metropolitans and 5 archbishops listened to it and one archimandrite (the names of all of them are mentioned here). On the sheets of this Typikon there is an inscription: “summer 7207 led. Mr. His Eminence Metropolitan of Suzhdal and Yurievsky enclosed this book, which was written in the charter for the year 7190, and with this book he enclosed 12 mina monthly printed for the publication of the last 200 and 201 years in the church of the honest and glorious prophet John the Baptist, which is in his episcopal Moscow courtyard cannon courtyard... (the signature further lists other books, chandeliers, bells and various priestly vestments attached to the same church)... How this book got into the Deposition of the Robe Church is unknown. There is a ticket for the maintenance of the church of 73 rubles. The clergy is supposed to be one priest. The city government issues 240 rubles a year for its maintenance and for hiring a clergyman. There is no church house for the priest.”
/Historical and statistical description of churches and parishes of the Vladimir diocese. 1896/

Literature:
N.N. Voronin Vladimir, Bogolyubovo, Suzdal, Yuryev-Polskoy. A companion book to the ancient cities of the Vladimir land.

Project for adapting the church above the Golden Gate for a city water supply reservoir

On July 2, 1864, during the construction of the first water supply system in Vladimir, workers laying pipes in the city center were injured. This incident became the reason for changing the project, according to which it was proposed to use the Golden Gate as a water tower. A report was prepared about the misfortune that happened: “...On the high road, at the Golden Gate, a collapsed 5-arshine space of earth crushed in a ditch where water pipes were being laid, two unskilled workers and a driver, one of whom (temporary peasant Gavrila Ivanov 24 years old) died an hour later.” The reason was “the soil of the earth” in that place - “the weakest, crumbly.”
The tragic incident was discussed at a meeting of the Provincial Board. As a result, the city water commission decided against installing a main reservoir for the water supply at Golden Gate. Instead, they decided to build a water tower on Kozlovy Val.

Military-historical exhibition

In February 1944, in connection with the 26th anniversary of the Red Army, the local history museum organized an exhibition on the topic “History of Russian Weapons” in house No. 3 on Pervomaiskaya Street. The exhibition in the first hall presents exhibits of weapons from the 12th to the 20th centuries. Here is also an interesting map of the campaigns of the former Vladimir Grenadier Siberian and Little Russian regiments from 1700 to 1900, as well as their battle flags. In the second hall there are modern weapons in the following departments: small arms, artillery and engineering. In addition, there is a department of chemical weapons of European armies and a department of captured exhibits. “The exhibition will be replenished with new exhibits in the future and, upon the release of the historical and architectural monument of military architecture of the 12th century - the Golden Gate - it will be moved there, which will provide an opportunity for simultaneous viewing of this wonderful structure and exhibition.
Director of the Kiselev Museum” (newspaper “Prazyv”, February 26, 1944).

In a monument of military architecture of the 12th century. - The Golden Gate, which was the core of the city’s defensive structures, is located military-historical exhibition.

The central place in the exhibition is occupied by the diorama “The Decisive Assault on Vladimir by the Troops of Batu Khan on February 7, 1238.” It recreates in detail the picture of the siege of the city. It is enlivened by the speaker's speech in four languages ​​and a light and sound program.

In the exhibition you can see weapons and uniforms of different eras: combat bolts of the Vladimir fortress crossbow of the 13th century, chain mail, reeds, a crossbow of the early 19th century. XVII century, smooth-bore flintlock rifles of the Suvorov army, a steel cuirass from the period of the war with Napoleon of 1812, a Berdan rifle, the uniform of a Russian grenadier, Russian awards and Turkish captured weapons of the late 19th century.
Materials are presented about the outstanding commanders Dmitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov, Pyotr Bagration, Nikolai Stoletov, whose names are associated with the Vladimir region.
Rare exhibits attract attention: the sculptural composition “Minin and Pozharsky” from the mausoleum at the grave of Prince Pozharsky destroyed in Soviet times, a rare lifetime portrait of A.V. Suvorov.
Around the central hall there is a Gallery of Heroes of Vladimir. It opens with materials from the famous pilot N.P. Kamanin, among the first to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. His flight helmet, wind indicator, and photographs tell the story of the legendary rescue operation of the crew of the icebreaker “Chelyuskin” in 1934.

The main place in the gallery is occupied by relics of the Second World War. Here are the personal belongings of Marshal of the Soviet Union K.A. Meretskov, first commandant of Koenigsberg M.A. Pronina. A unique cigarette case, pierced by a shell fragment, may have saved the life of Vladimir resident V.I. Morozov during his first fight.
The remains of the plane and the pilot’s personal belongings lay in the swamp for more than half a century before ending up in a museum display case. It was possible to establish that they belonged to Vladimir resident Evgeniy Belin, who died in an air battle near Leningrad in the fall of 1941.
The letter from Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Romanov to his bride Evgenia Fadeeva, typed in Latin letters on a typewriter during the fighting in Germany, and their photograph taken on the eve of the wedding are touching. They got married on Victory Day.
The exhibition presents samples of weapons created in the city of Kovrov, Vladimir Region, among them the Shpagin submachine gun, the most popular small automatic weapon of the Second World War.

The exhibition is completed by complexes of materials from Vladimir residents who were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the post-war period. Among them is the uniform of the commander of the nuclear submarine V.M. Shishkin, pressure helmet of test pilot A.G. Fastovets, spacesuit of pilot-cosmonaut, participant in the Soyuz-Apollo program V.N. Kubasov, the world's first space welding machine and the first watch worn by man on the Moon.
The last among the residents of Vladimir to receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was F.I. Kuznetsov, who was presented to him twice during the war and received the Hero's star only 45 years after performing his feats.

Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve.
- Interior of the Assumption Cathedral.
- Exposition in Dmitrievsky Cathedral.
- Military-historical exhibition in the Golden Gate.
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