Travel - Suzdal

TRAVEL - SUZDAL

Suzdal (Russian: Суздаль; IPA: [ˈsuzdəlʲ]) is a town and the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Kamenka River, 26 kilometers (16 mi) north of the city of Vladimir, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the2010 Census, its population was 10,535.^[5]

Suzdal is one of the oldest Russian towns. In the 12th century it became the capital of the principality, with Moscow being merely one of its subordinate settlements. Nowadays Suzdal is the smallest of the Russian Golden Ring towns with population of just 9978 (2015),^[6] but a major tourist attraction.^[8] Several of its monuments are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.^[13][14]

The town's history dates back to 1024 and in 1125 Yury Dolgoruky made Suzdal the capital of the Rostov-Suzdal principality.^[15]Suzdal began to function as a capital at the time when Moscow was still a cluster of cowsheds.^[8] In 1157 Andrei Bogolyubskymoved the capital from Suzdal to Vladimir, from which time the principality was known as Vladimir-Suzdal. Set in a fertile wheat-growing area, Suzdal remained a trade centre even after Mongol-led invasions. Eventually, it united with Nizhny Novgorod until both were annexed by Moscow in 1392.^[15]

After a decline in political importance, the town rose in prominence as a religious center with incredible development projects funded by Vasily III and Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, wealthy merchants paid for 30 charming churches, which still adorn the town.^[15] Thus Suzdal reached remarkable ratio of churches to citizens: at one point, forty churches for four hundred families.

In 1864, local merchants failed to coerce the government into building the Trans-Siberian Railway through their town. Instead it went through Vladimir, 35 km (22 mi) away. As a result, Suzdal was bypassed not only by trains, but by the 20th century altogether.^[8] Furthermore, in 1967 Suzdal earned a federally protected status, which officially limited the development in the area.^[15] That is why the place remains largely the same as ages ago – its cute wooden cottages mingling with golden cupolas that reflect in the river Kamenka, which meanders sleepily through gentle hills and flower-filled meadows.^[8]

Today, the town operates as an important tourist center, featuring many fine examples of old Russian architecture—most of them churches and monasteries. Although having just under ten thousand residents, Suzdal still retains a rural look with streams and meadows everywhere and chicken and livestock a common sight on the streets, some of which remain unpaved. This juxtaposition of stunning medieval architecture with its pastoral setting lends Suzdal a picturesque charm and in the summer artists and easels are a common sight.^[16]

[Credits Wikipedia]