Radonezh

Radonezh is one of the oldest settlements in the Sergiev Posad district of Moscow region, located on a high promontory of the Pazha River. The banks of the Pazha and other surrounding rivers have long been the habitat of the Finno-Ugric tribes. By the 11th century, they were supplanted by the Krivich Slavs, who founded the settlement of Radonezh on the Pazha cape around the 11th century. In the middle of the 12th century, Radonezh became part of the Rostov-Suzdal principality, and at the beginning of the 13th century, it was included in the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. In 1331, the village went to the son of Ivan Kalita, Prince Andrei Ivanovich. In the same period, the family of the Rostov boyar Kirill moved here, including his son Bartholomew - in the future Saint Sergius of Radonezh, the founder of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In present days, the main landmarks of the village of Radonezh are the Transfiguration Church built in 1842, the Holy Spring of Sergius of Radonezh, a font, a wooden wheel and a monument to St. Sergius. The observation deck at the temple offers a beautiful view of the river, the wooden water wheel, and the surrounding forests.