Suzdal

Perhaps the highlight of the Golden Ring cities is Suzdal. It's a tiny village-like place with a population of 11 thousand dwellers, yet it is absolutely packed with historic treasures. Set above the lush meadows of the Kamenka River, this delightful old city has an extraordinary wealth of ancient fairytale-domed churches and buildings. If you visit Suzdal at the end of February, you may be lucky enough to catch the merry and colourful celebration of Maslenitsa - a pagan holiday devoted to the end of winter and beginning of spring - as well as the beginning of the Orthodox Great Fasting. There is a host of jolly festivities during Maslenitsa Week, including eating delicious blinis, drinking local medovukha (mead), riding troikas, authentic singing and dancing, and other boisterous traditional activities.

In Suzdal, an abundance of traditional wooden architecture helps create a unique atmosphere of rural calmness and serenity, while a host of wonderful old domed churches, bell-towers and monasteries testify to Suzdal's status as one of the spiritual centres of Russian Orthodox Church. The city's charm is so great and peculiar that it was even left untouched by Soviet industrialization -- which destroyed so much of Russia's heritage. No wonder artists come here by the score to sit in its quiet lanes and paint.

Suzdal is one of Russia's oldest cities, dating back to at least 1024. Prince Yury Dolgoruki made it his regional capital in the 12th century, and it became a fortress city whose kremlin protected the Russian border in the times of Kievan Russia. Today, the Kremlin forms the historic heart of Suzdal and contains it contains Suzdal's oldest houses. When the Muscovite tsars came to power in the 16th century, Suzdal traded its political status, to become the religious center. Its religious architectural heritage is extraordinary, with more than 30 churches and 5 monasteries, all uniquely constructed and decorated.

One of the most impressive of Suzdal's religious buildings is the Intercession Convent, steeped in the sad stories of the noble women banished there by their husbands when they became tiresome. This dark tradition was started by Tsar Vasily III, who sent his wife Solomonia there in 1525 because of her supposed infertility. In fact, by the time she went to the convent, she was actually pregnant, but it was too late; Vasily was already married to the beautiful Lithuanian princess Yelena Glenskaya. She then bore him two sons, one of which became the infamous Ivan the Terrible. To save her son's life from Ivan's persecution, Solomonia had to stage his mock burial, and was said to have put a curse on Yelena's offspring. Later Ivan the Terrible also sent one of his wives to Suzdal's convent. And Peter the Great, a tsar who was proud to have open-minded European views, also exiled his first wife here. The walls of the monastery hold many mysteries and the building will impress you with its unique interior and exterior.

Another beautiful place in Suzdal is The Cathedral of Nativity of the Virgin. Although the Cathedral's main brick walls are 16th century, the carved white stones at the base date back to the days prior to the Mongol-Tatar invasion in the 12th century. The cathedral's five blue domes are dotted with glittering golden stars, while its medieval doors are covered in damascene gold and richly decorated with scenes from the New Testament. Inside, there are wonderful 13th century frescos.

Among the other highlights are the massive Saviour Monastery of St. Euthymius -- Suzdal's biggest monastery, The Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour and its XVI century bell tower -- which gives a concert chime every 90 minutes from noon till evening, St. Nicholas' Church -- which hosts a museum of Russian applied arts exhibits that date back from XII to XX century, and the Museum of Wooden Architecture and Peasant Life -- which contains log houses, wooden churches, and windmills brought there from all over the region. Most of the churches are situated in picturesque settings and walking from one to another you will deeply feel and experience the unique Russian spiritual atmosphere which surrounds the ancient buildings and green calm landscape.