| Main | Births etc |
|---|
Zvenigorod
Звенигород | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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Town | |||
 | |||
| |||
| Country | Russia | ||
| Federal subject of Russia | Moscow Oblast | ||
| Urban okrugs of Russia | Zvenigorod urban okrug | ||
| Established | 1152 | ||
| Incorporated (town) | 1781 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Leonid Oskarovich Stavitsky | ||
| Area | |||
• Total |
47.0 km2 (18.1 sq mi) | ||
Uspensky Cathedral, 1399
Zvenigorod (Russian: Звени́город) is an old town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: 16,395 (2010 Census);[1] 12,155 (2002 Census);[2] 15,805 (1989 Census).[3]
History[]
The community has existed since the 12th century, although its first written mention is dated 1338. The town's name is based either on a personal name (cf. Zvenislav, Zvenimir) or on a hydronym (cf. the rivers Zvinech, Zvinyaka, Zveniga); the derivation from "town of ringing (bells)" is a folk etymology.[4]
Zvenigorod rose to prominence in the late 14th century after it was bequeathed by Dmitry Donskoy to his second son Yuri, who founded his residence on the steep bank of the Moskva River. The local kremlin, called Gorodok, contains the only fully preserved example of 14th-century Muscovite architecture, the Assumption Cathedral (1399). The cathedral's interior features frescoes by the great Andrei Rublev.
Rozhdestvensky Cathedral in the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, 1405
Zvenigorod is primarily remembered for internecine wars waged by Yuri's sons for control of Moscow during the reign of their cousin Vasily II (1425–1462). After their party was defeated, the town was incorporated into Muscovy.
Zvenigorod was granted municipal rights in 1784. By the late 19th century, the town gained popularity among the intelligentsia as a fashionable banlieue of Moscow. Many extravagant dachas were built in the neighbourhood. Some of these house museums of Sergey Taneev, Anton Chekhov, and Isaac Levitan.
Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery[]
Within the Savva-Storozhevsky Monastery
In 1398, Prince Yury asked St. Savva, one of the first disciples of Sergii Radonezhsky, to go to Zvenigorod and to establish a monastery on the Storozhi Holm (Watching Hill). St. Savva of Storozhi was interred in the white stone cathedral of the Virgin's Nativity in 1407. This diminutive, roughly hewn church still stands, although its present-day exquisite look is the result of recent restoration. The frescoes in the altar date back to the 1420s, but the rest of interior was painted in 1656. A magnificent iconostasis in five tiers and the Stroganov-school heaven gates were installed in 1652.
In 1650, the monastery was chosen by Tsar Alexis as his suburban residence. In five years, they constructed a white-stone royal palace and a festive chamber for tsaritsa. The cloister was encircled with stone walls and towers, patterned after those of the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra. Particularly noteworthy is a large belfry, erected in four bays in 1650 and crowned with three tents and a clocktower. A church over the holy gates was consecrated to the Holy Trinity in 1652.
After the death of Feodor III, who spent most of his time there, the monastery declined. In May 1918, when the Bolsheviks tried to seize the relics of St. Savva, several persons were shot dead. In 1985, the cloister was assigned to the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. St. Savva's relics were returned to the monastery in 1998.
The Moskva River in Zvenigorod
Views of Zvenigorod[]
References[]
- ^ "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1)]" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census). Federal State Statistics Service. 2011. http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/perepis2010/croc/perepis_itogi1612.htm. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
- ^ "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000]" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. May 21, 2004. http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
- ^ Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров. [All Union Population Census of 1989. Present population of union and autonomous republics, autonomous oblasts and okrugs, krais, oblasts, districts, urban settlements, and villages serving as district administrative centers]" (in Russian). Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года (All-Union Population Census of 1989). Institute of Demographics of the State University—Higher School of Economics. http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus89_reg.php. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
- ^ Е. М. Поспелов. Географические названия мира (Москва: Русские словари, 1998), p. 160.
External links[]
- Photo of Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery
- Photo of the Moskva river near Zvenigorod
- All about St. Savva Storozevsky and Zvenigorod in the book in a series "Life of outstanding people" by K.Kovalev
- Zvenigorod city portal
Template:Historical places of the former Grand Duchy of Moscow Template:Cities and towns in Moscow Oblast Template:Placename toponym Zvenigorod
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