Volokolamsk is one of the cities of the Moscow region,and he would have been completely unremarkable, had it not been for his ancient history and the ensemble of the Kremlin that has survived to this day. If we turn to historical documents, it is easy to see that the Slavic fortification on the site of this settlement existed before the foundation of Moscow. The Volokolamsk Kremlin is a significant and unique architectural monument, open today for tourists.
The first mention of the city in this locality inhistorical documents date back to 1135. At that time the settlement was called Wolok on Lama. This is the oldest city in the entire Moscow region, even the capital itself is at least 12 years older. Often, he was called simply Volokom or Volok Lamsky - hence it is easy to guess the origin of the modern name. Why is the city so strange named since its foundation?
Everything is simple enough. Once Novgoroders "dragged" (forwarded) their ships from the Lama River to Voloshnya. On the highest hill there was an ancient Slavic settlement, surrounded by a rampart and fortified with wooden walls, with towers and a palisade. The city was destroyed several times, and in time the majestic cathedrals grew on the site of the ancient fortress - this is the modern Volokolamsky Kremlin. The history of each of the buildings on its territory is fascinating and impressive. Resurrection Cathedral was built in about 1480 by the order of Prince Volotsky - today it is the oldest building of the architectural complex. In 1853-1862 years. In memory of those killed in the Crimean War, the St. Nicholas Cathedral was built.
Once in Volokolamsk there were fivemonasteries, each of which performed the functions of a fortress during the raids of enemies. Today only the ensemble of the Kremlin and several churches remained of all this splendor. The Resurrection Cathedral was closed in the 1930s. During the Great Patriotic War there was a camp for captured Germans. After the end of hostilities, the cathedral remained closed and partially destroyed for a long time.
In the 1960s the Volokolamsky Kremlin was recognizedA monument of architecture and included in the program of protection and restoration. Officially, the museum and exhibition complex was opened in 1989. Since that time he enjoys an incredible popularity with tourists.
The Resurrection Cathedral is one of the oldestMoscow region. It was built in the XV century. The structure is made of white-stone. The massive four-pillared cathedral is crowned with one head with a helmet-like dome, which is completed by an openwork cross. Horizontally the facade of the temple is visually divided into two parts due to the terracotta frieze. The Resurrection Cathedral has the right proportions and looks incredibly harmonious. In the XIX century, a bell tower was added to the church building, which has 5 storeys. Today, the building of the cathedral belongs to the local museum of local lore, but some of the premises are restored, and here weekly services are held.
The second temple is Nikolsky. It was erected at the end of the XIX century in memory of the victims of the Crimean War. This temple is also one-headed, with a facade, zadekorirovannym in pseudo-Russian style. On the facade in two rows are located framed windows. Inside the cathedral today there is a museum of local lore where you can see the exhibits telling about the history of the region from the IV century BC. In another exhibition hall, the Sunday School building was turned. Volokolamsky Kremlin can boast of another attraction - a fence with turrets of red brick, erected in 1862. One of the corner towers is a chapel.
In the historical center of Volokolamsk, you can notonly to admire the monuments of architecture, but also to learn a lot about this amazing land. Most of the buildings of the Kremlin are reserved for the local history museum, during which you can trace the whole history of the region from the moment the first people appeared in these places (IV century BC). It is useful to know that if you decided to bypass the entire Volokolamsk Kremlin, the opening hours of the museum's offices are from 9.00 to 17.00.
During the excursions you can learn the fullthe history of the founding of the city, interesting facts about the construction of monasteries, temples and other outstanding structures, and also "get to know" more closely with many outstanding people who lived and worked here many years ago.
In the Volokolamsk Kremlin regularly come notonly wishing to look at the ancient monuments of architecture, but also believing people. The Resurrection Cathedral today is both an active temple and one of the exhibition halls of the Volokolamsk local history museum. It is more difficult to get to the service than to see the museum collection - religious events are held here on average once a week. One of the most interesting offers for tourists is the ascent to the bell tower. The cost of such an excursion is only about 100 rubles (an adult ticket without benefits). Visitors can go up to the third tier (observation deck with bells).
From the bell tower of the Resurrection Cathedral an incredibly picturesque view of the Kremlin territory and the whole city opens.
The ancient city is 98 kilometers fromMoscow. From the capital you can get to Volokolamsk by commuter trains and by bus (the bus station near the metro station "Tushinskaya"). On a private car you can go along Novorizhskoye or Volokolamskoe highways, follow the directions in the way. Going on a tourist trip, remember that the museum and exhibition complex "Volokolamsky Kremlin" is open until 17.00.
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