As part of our 6-month road trip around north-eastern Europe, we drove east out of Moscow to see medieval towns, forts, and churches along a route called the Golden Ring of Russia. Our first stop was Vladimir (Владимир), where we saw an intriguing gateway that sits near the entrance to the city.
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| Golden Gate-1158 AD (UNESCO), Vladimir, Russia |
Called the Golden Gate it dates back to the 12th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is obviously popular with the locals as we saw several couples queued up there to have their wedding photos taken.
Vladimir has a population of around 378,000, and although biggish, we managed to walk around most of it, seeing quite a lot. It has many Soviet style apartment blocks and shops, but it used to be the capital of medieval Russia and also has many architecturally grand structures.
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| Assumption Cathedral-1157 (UNESCO), Vladimir, Russia |
While there, we visited two more UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The first was the beautiful white and gold Assumption Dormition Cathedral, which was built in 1158. This style of church apparently inspired the design of many other Russian churches.
It was a mother church of medieval Russia and is the main temple of Vladimir. Entering the Cathedral, we found some beautiful frescoes dating back to 1408.
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| Marg at St Demetrius (UNESCO) then the Protection Church. (R) the Nativity Monastery church, Vladimir, Russia |
The second UNESCO site we visited was the St. Demetrius Cathedral of 1197, also white and gold. St Demetrius is a very large block shaped cathedral with only one dome, and the exterior is beautifully carved with animals, plants, patterns, and religious themes.
We also liked the colourful Protection Church built in 1165; the white Nativity Monastery dating back to 1191 which was the most important monastery in Russia until the 16th century; and the and the modern red-brick Old Believer’s Trinity Church built in 1913. The Old Believer’s is now a folk museum.
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| A typical ornate wooden house in Suzdal, Russia |
Our next stop on the route was Suzdal (Суздаль), a rural town on the Kamenka River dating back to 1024. Driving in, we saw many traditional ornate wooden houses (izbas). It looked like a delightful and authentically rustic town and we wanted to see more of it, so we found a place to camp for the night - with some difficulty as there are not many motor camps in Russia.
The next day, we found a map of the town in the shopping area, and set off to explore.
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| Leigh at the Suzdal Kremlin’s Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral (UNESCO), Suzdal, Russia |
Our first stop was Suzdal’s historic 10th century kremlin which is the heart of Suzdal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As with other kremlins, the Suzdal Kremlin, was originally a fortress. It was also the religious and administrative centre of Suzdal in its day.
Within the Kremlin’s grounds, we found the beautiful blue onion-domed Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral that dates back to 1225.
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| (L) Nativity of the Virgin frescoes; (C) Marg at Kremlin’s clock tower; (R) Bishop Palace, Suzdal Kremlin, Russia |
Inside the Cathedral, there are some wonderful frescoes, most of which were painted in a vivid blue and gold that matches the blue with gold stars of the Cathedral’s impressive domes.
There were other interesting buildings within the Kremlin’s grounds, and one of these was a 17th century bell and clock tower - the clock-face is written in an old Slavonic alphabet. We also visited the white Bishop’s Palace with its interesting window lintels, and the wooden church of St Nicholas.
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| Marg inside the fortified walls of the Spaso-Yevfimiev Monastery (UNESCO), Suzdal, Russia |
Close to the Kremlin is another fortress-like area that is the imposing Spaso-Yevfimiev Monastery, the biggest and best-preserved monastery in Suzdal. Founded in 1352, this monastery’s fortifications are impressive, having thick solid walls and 12 watch-towers.
Within its walls, there are 10 separate attractive buildings, many of which are now museums. We were keen on seeing as many as we could.
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| Fortification tower and Annunciation Gate Church, Spaso-Yevfimiev Monastery (UNESCO), Suzdal, Russia |
We entered through the pink Fortification Tower which is the main entrance to the Monastery. Nearby, we visited the quaint white Annunciation Gate-Church which dates back to 1628.
Other buildings we visited inside the monastery walls included the Intercession Church, the Assumption Refectory Church and St. Nicholas Church, as well as other structures including the Archimandrite Chambers, Monk Cells, and a Prison.
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| Green onion-domes of the Transfiguration of the Saviour Cathedral, Spaso-Yevfimiev Monastery (UNESCO), Suzdal, Russia |
We also saw the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour which dates back to 1594. It is an impressively sized white stone building with green and gold onion-domes that can be seen from right across the monastery site.
Inside, we found some wonderful frescoes painted in the 17th century and which have survived to this day.
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| St John the Baptist's Church and Belfry in St Euthymius Monastery (UNESCO), Suzdal, Russia |
Another structure inside this monastery was a favourite for us – it was the interesting St John the Baptist's Church and Belfry. We were lucky enough to be there to hear and see the local bell-ringer performing on the 17 bells – he was very artistic in his playing and the bells sounded wonderful.
The St Euthymius Monastery, the Suzdal Kremlin, and most other religious places we’d seen along the route so far, are part of a UNESCO group of heritage sites called the White Stone Monuments of Suzdal and Vladimir.
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| Church of the Transfiguration, Museum of Wooden Architecture And Peasants' Life, Suzdal, Russia |
Next, we visited Suzdal’s Museum of Wooden Architecture And Peasants' Life which has been built to look like a Russian village of centuries past. Many buildings were moved here from neighbouring towns, including the 3-story wooden Church of the Transfiguration, originally built in Vladimir in 1756.
There are many other historic buildings in Suzdal, and those we managed to see include the old Trading Rows which are now tourist shops, the Rizopolozhensky Convent with its tent-domed Holy Gates, the Intercession Convent, Nikolskaya Church, Our Lady of Smolensk church, Kideksha Settlement (UNESCO), and much more. Suzdal is stunning and we really enjoyed our time there.
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| Rural Russian Orthodox churches on the Golden Ring of Russia route, near Suzdal |
Leaving Suzdal, we decided to try driving the minor roads, to get us off the main M7 road. The route took us through several tiny little hamlets such as Romanovo (Рома́ново) and Podolets (Подолец).
These are very small settlements with a population of under 100, very few houses, lots of farmland, and lovely old churches.
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| Road conditions in along the Golden Ring of Russia |
But the road was diabolical and deserves a special mention. It seemed like bitumen had been poured over the old rutted dirt road without any preparation, then left to disintegrate in the extreme weather. So there were lots of holes and each one was like a chasm, and you could not drive around them!
Driving slowly onwards, we arrived at the small town (pop 6,000) of Gavrilov Posad (Гаврилов Посад). It was market day and everyone was out and about with their horse and carts, chickens, and vegetables etc.
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| Washing day in Gavrilov Posad, Russia |
After a quick look around, we crossed a river bridge out of Gavrilov Posad village and saw women washing clothes in the river. We stopped on a bridge and waved at one of them, pointing to our camera. She smiled, nodded. It was quite special seeing rural life off the main tourist trail.
As we were driving, we passed several signs indicating that moose cross on the road there. Then, we actually saw an adult moose and baby crossing the road – wow – but too quick to get a photo.
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| Ornate wooden houses on the Golden Ring of Russia route |
Along the route we’d seen many wooden and log wood houses, and most had pretty wooden filigree carvings around the windows and doors. It’s a 17th century practice called nalichniki, and the decorative frames are used to cover the gap between the window frame and the wall.
Next, we drove to Kibergino (Кибергино), another tiny rural village with lovely ornate houses and an old church.
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| Walking to church, Kibergino, Russia |
Here, as in other areas on this route, we saw local markets, people walking to church, a diverse range of transport and housing, and many other interesting sights that gave us a glimpse of rural Russia.
Leaving Kibergino, we visited the bigger town of Teykovo (Тейково), and the tiny villages of Yakshino (Якшино-population 13), Krapivnovo (Крапивново-population 550), and Sulost (Сулость), which is a tiny and pretty village surrounded by swampy lakes.
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| Market day in Teykovo, Russia |
Then, a after a few more villages, market days and monasteries, we arrived in the amazing lake-town of Rostov for the second part of our tour of the Golden Ring, but you’ll have to read about that in the next blog.
This blog describes part of our 6-month motorhome trip around northern and eastern Europe, which began in Prague.