The Novgorod Kremlin. Velikiy Novgorod. Photos and reviews of tourists about the museum-preserve

Where is the oldest Kremlin in Russia? Veliky Novgorod is exactly the city that you need to visit in order to touch the origins of our national history. But it happens that the ancient place does not strike the imagination of a tourist far from archeology. Fires, sieges, looting and, most importantly, World War II caused irreparable damage to many ancient cities in Europe. It is very difficult to imagine modern buildings (or dull Khrushchev) imagine that here, in this place, there were Romanesque churches or white-stone palaces. But what about Novgorod? Did he spare his time? In this article we will talk about this.

Analyzing the reviews of travelers, we can say with confidence that you can visit the Novgorod Kremlin in any season and in any weather. An excursion to the museum is worth the money spent on it. The history of Russia reveals the layer behind the layer in the Kremlin. There is no need to strain your imagination to represent the Novgorod Veche, Alexander Nevsky's court and the ancient cathedrals. Sometimes the guide says, pointing to something: "This is a remake." And, after a pause, clarifies: "The seventeenth century." Antiquity is noticeable here, visible. Let's follow the history of Veliky Novgorod and its Kremlin from the very beginning of its formation.

What is the Kremlin?

Great Novgorod, judging by the etymology of the name, is a "new city". And where was the old one? Old Slavic settlements were built according to a principle that Western historians call incastellomento , that is, "within walls". It was different from the German town planning, when the fortified castle stood on a hill, and a little bit further, ordinary mortals lived. In ancient Slavic cities, such as Kiev, defensive walls surrounded the entire settlement. But then the Varangians brought their own, Germanic, custom. The settlements remained defenseless in the face of a possible enemy. And in the eleventh century the prince built a fortified castle for himself and his team. In relation to the site of the town, it was called a new city. Later it turned into Novgorod.

The prince fenced off from his citizens. In the Ukrainian language, the most archaic, it sounds like "vidokremlyuvatisya." The root of this verb also served as the name for the new fortification. But the residence of not only one feudal lord and his family was the Kremlin. Veliky Novgorod was the habitat of the prince, the attendants, representatives of the secular and religious authorities. Therefore, the Kremlin often carries a different name - Detinets. It was not only an administrative center, but also a social center. Here there was a Veche of Novgorodians. On this territory the cathedral of the city was also located.

Where is the Kremlin?

Now the fortified Detinets towers on the bank of the Volkhov River. The reviews say that it is best to approach the Kremlin from Ilmen - a beautiful and vast lake. The abundance of water only adds to the fabulous beauty of this indescribable landscape. Bell-ringing is carried far, and the walls and towers of red brick seem to hover above the lake surface. But the tourist needs to bear in mind that for a thousand years the terrain has changed somewhat. And now, as before, Volkhov flows from Ilmen. But in antiquity, he divided the lowlands into numerous islands. And when the Varangians arrived here, they called this place "Holmgard." That in translation means simply "the country of islands".

Here in this place, surrounded by water on all sides, and began to build Vladimir, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, in 1044 his Kremlin. Veliky Novgorod expected the glory of the great trading city, but then, at the turn of the tenth-eleventh centuries, it was a small settlement. Scientists are still arguing on which particular islet the first Detinets was laid. But there is no doubt that at first its walls were wooden. Most likely, the fortress occupied the middle island. Now it is a part of Detinets between Vladimirskaya and Prechistenskaya towers. But there is another opinion. The first Kremlin could be at the place where the Lord's Court now stands, that is, on the northern island.

Stone fortifications

Further history of the Novgorod Kremlin is associated with the name of the prince of Polotsk Vseslav Bryachislavich, who in 1065 captured the fortress. He did not do much harm to the city, but such an undesirable visit made the Novgorodians think about the construction of more reliable Detinets walls. Reviews of tourists are advised to pay attention to the road leading from the bridge across the Kremlin. In the middle of the eleventh century, she joined the villages of Ludin the end and the Nerevian side. So in the two gates of Detinets the Main and the Breakdown streets rested. And the main thoroughfare of the Kremlin itself was Biskuplja (that is, the Episcopal Road). It was so named because the pavement for her was built on the money of the Metropolitan. This street crossed the citadel from east to west and came out to the Great Bridge across the Volkhov. And now, after the wooden Detinets once again burned down in 1097, Prince Mstislav (son of Vladimir Monomakh) ordered to cut down new fortifications. The works were completed in 1116, while the Novgorod Kremlin (Detinets) considerably increased in size. This is evidenced by the chronicle: "Pogoret Detinets, and lay Mstislav Novgorod more first." The north-eastern (Okr) and southern (Okolotok) units were attached to the original Kremlin. According to most historians, it was at the beginning of the twelfth century that Detinets reached its present-day dimensions. But as the reviews say, what visitors see today is related to later epochs.

The Stone Kremlin

For its time (the eleventh to the twelfth century) wooden Detinets was a reliable citadel. Only one Polotsk prince managed to capture him. But in the thirteenth century the conditions of siege have changed. There were throwing guns, which only the stone walls could withstand. The intervention of the horde of Khan Baty, to which Russia was subjected, also affected. Veliky Novgorod, fortunately, escaped looting. But the metropolitans who were ruling at that time began to think about strengthening Detinets' defensive capability. According to historians, the replacement of wooden fortifications by stone occurred gradually at the turn of the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries, and these works began precisely with the Vladychny Dvor.

The reviews say that the oldest towers of Detinets that survived to this day were built: Voskresenskaya and Spasskaya (1297), Pokrovskaya (1305) and Vladimirskaya (1311). In the Middle Ages, the top churches were crowned with the top of these structures. In the thirties of the fourteenth century Vladyka Basil strengthened Detinets even more. He replaced the wooden walls with stone and built several new towers. The chronicle from 1333 narrates that "the lord the city of stones put, with the fasting of God, in two summers." The subsequent metropolitans - Moses in the 1360s and John in the 1400s - strengthened and expanded the walls of Detinets, building new towers. In the fifteenth century, the works spilled over to the Okolotok.

Temples of the Kremlin

Detinets was not only the administrative center of the city, but also the focus of his spirituality. Therefore, the cathedrals of the Novgorod Kremlin were of paramount importance. The first of these, the Sophia, was laid with Detinets himself. Prince Vladimir Yaroslavovich in 1045 began the construction of the temple and very much wanted to see its end. The church was built in seven years. It was consecrated in 1502, after which the prince did not live a month. He is buried in the walls of this oldest cathedral in Russia.

Testimonials of tourists indicate that this temple must be visited. There are fragments of murals of the twelfth century. Also tourists are advised to pay attention to the main gate of the temple. As you know, they were made in the twelfth century in Magdeburg. Inside it is interesting to look at the prayer site of Ivan the Terrible. It is made of wood and decorated with carvings. But of course, the main attraction of the temple is the necropolis - the oldest in Orthodox Russia.

No less than the cathedral, the belfry of the Novgorod Kremlin is also interesting. The first mention of this architectural monument dates back to 1437. Tourists are advised to visit the exhibition of bells, which is located on the second floor of the Campanile. Only here is such a complete collection. And if you are not too lazy and climb up to the observation deck, you can admire the view of Veliky Novgorod from a bird's eye view. In the southern part of Detinets there is the church of Andrei Stratilat. Originally it was part of the ancient (1167-73 gg.) Temple of Boris and Gleb. Tradition says that the main donor of the erection of the church was Sotko Sytinich (merchant Sadko). Archbishop Evfimii in 1441 rebuilt the church in the form that we see today.

The Lord's Court

In the thirties of the twelfth century, urban democracy was established in Novgorod. The prince's power became almost nominal. All decisions were made at Veche. Detinets as a symbol of power in the city passed to the Novgorod Republic. And the prince moved to the site of the fort.

Alas, the period of democracy did not last long in Russia. Soon, power in Novgorod slowly went to the Orthodox Church. Archbishops immediately began to master the Novgorod Kremlin. Their residence - Vladychny Dvor - occupied a significant part of the detinets. In addition to residential and household buildings there were many churches. The reviews are strongly recommended not only to look into the Vladychny Dvor, but also to visit the residence of the Archbishops - the Faceted Chamber. This is the only building of the complex, which reached us from the first half of the fifteenth century.

The first resident of the residence was Evfimiy the Second. He ordered to build his chambers in the Gothic style. German architects worked on building a three-story building made of bricks. The reviews mention that fragments of the original wall paintings have been preserved among the interiors of the palace. In these apartments Vladyka received ambassadors, the church court met, solemn feasts were held. Also here was the parliament of Novgorod - Council of gentlemen.

Now the Faceted Chamber is a museum. The mode of work of the exposition, which tells about the "modest" life of the archbishops, is as follows: every day from ten to eighteen hours, the weekend is Monday and the first Wednesday of each month. In addition, the building has two permanent exhibitions - jewelry and arts and crafts.

The Accession of Novgorod to the Moscow Principality

This event, radically changing the fate of the veche republic, occurred in 1478. Ivan the Third, Prince of Moscow, annexed the Novgorod lands to his state. Together with independence, the glorious grandeur of the city has become a thing of the past. He was no longer a member of the Hanseatic League, but a quiet province, which nevertheless played an important role in the defense of the northwestern borders of the new state. Therefore, already in 1484, Ivan Vasilyevich "began to lay down on an old basis Detynets city of Kamen." The fortress of Veliky Novgorod is obsolete morally. Tsar Ivan the Third ordered to expand the loopholes of the towers to place firearms there. The estimate of these works is also preserved, according to which one-third of the cost was covered by Archbishop Gennady.

Reconstruction Detinets was so large that, it can be said, it was built anew, though on old foundations. But then, in the nineties of the fifteenth century, the Novgorod Kremlin took the shape that we see now. Some of the towers were built later, as, for example, Kokui, erected under Peter the Great. But in general all the reviews claim that Detinets Novgorod of the Great endures the traveler in the fifteenth century.

Towers of the Novgorod Kremlin

Tourists are struck by the strength of the defensive walls of this majestic stronghold. Their thickness in different places is not the same: from three and a half to six plus meters. And the height of the walls also varies. In some places they rise fifteen meters, and in others - only eight. The distinctive feature of Detinets in Novgorod is the gate churches. This is reflected in the religious and secular power of the archbishops.

Some of the Kremlin towers have not survived until our time. On the site of the Resurrection and Prechistenskaya (Bogoroditskaya), now pass the archways. But on the whole, of the twelve towers, there are nine, which, you will agree, is not bad. All of them were interconnected by transitions. Tourists are advised to go up to Kokui. This is a forty-meter long watch tower, from which you can see the whole district. From its viewing platform you can admire Antoniev Monastery and Yaroslav's Court. And in clear weather, even the bell tower of the monastery in Yuryev is visible from it. The palace tower (1484-1499) contains very interesting expositions. If you are visiting a Novgorod detinets with a child, be sure to look at them. One of the exhibitions is devoted to the armament of Russian knights of the twelfth-seventeenth centuries.

The Newest History of the Novgorod Detinets

On the rise of Slavic patriotism, interest in the oldest Kremlin in Russia appeared in the nineteenth century. At the end of this century, regional scholars awarded the surviving towers with names that do not quite correspond to historical names. Earlier sections of fortress walls were attached to the gate churches. That is, there were Voskresenskaya, Bogorodnitskaya towers, etc. Now they are called Princes, Metropolitan, Dvortsovaya, Kokui. In 1862, in the center of the Kremlin in the presence of Emperor Alexander II and his family, a monument dedicated to the millennium of Russia was opened . And such a respected organization as UNESCO included the whole complex of the Novgorod Detinets in the list of the World Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In 1865 a part of this ensemble was declared a museum-preserve. It is not difficult to get here. Veliky Novgorod, the Kremlin - the address of this institution of culture is very simple. Yes, and it's clear Detinets from any end of the old city.

Visiting the Novgorod Kremlin: the opinion of travelers

Reviews of tourists make it clear that the museum does not occupy the whole complex of the detinets. In addition to it, the regional library, philharmonic society, art school, restoration workshops, music and art schools are located in the Kremlin. Maybe, therefore, the mode of operation of the whole complex is very favorable for visiting tourists: from six in the morning until midnight. The vast territory of the Kremlin suggests that a full day and comfortable shoes will be needed for the inspection. Reviews are advised to take an individual excursion - so you will learn more about the Kremlin. Tourists warn that Detinets towers and some of its parts, such as the Vladychny Dvor, have their own modes of operation. Some open at eleven in the morning. Come to the Kremlin is best not on Monday, because it is on this day of the week in many towers Novgorod detintsa day off. You can eat in a cafe stylized during the Middle Ages. The reviews are praised by the local sbiten and kvass.