Rostov Veliki

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History of Rostov Veliki

Rostov was predated by Sarskoye Gorodishche, which some scholars interpret as the capital of the Merya tribe, while others believe it was an important Viking trade enclave and fortress guarding the Volga trade route. First mentioned in the year 862 as an already important settlement, by the 13th century, Rostov became the capital city of one of the most prominent Russian principalities. It was incorporated into Muscovy in 1474.

Even after it lost its independence, Rostov was still an ecclesiastic center of utmost importance (from 988 it was the see of one of the first Russian bishoprics). In the 14th Century, the bishops of Rostov became archbishops, and late in the 16th century, metropolitans. One of those metropolitans, Iona (Jonah) Sysoevich (ca. 1607-1690), commissioned the town's main landmark: the Kremlin, one of the finest outside of Moscow.
The history of the restoration of Rostov (1950-70) is described in a lengthy article by RF Alitova and TL Nikitina. More interesting are the photos of the restorations that accompany it.

Kreml of Rostov Veliki

10th, 16th-17th cent

Photo RWFG 1977

The towers of the Kreml from Lake Nero

Church of the Savior-in-the-Market

17th cent

Photo RWFG 1977

The Church of the Savior in the Market of Rostov.

The new paint was provided by Mosfilm which was making a movie! Today Rostov appears again in bad repair.

The Great Wall of Rostov Veliki

16th-17th cent

Photo RWFG 1977

Wall and towers of the Rostov Kreml

Church over the Gate

17th cent

Photo RWFG 1977

The gate is protected by an icon of the Virgin - which was considered more effective than cannons.

Photo RWFG 1980

Interior, entrance into the second-floor church. Every surface is painted from the cupola to the floor.

The Belltower of the Assumption Cathedral

1162

Photo RWFG 1977
The famous carrillion of Rostov outside the wall

The Resurrection Gate

17th cent.

Photo RWFG 1977

The Resurrection Gate next to the Bell Tower

The Assumption Cathedral

mid 16th cent

Photo RWFG 1980

The Uspensky Cathedral (Dormition or Assumption of the Vigin, 16th cent) after it had been restored at the end of the 70s (Olympic tourists!). - The lower parts of the cathedral walls are dated to the 12th century. The present church building is from the 16th to the 17th century.

A Door in the Wall

Photo RWFG 1977

Entry to the Kreml was expensive, so we searched the walls for a secret hole and found this door - The buildings of the Kreml backed by a black cloud.

Inside the Kreml

Photo RWFG 1977

View of the churches of the Kremlin from the interior courtyard

The Church of the Resurrection

17th cent

Photo RWFG 1977

The Voskreseniye-Resurrection Church above the western Gate

Photo RWFG 1980

The fresco-iconostasis of the Resurrection Cathedral. It had been plastered over - hence the holes - and only recently been restored. (1980)

Photo RWFG 1980

The wall paintings of the tambour and the dome.

The Resurrection Cathedral reflected in the Bell Pond

Photo RWFG 1980

The Resurrection Cathedral reflected in the Bell Pond which has formed in the hole in which the biggest bell had been cast

Granitaya Palata

1694

Photo RWFG 1980

Late Light

Photo RWFG 1980

Late afternoon in October 1980

Savior-Yakovlevsky Monastery

Photo Sergey Duhanin Panoramio

The Trinity Cathedral later named Zachatievski Cathedral (1686),
The Monastery was founded in 1389 by Bishop St. Jacob of Rostov. The Church of St. Jacob on the left, dedicated to the Conception of St. Anna, was built in 1836.

Photo Sergey Duhanin Panoramio

Another beautiful reflection by Sergey Duhanin!

Village Church of Porechye Rybnoye near Rostov

Early 1780s

Photo Panoramio

In the villages between Rostov and Pereslavl one finds numerous church ruins generally of no interest. This ruin in the poor hamlet of Porechye (1780) would be marginally interesting, if it were not for fragments of its unusual frescoes:

Photo Panoramio

for a larger photo click on icon-art

"Rejoice in Thee...", fresco in the arch's ceiling. Beginning 1780s.

Borisoglebsky Monastery

1550s

Photo Panoramio

The Bell tower of the Monastery

Borisoglebskiy Monastery. Off the tourist route in a small village north-west of Rostov. Named after Saints Boris and Gleb. The monastery was favoured by Ivan the Terrible who personally supervised the construction of its towered walls and bell-tower around an older cathedral. The only addition made to the monastery after Ivan's death is a superb carved barbican church, commissioned by the metropolitan Iona Sysoevich in the late 17th century.

Photo Panoramio

Cathedral of Boris and Gleb