Sights of Zvenigorod

One frosty February I wanted to go to some small town in the Moscow region. The choice fell on Zvenigorod , located 30 km west of Moscow. Despite its miniature size (population of only 20 thousand people and an area of about 50 km²), Zvenigorod has enough attractions, historical values and good landscapes to keep a curious tourist busy for the day.

Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery in Zvenigorod

Zvenigorod is the oldest city in the Moscow region; According to archaeological data, already in the 12th century there was a settlement on this site, and according to chronicles the city was mentioned since 1382. Initially, Zvenigorod served Moscow as a defensive point; it is no coincidence that two fortresses were built here: a monastery and a Kremlin. Now it is a tourist city, also famous for its sanatoriums and clean air.

How to get to Zvenigorod

Several types of public transport run regularly to Zvenigorod and back.

Buses: Kuntsevskaya metro station - bus No. 452 Tushinskaya metro station - bus No. 455 Strogino metro station - bus No. 881

Electric trains: Electric trains depart every hour from Belorussky and Savelovsky railway stations.

You can also go with a transfer through the village of Golitsyno. Golitsyno is connected to Moscow by even more frequent trains, and from Golitsyno to Zvenigorod and back it is easy to get by regular bus No. 22.

Railway station in Golitsyno

The most inconvenient thing is that the railway station and the bus station are located in completely different places.

Railway station in Zvenigorod

Our journey around Zvenigorod begins from the railway station, which is located on the outskirts of the city. The entire station area is one big construction site! Seriously, everywhere you look, it's been excavated and fenced off.

From the station we decide to go straight to the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery - the main attraction of Zvenigorod. Despite the fact that the monastery is located outside the city, buses 23 and 51 go to it from the railway station.

Advantages of Zvenigorod (my subjective opinion)

Air.
Everything is nearby (I compare it with the distances in Moscow).
People are kinder, softer, more sympathetic.
Opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses.

I must say that I have not yet met a single Muscovite in Zvenigorod who was not happy with his move from Moscow to Zvenigorod. At first, my friends and relatives were perplexed as to why I was so drawn here, but now, one after another, they themselves are moving to my Switzerland. Yes, as it turns out, there are Muscovites who envy our opportunity to live where it is better and more comfortable.

That's probably all I wanted to tell you. Write, come...

Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery

The Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery was founded on Mount Storozhe in 1398 by one of the first and closest disciples of Sergius of Radonezh - the Monk Savva. Then it was one small wooden church and cell; The monastery acquired a stone temple, chambers and walls a little later in the 16th century.

The stop is called “Rest House of the Ministry of Defense”, the buses go further straight, and we go to the monastery to the right following the signs.

In front of the northern entrance to the monastery, in the park there is a monument to Savva Storozhevsky.

Monument to Savva Storozhevsky

The Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery is the third most popular among pilgrims, after the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Seraphim-Diveevsky Monastery.

During its existence, the monastery has undergone many changes: from complete decline to the construction of a new architectural ensemble. Let's see what the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery is like now.

Walls and towers of the monastery

The territory of the monastery is surrounded by 760-meter stone walls 9 meters high and 3 meters wide with loophole windows located in three rows: for long-range combat, close combat and cannon attacks. The camps rest on seven military towers, one of which was dismantled in the 18th century. So, on the eve of the Russian-Polish War, the monastery turned into a military shield of Zvenigorod and Moscow.

The central Red Tower (or Gate Tower ) is decorated with remains from the 17th century. images of the Mother of God and the Venerables Sergius and Savva. Under the Red Tower there is the main entrance - the Holy Gate , which has now been closed. In 1883, a church was installed above the Red Tower in the name of Alexy, the Man of God .

Red Tower

The northeast tower is to the right of the Red Tower. The spiers of the towers are decorated with a trumpeting angel; we saw a very similar Siberian angel during our trip to the Tobolsk Kremlin.

Northeast Tower

The provision tower was presumably named so because of the food for the army that was stored in it.

Provisions Tower

Now in the Provision Tower there is a store with monastery baked goods and a small refectory for visitors on the second floor.

Provisions Tower

Here you can buy bread, cakes, gingerbreads, cakes, rolls, cookies, straws, etc.

Inside the walls of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery

The refectory , built in 1652-1654, originally had four floors (including one basement) and a large dining room. At that time, the refectory was simply a miracle of construction: in the basement of the building there was an icehouse and a well, glass was inserted into the windows instead of mica, and the room was heated with warm air rising through special pipes. The monastery treasury was located on the top floor of the building. After reconstruction in the 19th century, the refectory decreased in height and lost its cross vaults.

Refectory of the Savvino-Storozhesky Monastery

Opposite the refectory, since 1998, on the site of the altar of the Church of St. John Climacus, dismantled in 1782, there has been a chapel-gazebo . For some reason it is forbidden to enter it.

Chapel on the site of the Church of St. John Climacus

From the side of the cathedral square, the belfry and the Church of the Transfiguration are closely adjacent to the refectory. In the photo below you can see the beautiful entrance to the refectory through the bell tower.

The four-tiered belfry was built in the 17th century. From 1671 to 1941 The belfry was decorated with the main symbol of Zvenigorod - the 35-ton Annunciation Bell, cast in the same monastery on the cathedral square in 1668. For three years the bell waited in the wings when it would finally be raised and fixed on the bell tower. In 1941, during the war, the bell was broken. In 2003, a new 37-ton bell was cast in Voronezh, which now adorns the middle tier of the belfry.

The Church of the Transfiguration was added to the refectory in 1693.

Church of the Transfiguration

The Gate Church of the Life-Giving Trinity is considered one of the first buildings of the 17th century (1651). In 1807, at the expense of Natalia Vladimirovna Sheremeteva, a refectory with a chapel in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was added to the church. It turns out that there are two refectories in the monastery: one for monks, the second for nobles?

The lower part of the tongue of the large Annunciation Bell lies here.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was erected in 1405 during the life of St. Sava on the site of the first wooden church. In December 1406, the Monk Savva died. In front of the temple, under a layer of snow, the ruins of the gate church of St. Sergius of Radonezh are preserved. In the Cathedral of the Most Holy Theotokos there is a shrine with the relics of Savva Storozhevsky.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

To the right of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the very modest Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov with separate chambers for each member of the royal family. Construction of the palace began in 1652 and dragged on for almost 20 years, during which the building was rebuilt several times. The monastery has long been a favorite place of prayer for many Russian tsars, but it was under Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov that the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery was given the status of the first Lavra in Russia, and it began to be considered the residence of Russian sovereigns. The Tsar’s Road, now known as “Rublyovka,” was built from Moscow to the monastery, along which pilgrimages were made to the relics of Savva Storozhevsky.

Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov

At the southern wall of the monastery there are fraternal buildings: a small cell building and a large fraternal building . Initially, it was one large building, built in the 17th century, at a time when the number of monks reached 300 people.

Small cell and large fraternal corps

In the 19th century, part of the large fraternal building was dismantled and a small cell building was built in its place.

Small cell building

An upper floor was built over the remaining part of the large fraternal building, in which there was a hospital, a pharmacy and a fraternal almshouse. Currently, the buildings are occupied as cells for the brethren of the monastery.

Large fraternal corps

The final building around the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Tsarina's Chambers . The elegant white and red building was built in the middle of the 17th century for the wife of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.

Tsarina's Chambers

The queen's chambers were located in the central part.

Tsarina's Chambers

For the queen’s convenience, the chambers were connected by a passage to the Trinity Gate Church, which became the home church of Maria Ilyinichna. Now the chambers house exhibitions of the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum , as well as boyar chambers restored by restorers.

The last building that we approached on the territory of the monastery was the Treasury building , which stood at the eastern wall not far from the exit. It was built in the middle of the 17th century for the residence of those accompanying the king. The management of the monastery's economy was also carried out from this building, hence the name. Now it is also a museum building.

Treasury Corps

City `s history

Legends from time immemorial tried to explain the name of ancient Zvenigorod: they talked about the ringing of bells (after all, on the city coat of arms there is a famous monastery bell, cast in 1667), that it was the first to meet enemy raids and by ringing it warned Moscow of danger.
In fact, Zvenigorod was founded by the Slavs who came from Kyiv and Galich already in the 11th century. who built two cities with the same name in the south. The oldest of them also stood on the river bank. In its noise, the ears of our ancestors could hear the ringing of bells. Perhaps the name of the Moscow region Zvenigorod sounds like the gentle murmur of the Moscow River. Not without reason, Zvenigorod is considered the same age as Moscow. But its initial history was lost in the darkness of centuries and was not noted in the chronicles that have reached us. The city was first mentioned in documents at the time when it became the center of a large appanage that was part of the Moscow principality.

By the 11th-12th centuries, the Slavs had already densely populated the Moscow River valley. Following the peasants, the lands were “developed” by the feudal lords. In the captured territory, the princes needed strongholds, squads, and tribute collectors. This is how Zvenigorod arose.

The center of the ancient settlement was the Kremlin on the western outskirts of the present city. Zvenigorod residents have long called this place Gorodok. A high hill with steep slopes, surrounded on three sides by deep ravines, and on the fourth - washed by the waters of the Moscow River. The upper platform of the Town rises 24 meters above the surrounding area. In the middle of the 12th century, Zvenigorod was a stronghold on the northeastern outskirts of the Chernigov principality, a princely castle that guarded an important trade route from southern Russian to Novgorod and Western European lands.

The settlement remained small, and perhaps that is why the chronicles were silent about it. In written sources, Zvenigorod was first mentioned in the spiritual letter of the Moscow Prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita, dating back to 1339: “And behold, I give to my son Ivan: Zvenigorod...”. Now it is the center of the appanage principality of Ivan Ivanovich, the son of Kalita, although the first Zvenigorod princes usually lived in Moscow.

According to the will of Dmitry Donskoy in 1389, the appanage principality of Zvenigorod went to his second son Yuri Dmitrievich. The ambitious prince turned Zvenigorod into the true capital of his domains and lived here almost constantly until 1425. During the reign of Yuri Dmitrievich, the city experienced its heyday. By his order, a circular defense system was created around the Kremlin from earthen ramparts, along the crest of which there was a high wooden wall with towers. Around 1407, a white-stone Assumption Cathedral, painted by Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny, was erected in the center of Gorodok. Written sources from the 15th-16th centuries talk about trade and customs officers in the city. Zvenigorod developed despite its devastation by the Tatars in 1382 and 1408. At the end of the 14th century, the Savvo-Storozhevsky Monastery arose on Storozhevy Hill west of Zvenigorod, where in 1405 another large cathedral was built - the Nativity.

The internecine war started by the prince in 1425 in the Moscow principality greatly damaged Zvenigorod and deprived it of political independence, and was the beginning of the end of the city’s economic growth. Later it turned into a county-scale center.

The city passed from prince to prince until it came into the possession of Ivan the Terrible. He granted Zvenigorod to the Tatar princes and princes who went over to serve the Russian Tsar.

...The years passed. In April 1605, Boris Godunov dies and the self-proclaimed Tsar False Dmitry I goes to the Moscow Kremlin. His path was accompanied by fires and destruction. Zvenigorod Posad was burning, city residents left their homes and went into the forest. One of the documents from those years says about the invasion of the barbarians: “... they destroyed the monastery villages, took the monastic government money and horses and all sorts of monastic supplies and bread, and abbot Isaiah and his brethren were robbed and burned with fire.”

Two years later, the impostor False Dmitry II also made his way to the capital along the Moscow River. And again Zvenigorod found itself on the path of the interventionists. This time the city was plundered more brutally. Here False Dmitry II received an ambassador from V.I. Shuisky, who stood at the head of the Russian state.

Following the time of troubles, the era of the reign of the Romanovs began. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, nicknamed “the quietest,” chose the Savvo-Storozhevsky Monastery as his favorite country residence in the 1660s. At that time, the main population of Zvenigorod lived in the suburbs, which were small. Nizhny Posad or Voznesenskaya Sloboda stretches along the Great Moscow Road. According to the census of 1678, there were 28 households here, and there were 135 people in them. Verkhny Posad or Rozhdestvenskaya Sloboda consisted of 26 households and a little over a hundred inhabitants.

Under Alexei Mikhailovich, the fortress of the Savvina Monastery was built - in 1650 - 1656. walls and towers were erected, and on the territory - later - the Tsar's palace, a refectory, a belfry, a tower for the clock taken by the Emperor from Smolensk, the chamber of Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, in 1652 - the Trinity Church, until the 18th century. Fraternal buildings were erected. And Princess Sophia in 1693 added the Transfiguration Church to the ensemble of the monastery.

XVII century for the Russian State it was the time of the emergence of large-scale industry, which gradually replaced small-scale handicraft production. It is noteworthy that the provincial Zvenigorod stood at the origins of Russian metallurgy. The founder of the Zvenigorod ironworks was the boyar and statesman Boris Ivanovich Morozov. These enterprises existed until the end of the 1690s, and already in a document of 1701 it is said: “The Zvenigorod factories that the guest Vladimir Voronin kept were made of steel, and they do not make iron.”

The monastery was a large landowner, increased the corvee, introduced new taxes, which in the 18th century. was up to 33. In 1760, Archimandrite Pavlutsky drove the monastery peasants to clean the pond near the monastery. It was a time of famine and the peasants’ own fields remained uncultivated. The indignant peasants kept the monastery under siege for three days, and only a company of grenadiers called from Moscow pushed back the rebels. Then an armed clash occurred between the military and the peasants who were harvesting the monastery’s hay, which was suppressed only with the help of a second military team, again sent from Moscow.

An investigation was conducted into the petition of the peasants; the monastery was fined, and the victims were allowed to build a temple in memory of their fallen fellow countrymen. At the expense of widows and orphans, “through the efforts of the people,” the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was built in Savvinskaya Sloboda. And on February 26, 1764, Catherine II signed a decree according to which all the estates of spiritual feudal lords were transferred to the state.

After 17 years, the Empress again put a rescript on paper about Zvenigorod. This time she was presented with a draft of the city's coat of arms: on the heraldic shield at the top is the symbol of the Moscow province St. George the Victorious, at the bottom is an image of the “great bell” weighing 34 tons, the same one that was cast in 1667 for the monastery by master Alexander Grigoriev.

...XIX century. New troubles befell Zvenigorod with the invasion of Napoleonic army. After Borodin, the French Emperor sought to destroy the Russian Army opposing him and gave the order to the commander of the IV Infantry Corps, Viceroy of Italy Eugene Beauharnais, to move in parallel with the main forces through Ruza and Zvenigorod in order to strike the Russian flank. Against this enemy corps, M. I. Kutuzov deployed a separate cavalry detachment of Major General F. F. Wintsengerode. The Russian Commander-in-Chief reported to General M.A. Miloradovich, who commanded the rearguard of the retreating troops: “Yesterday after lunch at 10 o’clock Winzengerode informed me that he was stationed in Zvenigorod; ahead are his outposts at 14 versts, in front of which are the enemy’s at two versts.” The Viceroy tried to make his way by force, which is why the “Zvenigorod Affair” took place - a small battle that lasted more than six hours. The Russians retreated when an unsightly picture was revealed to the enemy. Here is the testimony of the Napoleonic officer Ts. Laugier: “Moving along the Moscow River, we come to Zvenigorod. At the top of one of the hills along which the Cossacks walk, among the pine forest, the walls and bell towers of the old, almost destroyed Savvinsky Monastery open up. At the foot of the hill lies the small city of Zvenigorod, located on both banks of the Moscow River... The Italian camp was located at the gates of an empty city, like the others. Houses, huts, villages - everything represents the most terrible form of desolation.”

Napoleon, who occupied Moscow, instructed Beauharnais to monitor the roads to Belokamennaya. One day a message came about the appearance of Russian troops near Zvenigorod. The French conducted reconnaissance near the city and found no one. Tired, they decided to rest in the monastery. In a dream, an old man with a beard appeared to Beauharnais. “Do not allow your soldiers to plunder and plunder this monastery,” he said, “and especially do not allow them to take possession of a single thing in the church. If you fulfill my request, you will return safe and healthy to your homeland.”

In the morning, the Viceroy ordered preparations to depart for Moscow, and sealed the cathedral with his personal seal, placing a guard there. And although Beauharnais returned to his homeland, monastic documents of that time reported on the looting and desecration of our shrines by enemy soldiers.

Detachments of people's avengers gathered in Zvenigorod villages. Army partisans also operated in the surrounding forests. Major Figlev's cavalry unit, consisting of militias and Cossacks, defeated French detachments near Zvenigorod at the end of September-October, taking many prisoners. On October 21, he and the detachment of Yesaul Gordeev liberated the city itself, the enemy fled from the monastery.

During the war, most of the manufactories on the landowners' estates collapsed. The main occupation of the city residents was still gardening and agriculture. But one of Zvenigorod’s crafts became known throughout the country. This is the production of stringed musical instruments, which developed in the city thanks to the peasant of the village of Shikhovo Emelyanov, who previously worked in the Moscow gusel workshop. Returning home, he taught his fellow villagers how to make guitars, mandolins, and balalaikas.

...In 1862, at the expense of the local merchant P. G. Tsurikov, another historical and architectural monument was built near Zvenigorod - Skete. Its main church was placed over the cave where Savva Storozhevsky, the founder of the monastery, associate of Sergius of Radonezh and Dmitry Donskoy, confessor of Yuri of Zvenigorod, spent the last years of his life.

Until the revolution of 1917, Zvenigorod district was one of the least developed in the province.

The transfer of power into the hands of the Bolsheviks in Zvenigorod took place on November 16, 1917. A detachment of Red Army workers and soldiers from Pavlovskaya Sloboda entered the city without resistance and in a few hours occupied all the administrative buildings, post office, and telegraph office. Soon Konstantin Ivanovich Makarov arrived here with the mandate of food commissar. The detachment he formed requisitioned 800 pounds of bread and other products from the monks of the Savvo-Storozhevsky Monastery.

On May 15, the alarm of the Zvenigorod bell brought kulaks and some peasants to the monastery. Together with the monks, they demanded from the commissar the keys to the premises with the confiscated bread. Having been refused, the rebels captured and killed Makarov. On the same day, the secretary of the Yaguninsky Volost Executive Committee Vasily Dmitrievich Sokolov and policeman Yakov Ivanovich Rotnov died. In the evening, an armed detachment from Dedovsk approached and suppressed the uprising.

In the Zvenigorod district, the state took under protection several landowner estates abandoned by the previous owners and a monastery complex, which was closed by the decision of the Zvenigorod district Council of Workers' and Peasants' Deputies on June 29, 1919. Three years later, on the initiative of the chairman of the executive committee Karatekhin, a museum and a children's sanatorium were located here. Konstantin Alekseevich also became the organizer of the construction of a railway line from the village of Khlyupino to Zvenigorod. He encouraged peasants to go to construction sites, looking for money and tools. By the end of 1922, the first steam locomotive arrived at the workers' barracks, where the Zvenigorod station is now.

Agriculture also developed rapidly in the first years of Soviet power: the number of various livestock increased, cooperatives and peasant associations appeared. A large group of Zvenigorod artisans in the Red Mayak artel made stockings and socks. The townspeople established the food industry, trade, healthcare, and education. Since 1921, Zvenigorod was the center of the district, and after the abolition of such districts, in 1929 it became the regional center of the Moscow region, while remaining at the same time a quiet small town. Even before the revolution, the Zvenigorod region was called “Switzerland near Moscow.” Having an estate or at least a dacha here was considered prestigious.

Taking into account the climate and natural resources, Zvenigorodiye is gradually being transformed into a region of health resorts. On the eve of the Great Patriotic War there were about 30 of them here. New plans were made, but they were interrupted by the attack of Nazi Germany.

The defense of Zvenigorod began at the end of October 1941. German troops managed to break through the Mozhaisk fortified line. On October 25, the enemy captured Ruza. A new term appeared in operational reports - the Zvenigorod direction. To cover the highway leading from Ruza to Zvenigorod, the 144th Infantry Division of Major General M.A. Pronin, which was on rest and formation in the Zvenigorod area, was sent here. M. G. Steinberg, commander of the 308th artillery regiment, which was part of the division, recalled that the regiment was armed with guns from 1902 and 1927. The division was assigned the 5th Separate Guards Mortar Division under Captain F. F. Tereshenko - four BM-13 rocket launchers.

It was in the Zvenigorod direction that the 78th German Division experienced the first doubts about its invincibility. A barrage of fire from guards mortars and artillery fell on the fascist troops preparing for the attack on Zvenigorod. And Zvenigorod itself has been under siege since October 20. The entire adult population of the front-line city went out to build fortifications. Side by side with the Red Army soldiers, Zvenigorod residents dug trenches, prepared firing points, and built anti-personnel and anti-tank barriers. A small ravine near the road to Ershovo turned into an anti-tank ditch, the outskirts of the streets bristled with hedgehogs, large public buildings, a power plant were prepared for an explosion. The 23rd Zvenigorod fighter battalion, which received the task of destroying enemy landings, was also preparing for battle; the battalion was commanded by former border guard I. Nosov. Back in August, partisan groups began to be created in Zvenigorod: each group fighter knew what he would do if the area was occupied by the enemy. Zvenigorod residents often met with their defenders - soldiers of the 144th division. Directly at the positions, one of the meetings took place on November 7, when city residents presented gifts to the soldiers.

On November 15-16, German troops resumed their offensive in a number of sectors of the Zvenigorod Front. The fighting was stubborn and protracted. The situation was especially difficult to the north-west and north of Zvenigorod. Realizing that the well-fortified city would be difficult to take from the west, the Germans decided to bypass it and take the road to Istra, advancing on Zvenigorod from the north and east. But even here the Nazis met strong resistance. Army commander L.A. Govorov ordered the right flank of the 144th division to be reinforced with the 1310th rifle regiment of the 18th militia division. The tenacity of the defenders of Zvenigorod and reinforcements that arrived in time forced the enemy to suspend the offensive. From November 26 to 29, there was relative calm along the entire city defense line.

In an interview with the Pravda newspaper, L. A. Govorov said: “The most difficult days for us were December 1-4. During these days, the German command launched a roundabout attack using the “double pincer” method... The first “pincers” were supposed to close in Kubinka, the second in Golitsyn through Zvenigorod.”

On the morning of December 2, the fighting resumed with renewed vigor. The enemy was only two kilometers from the city. In case of a sudden breakthrough, a “fire shaft” was built on its northern outskirts: a barrier of fallen trees and logs, inside which a large number of bottles with a flammable mixture were placed. A group of fighters on duty at the “wall” was supposed to set it on fire if the enemy approached. Many residents left Zvenigorod, which was under fire, all institutions were evacuated, leaving only the military commandant's office, the police and a fighter battalion.

On December 3, our units increasingly counterattacked the enemy rushing forward. There was clearly a turning point in the battles. By the end of the day, units of the Red Army firmly held their positions. The threat of large and small “ticks” has been eliminated. In eastern Zvenigorod, German units were stopped just 25 kilometers from Moscow and ten kilometers from the headquarters of the Western Front in the village of Vlasikha.

The Germans twice announced their capture of Zvenigorod - at the height of the November offensive - in leaflets and on December 2 - on the radio. But German propaganda was in a hurry. On the morning of December 6, the troops of the right wing of the Western Front launched a counteroffensive. In the vicinity closest to the city, the offensive began without pause, immediately after defensive battles. Partisans and the Zvenigorod extermination battalion fought alongside the soldiers. By December 20, the entire Zvenigorod region was liberated from the invaders. The war was receding, and local residents moved on to peaceful life. After the Great Victory, the region again became a resort and tourist area.

In 1965, the rights of the regional center were transferred to Odintsov, and Zvenigorod received the status of a city of regional subordination. There are many small industrial enterprises, cultural institutions, a modern hotel, cinema, tourist center, schools, kindergartens and shops...

A modern multi-storey block has grown up on one of the city's outskirts. The central streets still remind of the past: low houses, a monument to the soldiers of the 5th Army, numerous memorial plaques. The history of the region is carefully preserved in the museum that remains within the walls of the former monastery.

Other buildings around the Savva-Storozhevsky Monastery

Near the Savva-Storozhevsky Monastery there are several points of interest to visit. Directly opposite the northern gate and the monument to Sava you can see four multi-colored houses - the monastery hotel . True, now only the green building on the far right plays the role of a hotel.

Monastery Hotel

This building is now occupied by the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum.

Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum

It is unclear who received the far left building. It was built almost on a slope, next to the observation deck.

And here is the observation deck itself. The view is so-so, probably better in summer. But now, through the bare birches, the fence of the well of St. Savva of Storozhevsky is clearly visible.

Lookout at the walls of the Savvo-Storozhevsky Monastery

The well was dug by Savva Storozhevsky in 1400. Later, a spring opened at this place, the water in which is considered healing.

Descent to the well of Savva Storozhevsky

To the north, about a kilometer from the monastery are the Skete , the temple of St. Savva Storozhevsky , the holy cave of St. Savva Storozhevsky and the bathhouse .

Zvenigorod Kremlin (Gorodok) and the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

From the monastery we return to Zvenigorod: one stop back along the Ratekhinskoe highway, and now we see a strange crowd of people. It turns out that they were drawing water from a spring.

From this moment the territory of the ancient Zvenigorod Kremlin begins. The Zvenigorod Kremlin is a unique historical monument of the 12th century; it was at this time that the first settlement with earthen and wooden fortifications arose here. Now the Kremlin is called “The Town”.

Town. Zvenigorod

During the reign of Prince Yuri Dmitrievich Zvenigorodsky (son of Dmitry Donskoy), who inherited Zvenigorod according to his father’s will, the city was fortified with a system of earthen ramparts up to 8 m high. The outer side of the ramparts was covered with clay, and the angle of inclination was up to 70 degrees. It was enough to lightly pour water on this side to make it impregnable to the enemy. Along the crest of the shaft, powerful wooden walls with towers were installed.

There are signs everywhere prohibiting skiing and walking on earthen slopes, so as not to roll them out, but it seems that nothing can stop a Russian person. These magnificent reliefs beckon! Moscow could long ago have dug up similar hills on some suburban wasteland and built a ski slope there.

In 1395, in the very center of the Kremlin, at the direction of the prince, a wooden tower-palace was erected, and about four years later, next to it, the stone Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary , which has survived to this day almost in its original form. Unfortunately, it was not possible to capture the cathedral in all its glory - the roof was being repaired.

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Church of the Epiphany was built next to it , which was burned in the 30s of the 20th century. In 2003, construction of the current church was completed on the same site.

Church of the Epiphany

Right there on Gorodok we saw several private houses and administrative buildings. Some people are lucky to live in such a place rich in history.

Zvenigorod in the XVII-XVIII centuries.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the city and the monastery suffered from Polish-Lithuanian invaders, and in 1812 the city suffered from French troops. In the 19th century, thanks to the picturesque nature, Zvenigorod and its surroundings, which are called Switzerland near Moscow, became one of the most popular and favorite summer cottages for Muscovites. N.M. rested and worked here. Karamzin, A.I. Herzen, A.P. Chekhov, I.I. Levitan, A.K. Savrasov, N.P. Krymov and many others.

House and linden tree of A.P. Chekhov

Coming out of Gorodok onto Krasnaya Gora Street, we immediately come across the former house of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov . I think everyone is familiar with his stories, which are interesting to read at any age, but not everyone knows that Anton Pavlovich worked as a doctor in Zvenigorod. This happened in 1884, when the local doctor Uspensky was forced to take a vacation for a month, and in return he asked Anton Pavlovich to work for himself. At that time, Chekhov graduated from Moscow University and was just beginning his writing career. This is what he wrote to a friend about his life in Zvenigorod:

● from a letter to N.A. Leikin dated June 25, 1884: “...They offered me a position as a zemstvo doctor in Zvenigorod - I refused...”

● from a letter to N.A. Leikin dated July 14, 1884: “Currently I am in the city of Zvenigorod, where, by the will of fate, I am filling the position of a zemstvo doctor, who asked me to replace him for 2 weeks. Half the day I am busy receiving patients (30–40 people a day), the rest of the time I relax or am terribly bored, sitting by the window and looking at the dark sky, which has been pouring for the 3rd day now, bad, non-stop rain... In front of my window there is a mountain with pine trees, to the right the house of the police officer, even to the right a lousy little town that was once a capital city... To the left is an abandoned rampart, to the left is a small forest, and from behind the latter the consecrated Savva peeks out. The back porch, or rather the back door, near which it smells like a toilet and a pig grunts, looks out onto the river.”

● from a letter to N.A. Leikin dated mid-July 1884: “...Or do this: go to the second station of the Smolensk road, Golitsyn. From here to Zvenigorod (15 versts) on horseback. In Zvenigorod we will see the consecrated Savva and drive from here to New Jerusalem (20 versts). All this will take you no more than a day. Grab Palmin. I warn you in advance: you will not find any amenities along the way... The roads and cities are worse than the worst, but there is a lot of fictional material. If you spend the night with me, I’ll take you to the hospital for an appointment (story in 300 lines). On Elijah, the 20th, I will have 60 sick people, on the 22nd 40 people. You will do better if you start your journey in Zvenigorod. The roads are bumpy, but picturesque..."

Chekhov's house in Zvenigorod

Rounding the house of A.P. Chekhov, we came across two brand new multi-colored buildings still under construction. First thought: “Probably a museum!” But no, it’s not at all clear what kind of buildings these are, for what purpose they were built and why one of them wants to push Chekhov’s house into a ravine?

Across Krasnaya Gora Street, on Oktyabrskaya Street, we found a stump with a memorial plaque. This is a former linden tree under which Anton Pavlovich loved to relax with his new acquaintance, the paramedic, Sergei Vasilyevich Barmintsev. The Chekhov linden tree a stump in 2013, when the old tree was first damaged by strong winds, and then completely broke due to snowfall.

Lipa Chekhova

Nearby, the house of the Barmintsev family has been preserved (one-story with carved platbands), where the descendants of paramedic Sergei Vasilyevich continue to live.

House of paramedic Barmintsev

How does it all happen?

Everyday and unnoticed. So you walk the dog, as usual, in the evening, come home, feed it and, if the dog lives on the street, forget about it until the morning. But this evening you notice strange sounds - objects rattling on the veranda, something falling and then rhythmic thuds on the floor. When you look out, you can see your beloved dog lying on his back and beating his head on the floor in convulsions. The thought (and the correct one) is poisoning? Yes, it’s an ass, but this is life and the dog’s countdown is already ticking. You go to the computer (the clock says 22:00, the nearest veterinarian in Posad is already closed) and open the Internet in search of information on what and how to save. You type in “dog poisoning” and the second link goes to the forum, quickly read the information and understand - yes, there is useful information and an important sequence of actions. You send it to print, get dressed and at the same time call two or three people who, in your opinion, may know exactly more than you.

Of the three, you get feedback from one, the paper with instructions in your pocket, and you are on the street. There is no dog, but here it appears, wiping the corner of the house with its back on crooked legs, foaming at the mouth, growling and baring its teeth and running past deeper into the plot.

You are in the car, you are in the duty pharmacy A5 (on Moskovskaya in the Svyaznoy building), you are second in line and read three sheets of paper, and when it’s your turn, you dictate in a row everything that comes across from the text, plus you add saline solution, an IV and syringes. You are driving home, it’s -16 degrees and cold outside, there is no dog. A flashlight in your hand, in the second bag from the pharmacy, and you yourself are on your hands and knees in the underground floor of the veranda - no, to the barn - no, in the underground floor of a house under construction (it’s easy for a dog to get into the underground here, but not for you) - again no. This doesn’t happen, let’s start again in a circle.

The underfloor of the veranda - now there is a lying back, still breathing. I crawl on my belly towards the dog - but then the dog scoops it up and runs away growling into the darkness. Damn, how do you catch a growling dog in a fit!? Bang, a thud on the fence and legs twitching out of the snowdrift - CHANCE! Running with a bag of a bunch of everything and kneeling on the dog - the first thing on the list is B6, 5 mg intramuscularly (that’s how it was deposited). You split the ampoule, fill it with a syringe (all in the cold) and into the dog where people have a shoulder (in general, it’s better to go into the thigh - this is the shoulder on the hind legs).

Then, suddenly, out of the darkness, an alarmed female help appears in a down jacket over her naked body, she is handed a package from the pharmacy, and the animal, twitching in convulsions, drags onto the veranda - it is impossible to go into the house, the children have not yet fallen asleep. While you’re dragging it, you start to remember whether you injected the right dosage - on the box there is a large number 50, which means 50 ml in one ampoule... but somehow the ampoule is too small for 50 ml (since 50 ml is a glass), I reach the veranda, my bare knees are unexpected help is placed on the dog, which in convulsions clenches its jaw so that there is a feeling that the dog is about to eat itself.

I read the box again - it’s true - 50 is the concentration, and ampoules are 1 ml. You split the ampoule and try to draw the syringe, but the liquid in the needle has frozen (you realize this on the fourth attempt to pull back the piston). A new syringe, 9 ampoules with frozen fingers (actually 8, I lost one on the way and found it in the morning, instead of liquid there was salt in it - it burned in my hands while I was walking into the house (cool) and injected to the heap, but this was in the morning), and again in left shoulder.

The cramps either subside a little, then again with renewed vigor, but you have to wait about 10 minutes. If the cramps don’t go away after 10 minutes, you need to inject magnesium, but this is already a serious matter, I wouldn’t want to. In between convulsions, the dog vomited, although I don’t remember the process, I remember the result. The cramps are over, the unexpected help with bare knees is already freaking out from the cold (you can see it in the eyes) and the whole team moves into the corridor of the house. Next on the list is an injection of cocarboxylase (I didn’t buy it, so I went to the pharmacy one more time), then a glucose drip with added vitamin C subcutaneously. Putting a catheter, especially for the first time, didn’t even occur to me (although this is always more useful and effective).

After 200 ml of 5% glucose, the dog began to get up and try to walk, but with a slightly plaguey look. She even started running around in the street, then yelling in a strange voice - the roof was clearly not in place yet. After about 10 minutes I was freezing and generally wanted to sleep and forget about it all, but the dog didn’t want to come into the house, and he didn’t want to go back to his place either, he walked around chaotically. Well, with the thought “I did everything I could” you go to sleep.

Early in the morning (the frost was just under 20 then), you take a flashlight and look for the dog in a third circle. Not anywhere. FAC. I don’t want to find a stiff corpse at all, but not finding anything is somehow closer to the option with a corpse than the other way around.

You have breakfast and go look again. The child is with you. He crawls into places where you can’t get through and sees the dog. She’s not scared, which means maybe she’s alive. You crawl into places where you wouldn’t have climbed before and theoretically shouldn’t have crawled through - a dog with narrow pupils lies, or rather tries to lie with its head raised, but it is constantly blown to the side. The dog doesn’t look good, you crawl towards it on your belly, grab it and, in a nose-to-nose position, back away, drag it home in your arms, wondering how the hell these 25 kg are heavy.

You call the veterinarian and for some reason they tell you that they start at 10! Well, yes, today is a day off (February 25), but the hours seem to be from 9 to 18 every day, but the voice on the phone is extremely stubborn (the security guard definitely answered the phone, and the clinic was open from 9 that’s for sure!). To hell with you, the dog needs another injection of cocarboxylase and glucose subcutaneously, just in time to get dressed and have a good time. The dog has come to his senses a little and is already sitting in the trunk. At the veterinarian, an anamnesis, blood tests, a catheter, three droppers of Ringer's solution and one of glucose, a couple of additional liquids in the dropper and an injection of baralgin. The dog passed out from a sleepless night and only moaned occasionally. 3 hours of IV and home.

The worst is over. Then there were three more days of drips, but they took place in a purely technical format. The dog fully returned to its life on the 5th day after poisoning.

I want and hope that you, an inanimate schmuck in the form of a man who threw an infection that my dog ate with gusto, will read this. Well, it will be a little universally honest for you to understand in detail all the consequences of your cowardly act. It would be nice if you still had a little empathy so that you could even feel all this for yourself.

Red Mountain Street

After visiting Chekhov's places, we go to the center of Zvenigorod. On the way up, Red Mountain Street is filled with private houses. I am glad that some modern houses fit well into the ancient Russian buildings. For example, the houses opposite Chekhov's house.

There are some(!) houses that are well looked after and maintained in appearance. Nice houses, but the fence ruins everything. I don’t even know which of these fences is worse.

Literally five meters later, a low-rise residential complex rises in front of us.

On the other side of the road is just some kind of golden palace of an Indian Raja.

I wonder if it’s normal for residents of a golden new building to see this from their window every day?

Or that?

Or this? By the way, in this terrible house from 1922 to 1941. the Zvenigorod planetary school was located , and then the flying club , whose cadets became pilots during the Great Patriotic War. Zvenigorod, aren't you ashamed?

First apartment in Zvenigorod

So Spain was forgotten. “We love Zvenigorod now!”

At the excavation stage in 2007, an apartment of 56 sq.m. was purchased. for 2.2 million rubles. The house was commissioned only in 2009. In the meantime, we lived in Moscow. In 2019, we made renovations and moved into our two-bedroom apartment on February 17, 2011. It was +13 degrees in the apartment. A week later we had already settled in and it was +24. The child was then 1.5 years old.

Our first apartment was in this house

Now we live in another apartment, we sold the first one, invested in an apartment in a house under construction nearby, rented an apartment next to it for six months, renovated a new apartment after the house was handed over, and in February 2014 we moved into a three-ruble apartment of 72 sq.m. Also with panoramic views.

View from the windows

Museum of Russian Dessert

This garage cooperative, opposite the Golden House, houses the Museum of Russian Dessert and the Artist Feina's Workshop . To be honest, after reading conflicting reviews, we did not dare to go in: some were satisfied and want to come again, others complain about high prices and small portions. In any case, this place is on everyone’s lips in Zvenigorod.

Census 2022

Almost 11 million people live in the Moscow region - these are the results of the All-Russian Population Census

Three days for the future: have time to change it - take the census!

You can take part in the census until the end of the week.

The online format of the population census has been extended until November 14

About 30% of Zvenigorod residents have already taken part in the All-Russian Population Census

Employees of the Odintsovo Regional Ministry of Internal Affairs inform about the risk of fraudulent activities during the population census

In the Zvenigorod MFC you can participate in the All-Russian Population Census in two ways

The head of the Odintsovo district discussed with census takers the progress of the All-Russian population census in the municipality

Working hours of census sections in Zvenigorod

The census taker rang at my door. what to do?

List of census areas of the All-Russian Population Census in Zvenigorod

How is the census going?

How to take part in the population census through State Services?

What is a population census?

More than 830 census takers will take part in the All-Russian Population Census in the Odintsovo District

City Park

It's surprising that such a small town as Zvenigorod has its own city park.

This place is hardly suitable for a full-fledged park. The park has two illuminated alleys with benches, a children's playground can be seen in the distance, the Foundation Stone of the Memorial to Internationalist Soldiers , and a bust of V. I. Lenin . It is interesting to look at this park in summer.

Zvenigorod city park

Local news

Larisa Lazutina will hold a reception of citizens in Zvenigorod on December 6

On December 4, the III STREET MUSIC FESTIVAL will be held in Zvenigorod

Andrey Ivanov: Our task is to open a school in the Vostochny microdistrict by September 1, 2024

The first vending machines for collecting plastic and aluminum appeared in Zvenigorod

The Odintsovo city prosecutor's office approved an indictment in a criminal case against a resident of the Odintsovo city district

Seasonal vaccination of the population against influenza is underway in Zvenigorod

Zvenigorod may become part of the cities of the Greater Golden Ring

Six emergency facilities were liquidated in 11 months in Zvenigorod

The power grid complex of the Odintsovo urban district is ready for winter

A non-residential building in Zvenigorod was completely renovated

The prosecutor held a meeting of the working group on protecting the rights of participants in shared-equity housing construction

In November, mobile offices of Social Gasification will visit 8 settlements of the Odintsovo District

976 doctors from the Odintsovo district are taking part in the regional competition “People’s Doctor”

In 2022, Governor Andrei Vorobyov’s “My Entrance” program was resumed

The Zvenigorod deanery hosted the event “Let’s Warm Children’s Hearts”

The improvement of the City Park in Zvenigorod is 80% complete

A major overhaul of a unit of the Odintsovo regional hospital has been completed in Zvenigorod

The Ruza regional operator has extended the validity period of the “Farewell, fines!” promotion.

In 2022, as part of the governor’s program, 7 playgrounds will be installed in the Odintsovo district

For evaders from concluding a maintenance contract and gas defaulters

All local news

Church of the Ascension of the Lord

The Church of the Ascension of the Lord proudly rises on the hill. Since the 16th century, churches were built on this hill, which were later destroyed during times of fierce battles and unrest.

Church of the Ascension of the Lord. Zvenigorod

The first known description of the Ascension Church was found in scribe books for 1624. In 1792, a stone temple was built on this site, but it was destroyed by the French army in 1812. The temple was restored, but was completely closed in 1922; later it was used as a place for grain storage and bus parking. In May 1941, the temple was completely dismantled. In 1998, a small memorial chapel was erected here.

Church of the Ascension of the Lord. Zvenigorod

The current Ascension Cathedral was built in 2007 - on the 600th anniversary of the death of St. Savva Storozhevsky. The church building is a four-pillar, five-domed brick building in the neo-Byzantine style.

Church of the Ascension of the Lord. Zvenigorod

Moskovskaya street:

The center of Zvenigorod is defined by two main parallel streets, closed in a one-way traffic ring: Moskovskaya and Vasily Fabrichny (which turns into Ukrainian). The length of these streets is no more than two blocks, on which 1/3 of all the attractions of Zvenigorod are concentrated.

Due to the large congestion of cars, it is difficult to photograph historical houses.

And here it is not clear: either a new building, or a well-restored house.

Unexpectedly, in the dining room they bought Vyatka kvass, which had been advertised throughout the country. Not bad, but nothing more.

Geese and a snowman ride in a semi-barrel on wheels, harnessed by small reindeer. You can't just pass by.

Memorial to the Eternal Flame

Monument to the fallen Zvenigorod residents and soldiers of the Fifth Army of the Western Front and the eternal flame . In 1941, Zvenigorod defended the western part of the country and the approaches to Moscow: anti-tank ditches were dug, anti-personnel barriers were installed, and a fighter battalion was formed. When the Germans approached Zvenigorod at a critical distance and were practically celebrating victory, the Zvenigorod residents were able to stop the enemy at the northern gates of the city.

Monument to the fallen Zvenigorod residents and soldiers of the Fifth Army of the Western Front and the eternal flame

Monument to A.P. Chekhov

Across the road there is a wonderful monument to A.P. Chekhov - an exact copy of a photograph of Chekhov in Melikhovo with his dachshund Khina from 1897.

Cultural Center named after. L. P. Orlova

Lyubov Petrovna Orlova (1902 - 1975) is a domestic film star of Hollywood proportions. She played on the stage of the theater and starred in films: “Jolly Fellows”, “Circus”, “Volga, Volga”, “Spring”, etc. Orlova for many years was the prima donna of the Soviet film screen, distinguished by her exquisite aristocratic appearance and well-groomed appearance. This talented woman was born and raised in Zvenigorod, it is not surprising that an entire cultural complex was built in her honor.

Cultural Center named after. L. P. Orlova

Monument to L.P. Orlova

Purchase yard

An interesting modern place in Zvenigorod is Kupchiy Dvor . This is a row of houses in the spirit of the 19th century, which sell various designer items, fashionable clothes in the Russian style, and host master classes. In general, you can come here just like visiting a museum and have a pleasant time!

Merchant's yard. Zvenigorod

Alexander Nevsky Church

The church was built in 1902 by decision of the Zvenigorod assembly in honor of Emperor Alexander III. In 1938, the temple closed, but its fate was not as sad as that of the Ascension Church: the building was rebuilt to meet the needs of other institutions, but was not destroyed. After the return of the church building in 1991, several stages of restoration and restoration work were carried out to return to its original appearance.

Church of Alexander Nevsky. Zvenigorod

It was strange to see a children's playground in the churchyard. This is probably due to the fact that there is a children's Sunday school and library on the church premises.

Church of Alexander Nevsky. Zvenigorod

Monument to Prince Yuri Zvenigorodsky and Savva Storozhevsky

The final attraction on Moskovskaya Street for us was the monument to the Russian prince Yuri Dmitrievich Zvenigorodsky and Savva Storozhevsky , about whom much has already been written. The monument was erected in 2005 on the 853rd day of the city.

Monument to Prince Yuri Zvenigorodsky and Savva Storozhevsky

So we walked from end to beginning all of Zvenigorod. It was a good walk and not at all tiring. Construction is in full swing next to the monument and the church; Zvenigorod is being built up with Moscow High-Rise buildings, and very chaotically and unceremoniously on historical sites.

Vvedenskoye Estate

The last point that we really wanted to visit before leaving for Moscow was the Vvedenskoye estate . Photos on the Internet promised us a whole estate ensemble, but in reality we were only expected to have a short conversation with the security guard: “by appointment only.” Complete disappointment!

Gate to the Vvedenskoye Estate

Now there is a sanatorium on the territory of the estate, and on the gate there is a sign with the rules of visiting: the excursion is conducted by a specialist from the sanatorium upon prior request by phone or email.

Rules for visiting the Vvedenskoye estate

There was nothing left to do but go to the station.

Zvenigorod. Entrance to the city

During our walk, we shot a short video about Zvenigorod: all the most interesting things about the city in two minutes. Enjoy watching and have a nice trip everyone!