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.
There are dozens of beautiful churches and amazing landscapes in Suzdal. Old churhes and extremely picturesque landscapes attract big amount of travellers to visit the one of the ancient cities in Russia. In 1983 Suzdal has got the "The Golden Apple" prize of the International Travel Commentators Association as the most notable tourist place.
Here is a few crhronicles of this famous town in Russia:
Like all ancient Russian cities, the history of Suzdal is both beautiful and terrible. In 1096, the city was burned down during a civil war. Eleven years later, it was sieged by Bulgarians from Volga area, who devastated the region. In 1238, like many Russian cities, it was conquered, burned down, and brought to ruin by the Mongol-Tatar tribes led by the grandson of Genghis Khan. In 1611, after a half-year siege, Suzdal was destroyed by Polish-Lithuanian interventionists, but 23 years later, under the leadership of Dimitri Pozharsky, it survived an attack of Crimean Tatars. A plague wiped out half of the population in 1654, and a great fire destroyed much of the city in 1719.
Suzdal churches, winter scene
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