The Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl is the oldest building in the city. For the first time, it was written about him in an annals dated 1186. However, other sources claim that it was founded in the 13th century. Perhaps this is not the main date, since the first buildings of stone temples located on the territory of the monastery were erected in 1216-1224. Numerous documents testify to this. Most tourists visit Yaroslavl for a reason. The sights, photos of which they saw in brochures, attracted them with their beauty, especially the image of the majestic monastery buildings.
History of Creation
To have an idea of the exact location of the monastery, you should know where Yaroslavl is located on the map of Russia. The city is located on the Kotorosl River, not far from Lesnaya Polyana, and belongs to the major cultural centers of Europe. On the left bank, the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in Yaroslavl was erected. The address of this attraction: Bogoyavlenskaya Square, 25. Initially, all buildings and walls were made of wood. In the 13th century the monastery receivedthe patronage of Prince Konstantin from Yaroslavl, at whose direction stone buildings and a temple were erected here. Thanks to the Yaroslavl ruler, a religious school was opened here - the only one in the northeastern region of Russia. In the Spassky Monastery there was a rich library, which had a lot of Greek, Russian books written by hand. Thus, this place became the cultural and religious center of the region. In the early 90s of the 18th century, it was here that the collector of antiquities Alexei Ivanovich Musin-Pushkin discovered the list of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", which other monasteries of Yaroslavl could not boast of.
General Description
Currently, the Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl is the oldest building that has survived to this day. It was erected on the foundation left from the first monastery of 1506-1516. The first cathedral was significantly damaged by a fire in 1501, so it was forced to be dismantled. The new temple was built not by Yaroslavl, but by Moscow craftsmen sent from the capital at the direction of Vasily III, since the prince ruled Yaroslavl before ascending the throne of Moscow. The architectural form of the monastery is somewhat similar to the temples of the Moscow Kremlin. The cathedral is surrounded by a gallery on both sides, has an open arcade. The gallery was built instead of an open “ambulance”, for a long period of time it served as a book depository at the monastery. Nowadays, arched openings from the north of the gallery have been laid.
The contours of the cathedral are simple and austere, they are almost devoid of decorations, forexcept for the stepped gallery on the west side. The facades end with large zakomaras and are devoid of virtuoso decoration. Three high apses are equipped with narrow windows-loopholes. The cathedral is crowned with three domes on massive light high drums, which are surrounded by small kokoshniks and girded at the top with arched-columnar belts. This carved decoration is the only one decorating the cathedral. Otherwise, the external decoration of the monastery is very strict, ascetic, conveys the severity of the times in which the temple was built. The basement of the cathedral was used as the tomb of the Yaroslavl princes, and at the end of the 17th century less noble persons were buried there. One of the first cities that had many buildings in the monastery was Yaroslavl. Attractions - the photo shows it to us - appeared as a result of the construction of new buildings and the restoration of old ones.
Churches on the territory of the monastery
From the south-east side of the Transfiguration Cathedral adjoins a huge church in the Empire style, which was built in 1827-1831. in accordance with the project of the provincial architect Pyotr Yakovlevich Pankov. It completely blocked the view of the ancient cathedral from the south side. Previously, a small Church of the Entrance to Jerusalem stood on this site, which was the same age as the first cathedral. It was in it that the relics of the Yaroslavl miracle workers - the Holy Prince Fedor and his sons - David and Constantine were found.
As a result of the fire of 1501, it also suffered, but not as badly as the cathedral itself, so it stood for about a hundred years, untilthe decision was made to rebuild it. The monastery and churches were especially revered by the Moscow princes. Even Ivan the Terrible himself visited them more than once. With his participation, the cathedral was painted, the monastery was honored with gifts, so 55 granted royal letters were preserved.
Monastic Belfry
In the 16th century, a large belfry was erected on the square at the monastery, perhaps a pillar-shaped one at the beginning, it was connected to the cathedral by a two-tiered gallery. A temple was built in the lower part of the building, its apse is still visible from the east. By the middle of the 16th century, the belfry was expanded, a passage was made in it, crowning the top with two tents made of stone. The arches of the original tier of this building are still clearly visible.
The belfry received its modern look in the 19th century, at the same time as the construction of the temple in honor of the miracle workers. According to the ideas of the architect P. Ya. Pankov, it was built on with a third tier in pseudo-Gothic style. Upstairs they put a small rotunda in the classical style. In this eclectic form, having grown significantly, it has come down to us, becoming the main high- altitude landmark of the center of Yaroslavl.
Monastery refectories
From the western part of the belfry, framing the square of the monastery, there is a huge refectory on two floors with the Nativity Church. It was built in the 16th century, possibly even before the cathedral itself. The center of this building consists of a spacious one-pillar chamber with arches in the form of a sail. It was intended for ceremonial receptions of noble guests, refectory events of the huge monastic brethren. The vaults, as well as the walls of the chamber, were richly decoratedpaintings. In terms of beauty and amenities, this refectory was better than the capital's buildings of its time. So, heating went through vents from the kitchen hearth located below, dishes were served from the kitchen through specially equipped hatches. Downstairs there was a kitchen and utility rooms - storerooms, a kvass factory. The living quarters were also located on the second floor. The eastern part of the building is equipped with the refectory of the Church of the Nativity. This is a small temple that stood on a towering basement. From the west, the chambers of the abbot of the 17th century joined the chamber. The walls were devoid of outstanding decoration, except for simple architraves and pilasters.
Holy gates of the monastery
At the beginning of the 16th century, instead of a wooden fence, stone fortifications were erected, including the exquisite Holy Gates. Initially, the eastern wall was closer to the belfry, and now an elongated cell building of the 1670-1790s is installed on its line. In 1516, the first stone tower of the monastery walls was erected - the Holy Gates, which overlooked the banks of the Kotorosl River. In the 17th century, a watch tower was also built on, this was a bell tower with a special alarm bell to report an alarm, a zahab was attached to the tower from the outside - a kind of protective structure that covered the entrance from possible enemy attacks. The tower is considered the main entrance, and its gate leads to the central square of the monastery. Initially, it was surrounded by a jagged belt, which is currently preserved only from the south. By the middle of the 17th century, in addition to the watchtower, they put on the Holy Gatesand the Vvedenskaya gate church with a tent-shaped ending, which was heavily rebuilt already in the 19th century, the tent was replaced with a primitive hipped roof.
History of buildings
Gradually (in the 1550-1580s) all the existing wooden walls of the monastery were replaced with stone ones. The border of the monastery itself at that time passed from the eastern side, where the cells are located today. Strong stone walls were very useful, because in 1609 the Polish-Lithuanian troops moved to Yaroslavl. The city itself was besieged, however, thanks to the mutual placement of the Kremlin and the monastery, it withstood a twenty-four-day siege, remaining unconquered. In 1612, the commanders of the Russian militia, Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and the tradesman Kozma Minin, were placed in the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery. A year later, Mikhail Romanov himself came to Yaroslavl to get married to the kingdom. The Transfiguration Monastery crowned the future ruler with honors. Perhaps this explains the long patronage of the royal family to the Spassky Monastery.
Secret building and new buildings
At the end of the turmoil, the Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl expands its territory. They began to build new walls, equipped with towers. A rather long building with cells was erected on the site of the old eastern wall (in the 1670s and 1690s).
The grand building was well thought out for comfortable living:
- had a heating system;
- equipped with internal stairs:
- equipped with wall cabinets;
- had separateexits for each pair of cells.
Not all the towers have been preserved in the monastery fence, some of them were later dismantled.
The following buildings survived:
- Mikhailovskaya Tower.
- Bogoroditskaya Tower.
- Uglich Tower.
- The Epiphany Tower.
- Holy Gate.
- Water gate.
Further fate of the monastery
In the 18th century, the monastery was abolished in accordance with the decree of Catherine II, which proclaimed the secularization of church lands. The Transfiguration Monastery in Yaroslavl became the residence of the Yaroslavl and Rostov archbishops. Reorganizations of the 19th century were carried out in accordance with the views of the Bishops' House. The former monastery still kept the richest library - book depository, then the seminary was opened. Thanks to this, Yaroslavl was marked on the map of Russia as a cultural capital.
In Soviet times, the monastery was closed. During the Yaroslavl uprising, many buildings were significantly damaged, but in the 1920s they were again repaired. The temples and cells of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery were used as housing, educational institutions, and a military registration and enlistment office. And only since the 1950s a full-fledged restoration was carried out, it was decided to place the Yaroslavl Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve here. He is the full-fledged owner of the monastery territory to this day. The city of Yaroslavl is very famous for this grandiose building. The Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, the photo of which is presented above, is a uniquea structure that looks truly magnificent and colossal.
