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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Historical Wooden Buildings, Suzdal, Russia

This is a gorgeous little town, with 30+ churches to see, and very quaint.  If you are in the Golden Ring, you must not miss it.
People were living in Suzdal area already in the beginning of the 9th century, they were doing crafts and cultivating their land. The settlement had trade relationship with the northern countries (Germany) and with the Central Asia.  In historical chronicles of ancient Russia Suzdal was first mentioned in 1024, when Yaroslav Mudry, the Kiev prince, came there to suppress the riot.
Since the beginning of the 11th centrury, Suzdal was the capital of Rostov-Suzdal principality, which had the territory from the river Volga on the east to Smolensk on the west (Moscow was also part of this principality).  
During the Tartar time, Suzdal was partially demolished and ransacked by Tartars, as was almost everywhere else. Because of the vulnerable location, close to the settlements of the enemy, Suzdal was loosing its strong position and Moscow was gaining importance. So in the beginning of the 16th century, Suzdal became part of Moscow principality.
In the 18-19th centuries Suzdal became an important religious center of Russia, still keeping its positions as the center of crafts and trade.

there's a museum of Russian wooden architecture and the peasant's mode of life. Wooden churches, peasant's houses (izbas), mills, a barn, a well from all over Vladimir region's villages were brought here in the 1960s. For example, there's a richly decorated, poly-tier Preobrazhenskaya church, which was built in 1756, a typical Russian village church.
Next to the church there are typical wooden houses, mostly built in the 19th century. you can get inside to see the interiors (opened from May to October).
The mills and barns date back to the 18-19th centuries.  These are the simple churches of old Russia.

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