The Kremlin of Great Rostov: description, history and interesting facts

The program of many excursions along the Golden Ring of Russia includes the city of Rostov the Great. The Kremlin impresses him with an abundance of gilt domes. Is this building defensive or one walled monastery? This you will learn from this article. We will also tell you what to look in the Kremlin of Rostov the Great. After all, the complex is very extensive. It consists of the Assumption Cathedral, five churches and a number of residential and household buildings. There is also a garden here. Before we begin our virtual tour of the Kremlin, it should be said that many people saw it, even those who did not come to Rostov the Great. After all, this ancient residence has become a natural setting in the filming of the cult Soviet comedy "Ivan Vasilievich changes profession."

How to get there and other useful information

The address of this attraction is simple: Russian Federation, Yaroslavl Region, Rostov the Great, Rostov Kremlin. To get to it is also easy. On your own motor transport you need to go to the route leading from Moscow to Kholmogory. From the capital Yaroslavsky station, direct trains and trains run to Rostov the Great. From the metro station "Schelkovskoe" buses and minibuses leave for this city. So it is possible to arrange a small one-day excursion to this ancient Kremlin. In the city to find it will not be difficult. The golden domes of churches are visible almost from any point of the old Rostov. The Kremlin works as a museum. It is open from ten to seventeen hours. The museum works with a single weekend - January 1. But here the frescoes of old temples and powerful fortification walls are open for tourists only in the warm season - from May 1 to October 1. A ticket for an adult costs three hundred rubles, and for a child or a pensioner - one hundred and eighty.

What is the Kremlin?

We are not in a hurry to enter the wide entrance bar. First we will admire the whole complex from afar, from the shore of Lake Nero. And while we make beautiful photos, we will listen to a short course of Kremlin construction. In the Middle Ages in Russia it was decided to update important settlements with fortification walls. The name "Kremlin" etymologically comes from the Old Russian word "fence", "separate". In the Ukrainian language, as more authentic, there is a verb "vidokremlyuvati". Thus, the so-called territory separated from unprotected land was called. These quarters were called "posadom". In case of the arrival of the enemy, the population was hidden behind the walls of the Kremlin. Only this citadel could resist the siege and storm. But is it possible to call the Kremlin of Great Rostov? It turns out, no. From a distance he looks formidably and majestically. But let's get closer and we'll understand what's wrong.

The Kremlin (Rostov the Great): History

Beyond the walls of the fortresses was the prince with his armed squad. All kremlins in Russia bear a stamp of fortification. They are equipped with massive walls with loopholes. Above the entrance gate were turrets, so that the defenders could repulse the attack of the besiegers. The Kremlin was often additionally fortified by a moat full of water. A bridge ran through it, which, in case of danger, was raised by a special mechanism. All this is not in the Rostov Kremlin. Because he built it in a different way. And not in those days. The author of the creation is the metropolitan of the Rostov diocese, Ion Sysoyevich. In 1670, he decided to build his residence on the model of "the city of God protected from the world." Monasticism was considered an "angelic rank", and therefore the metropolitan wanted to dwell "almost" in the Garden of Eden. It was supposed to create a single ensemble, sustained in the same style. It should have organically combined churches, gardens, ponds. Approaching the main gate, we see that the metropolitan's residence is a pseudo-Kremlin. When approaching the enemy with artillery, he would be absolutely defenseless.

Construction of the Kremlin

Metropolitan Iona Sysoyevich did not live to see the end of the works and could not admire his brainchild. His business was continued by the successor at the department - Joasaph. The Kremlin of Great Rostov was completely completed only by 1700th year. That is, it was built about thirty years. But here history has made its own corrections. Yaroslavl has become a more lively and larger city than Rostov the Great. And the department of metropolitans was moved there. This happened in 1787. The Rostov Kremlin was gradually decrepit. In churches, services were not conducted, and the Metropolitan Chambers and other buildings were leased for storage. In the middle of the nineteenth century, local bishops generally decided to give the Kremlin for demolition. The sight of Rostov the Great was saved by the local merchant class. In the 1860s and again in the 1880s, charitable donations were collected for the restoration of the complex. Already in 1883 the first museum - church utensils was opened for the public.

Transformation into the reserve

Completely well went to the restoration of the monument of antiquity from 1886. Then the heir to the throne, Nicholas II, received the Kremlin of Great Rostov under his personal patronage. Since then, all the high nobility of the Russian Empire considered it a duty to sacrifice a certain amount (and a considerable amount) for the restoration of the ancient residence of the metropolitans. And in 1910 the Duma by its decree awarded the Rostov Kremlin the status of an all-Russian museum. From now on, the cargo of the monument's contents was taken off the shoulders of the public. Funds were released from the state treasury. The Soviet government did not change anything. Only in 2010, the monument was encroached on by the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. It was supposed to evict the museum expositions in a new building, and the chambers and temples to be placed in charge of the episcopal residence. Only under the pressure of the public this project was curtailed.

Rostov the Great, Kremlin: excursions

If you set out to thoroughly examine all the buildings of the Metropolitan's residence, you will have to spend at least a few days in the city. Eleven towers, walls, temples and belfries, a farmyard. And what are the only chambers of the "humble" servant of God, Jonah Sysoyevich! You can see the main attractions of the Rostov Kremlin itself. But it will be much more interesting to listen to the interesting story of the guide. You can buy several types of tickets at the ticket office. After all, several museums are located within the walls of the residence: the local lore museum, cannons, enamel, belltrees and bells, etc. But if you want to climb the fortifications and see the surviving frescoes of churches, you need to buy a ticket for the excursion "Crossing the Kremlin walls".

The Assumption Cathedral and the Belfry

We will concentrate on the main buildings of the residence. Assumption Cathedral in the form in which we see it - is the fifth in a row. It is known that in the tenth century there was a city church here. The church was repeatedly reconstructed and expanded. This cathedral was built in the seventeenth century. Its architecture is influenced by the influence of the Moscow style. Probably, the Metropolitan ordered the architect to make a copy of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Bulbous heads of the temple were built a century later (they were preceded by helmet-shaped, covered with shingles). It is necessary to go inside to admire the iconostasis and see the necropolis of the metropolitans. There is also the grave of Jonah Sysoyevich. The belltower was erected at the end of the seventeenth century. It is worth listening to the melodic chimes - they are famous for the Kremlin in Rostov the Great.

Bishop's court

From the northern part of the complex we pass to the central part. This, in fact, is the Kremlin of Great Rostov. The chambers of the Metropolitan are walled. Above the entrance there are two gate churches - the Resurrection and John the Theologian. Museum rooms are located in the chambers.