Vladimir and Suzdal
These old Russian towns that belong to the so-called Golden Ring and are about 3 hours drive from Moscow. Suzdal was founded in 1024 and despite its age remained young and beautiful as a fairytale. It stands along the banks of the Kamenka River and the scenery gives you an idea of the boundless expanses of Russia. Vladimir is one of the most ancient and beautiful cites of Russia. The ancient town Vladimir is located about 30 miles to the south of Suzdal. It was founded by Prince Vladimir Monomakh in 1108 and soon became the capital of the region thanks to the sacred icon of Our Lady, which once had been brought from Constantinople. In the middle of the twelfth century, under Andrew Bogolliubsky, Vladimir become the center of North-Eastern Russia and later grew into the main city of the entire Russia.
The church of the Smolenskaya Icon of the Mother of God was built in Suzdal in 1696-1706, and restored by Olga Guseva in 1960. The church has many features in common with other buildings belonging to the same period. The cornice of indented cut stone, balusters and small kokoshniks, resembles that on the Emperor Constantine Church, while the broad wall surfaces with three symmetrically placed windows remind one of the Ascension Church in the Saint Alexander Monastery.
The Church's bell-tower belongs to the period of Russian Classical architecture at the end of the eighteenth century.
Orthodox church, bell tower, Suzdal
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