Many believe that it is the prototype of the fairytale island Buyan, described by Pushkin in "The Tale of Tsar Saltan". Tourists from all over Russia and other countries of the world come to this place at any time of the year.
History
Ivan the Terrible himself decided to build a fortress city after a series of failed operations to capture Kazan. It was necessary to create a stronghold to support the army. The island was washed on three sides by the waters of the Shchuka, Sviyaga and Volga rivers, from the elevated area - Round Mountain - distant approaches were visible, and most importantly - the island was located at a distance of a day's journey from the capital of the Kazan Khanate.
The fortress was built unnoticed by the enemy. First, fortifications were built near Uglich. After that, they were dismantled and, with the onset of spring, the logs were floated down the Volga to the island, then they were dragged to the foot of the Round Mountain. It took one month to re-assemble the fortress. The construction was supervised by the famous Russian architect of the time, Ivan Vyrodkov.
The city consisted of eighteen towers, residential buildings and an Orthodox church. The fortress fully fulfilled its purpose: a year after its foundation, Kazan was taken.
Name history
Initially locality was called "Novograd Sviyazhsky". The name of the town comes from the Sviyaga river. Over time, the original name was shortened.
The coat of arms of the city was approved only at the end of the 18th century. It is a shield that depicts a city sailing on a ship, under which fish are depicted. This emblem fully reflects the amazing history of the construction of the town.
After the conquest of the capital of the Kazan Khanate, the town lost its military significance. The island soon became a quiet monastery town. With the advent of Soviet power, the history of the town is changing dramatically. It was almost completely plundered. After a while, prisons and correctional camps were built on the site of temples and monasteries.
Nowadays, the island of Sviyazhsk has been turned into one of the key attractions of the Republic of Tatarstan. Travelers are greeted by white-stone monasteries and golden domes of temples. Wonder Island welcomes tourists. The sights attract travelers from all over our country.
sights
The city has a rich history. A huge number of religious Orthodox buildings are located on its territory. Be sure to visit:
There are also many unpreserved in the town places of worship... The places where they were located are marked with tablets. Most of these churches look like ruins today. The destroyed temples include the following: St. Sophia and St. Nicholas churches, the Church of the Annunciation Holy Mother of God, Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Annunciation parish church, Gate Church of the Ascension, Fraternal corps and the church of St. Herman. Almost all of them were destroyed in the first half of the 20th century by the Bolsheviks.
The city is associated with a legend about a monument allegedly opened on the territory of Soviet Russia. Jude... The installation of the monument was allegedly personally directed by Leon Trotsky. This famous revolutionary was sometimes called the "demon of the revolution".
According to legend, the format of the monument to the main biblical villain was approved by Lenin himself. It is believed that initially Trotsky wanted to erect a monument to Lucifer himself. However, Lenin imposed a ban on this project, since the installation of such monuments would indirectly confirm faith in God. The project for a monument to Cain was also rejected by the leader of the world proletariat. Therefore, the revolutionaries agreed on a monument dedicated to Judas.
According to legend, the opening of the monument took place with an orchestra and a parade of two regiments of the Red Army. After the fabric was torn from the monument, the astonished residents of the city saw a stone human figure in full growth. The monument to Judas was a bent biblical antagonist with his hands up. Rumor has it that Trotsky himself was the prototype of the monument.
Of course, this story is one hundred percent fiction. Similar rumors were spread by former White Guards who were forced to immigrate from the country after the victory of the Bolsheviks. There are many references to the existence of monuments to Judas in Soviet Russia. In particular, the famous Danish diplomat Henning Koehler writes about the monument in his memoirs. He claimed to have witnessed its installation in 1918.
Note that many contemporaries fully trusted such rumors, since they were hostile towards the Bolsheviks. In particular, the famous Russian writer Ivan Bunin believed the information about the installation of the monument to Judas. Naturally, nothing like this has ever happened.
There is a perfectly logical explanation for these rumors. The commander of the Red Army, who took Kazan, was a well-known leader of the Latvian riflemen. His name was Yang Yudin... This officer was killed during the fighting. Moreover, the date of his death roughly coincides with the time when the "monument to Judas" was erected.
In fact, it was about the funeral of Yan Yudin. A monument to him was indeed erected. It is known that he died from an accidentally hitting shell fired by the artillery of the White Army. The Dane Koehler could completely confuse the consonant surname with "Judas".
Location, how to get there, opening hours of the museum.
You can get to Sviyazhsk from Kazan in the following ways:
- Personal car. You can get there by car by moving along the M7 highway in the direction of the capital of Russia. You need to get to the village of Isakovo and then follow the sign to the city. The journey by private car will take no more than sixty minutes.
- Steamer. Ships to the island depart from river station the capital of Tatarstan. The journey takes no more than two hours. You can board the ship from 6.00 to 20.00. Tickets can be purchased one hour before the departure of the ship. In the summer months, steamboats leave daily. Starting from the first month of autumn until October 16, you can only get to the attraction on weekends.
- Bus. At the bus station in the capital of Tatarstan, you can buy a ticket to the town. The route and the number of stops may differ for different flights. But most of the bus routes purposefully take tourists to see the beauty of the city and plunge into the enchanting world of Russian antiquity. The cost of bus tickets is quite affordable.
- Train. You can also get to your destination from the capital of Tatarstan by railroad... It should be known that the Sviyazhsk station is located several kilometers from the city itself. The railway junction is located in a neighboring village called Nizhnie Vyazovye, from where you can quickly get to the village by passing.
Excursions. Prices for tickets to museums.
Most of the city's museums are open as standard from 10 am to 6 pm. The cost of a visit, as a rule, does not exceed eighty rubles. Tourists also have the opportunity to purchase a single ticket to all museums in Sviyazhsk. Such a purchase is beneficial because it saves up to twenty percent.
A visit to the attraction will be interesting for both adults and children. On the territory of the Horse Yard there is an opportunity to ride a horse. Children will also love cultural center"Lazy Torzhok", stylized as a medieval town. Here you can compete in archery and try on real armor. On weekends, staged knight fights and spectacular shows are held on the territory of the center.
You can dine at the Fisherman's Compound art cafe. This establishment looks like an old fishing hut. It offers an excellent view of the river. There is also a Buyan cafe in the town. The "Tavern" is located on the territory of the Horse Yard. Each of the listed establishments has delicious food and affordable prices.
Guests can stay overnight at the Sviyaga Hotel, housed in an old 19th-century almshouse. Price - from 1000 rubles per day.
Summer is considered the best time to visit the town. But a trip to this amazing place can be carried out in winter. At this time, he looks especially beautiful and interesting.
You can also visit the fabulous island by bus.
The main attractions of the island-city of Sviyazhsk are of course the monasteries. There are three of them on the island. In addition to their inspection, there will also be a walk around Sviyazhsk and, as usual, a lot of photos.
Continuation of our walk around Sviyazhsk. Beginning in the article: where I wrote in detail about the history of Sviyazhsk, how to get to it from Kazan and about the Mother of God Dormition Monastery, located at the entrance to the island city.
It's time to take a look at the sights that are located in the interior of the island.
It is interesting that until 1917 he was female, and from 1917 to this day he is male.
The monastery was founded in the 16th century, giving it the name Rozhdestvensky. At first, the buildings were made of wood, then of stone and brick, but the old buildings were lost due to frequent fires (1795, etc.) and rebuildings.
Work was actively carried out in 1796, when the bell tower and the John the Baptist side-chapel of the Sergius Church appeared.
The monastery is going through hard times under the Soviet regime; in 1919 it was closed. However, its entire territory is declared a museum-reserve of history and architecture, in 1959 the restoration of the central cathedral is underway.
The domes of the cathedral of the icon of Our Lady "Joy of All Who Sorrow" made of red brick are visible from afar to all guests of the island. Architectural features remind of the Kronstadt Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which also has a dome in the form of a hemisphere.
The construction of the cathedral was carried out from 1898-1906. designed by F.N. Malinovsky, the luxurious building is made in the New Byzantine style.
The restored interior of the cathedral of the icon of Our Lady "Joy of All Who Sorrow". The painting is mainly done with oil paints.
Trinity Church, Sviyazhsk.
The oldest building on the territory of the monastery and the whole of Sviyazhsk is the Trinity Church, made of wood in 1551. This temple is one of the most unique objects of historical and cultural significance. Minor reconstructions were carried out only in the 19th century, when a roof and a dome of iron and a covering of planks instead of a hipped roof appeared. The interior decoration has preserved the iconostasis in three tiers of carved wood, although most of the icon-painting treasures in Soviet times were taken to museums or in an unknown direction.
The history of the construction of the Trinity Church is very interesting: along with the materials for the construction of the Sviyazhsk fortress in 1551, logs for this church were brought. The church was assembled within one day, as they say, "without a single nail."
Legends call the founder of the Trinity Church Prince Nikita Serebryany, a contemporary of Grozny. There are evidences that Ivan the Terrible prayed here on the eve of the capture of Kazan.
On the territory of the monastery there is another old building - the Church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, or briefly the Sergius Church with one head and a small belfry, built in 1604. The temple belongs to the type of refectory. Its special value is explained by the frescoes preserved on the porch, which depict Sergius of Radonezh and Alexander Svirsky. The fresco is unique, as it is a wall enlarged copy of the work of Andrei Rublev "Trinity".
Churches, temples and cathedrals of Sviyazhsk.
Sergievskaya church. The two-story white-stone church was consecrated in 1604 in the name of Sergius of Radonezh. This building has an unusual layout: during the construction period there were utility rooms and monastic rooms on the first floor, and the church premises themselves were on the second floor. The church is three-altar, each altar is in its own side-altar. Inside the church, you can see a well-preserved fresco painting of the 17th century depicting the Trinity, Patriarch Nikon and Sergius of Radonezh.
Cultural and natural landscape of Sviyazhsk.
Comprehensive restoration and reconstruction work in the fortress and cathedrals has been carried out in Sviyazhsk since 2010 under the Renaissance program, at the same time the city's housing stock is being renewed, new premises are being built for cultural institutions, hotels, etc.
In 2017, an application was submitted to include the Assumption Monastery and the Trinity Church in the list of sites under the protection of UNESCO.
Sviyazhsk today.
There are many buildings in Sviyazhsk that appeared in the 20th and 21st centuries, but they were stylized in antiquity. Due to the large number of new buildings, the so-called "remake", the island-city cannot receive the status of a historical and cultural museum-reserve.
Hotel "House of the merchant Kamenev".
On the territory of Sviyazhsk, some buildings of the 19-20 centuries have been preserved.
The territory of the island is comfortable and beautiful, visitors feel like in a fairy tale on the island of Buyan.
Historical and reconstruction complex "Lazy Torzhok" is a shopping arcade, craft shops.
Church of Constantine and Helena, Sviyazhsk
At the very shore there is the parish Church of Saints Constantine and Helena. It can be seen first of all when you come to the island by boat.
The church was built at the end of the 17th century. At first, the belfry was a separate building, but over time it was connected to the church, adding a refectory between them.
In Soviet times, the church did not work; it was opened only in the 90s. 20th century as a venue for exhibitions. Baptisms are currently taking place in the church.
In the foreground is the building of the women's gymnasium, built in 1913-14, which still houses the school.
Sviyazhsk is a sparsely populated rural settlement. In 2016, its population was only 259 people.
Houses of Sviyazhsk.
In Sviyazhsk, as well as in many cities of Tatarstan, representing historical value(Bolgar, Chistopol, Elabuga, Bugulma, etc.) the project “ Cultural heritage: the island town of Sviyazhsk and the ancient Bolgar ", according to which it is allowed to build new houses only according to 5 standard projects: a house with an attic, a house with a mezzanine, a one-storey house with 5 windows to the street, etc.
The appearance of Sviyazhsk must correspond to the historical, the houses must have dimensions and proportions in the spirit of old buildings.
In the process, the development of other standard projects that will not restrict the inhabitants of the island, but will help preserve the stylistic unity of the ancient city.
And behind the golden gates of the children's leisure center "Skazka" interesting games and quests for children of preschool and school age are held.
Sviyazhsk Museum.
The Devkina Head cannon, recreated from old images, is installed in front of the entrance to the Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk. The museum has a rich exposition dedicated to the history of the island, including a story about the activities of the saints revered here, about the archaeological and military history. The museum has halls for interactive classes, they are equipped with a soldier's hut, an office of an official, a monastic cell, a gymnasium classroom, models of old houses and ships, etc. All exhibits of the interactive space are available to visitors who come here for thematic classes and game meetings.
At the end of the street there is the Gate Bell Tower in the Sviyazhsky Dormition Monastery, which means that we walked around Sviyazhsk and returned back to the car.
We leave the island of Sviyazhsk - an amazing museum-reserve. On the map of the Republic of Tatarstan, this is only a small point, but in the history of our country it is an important and eventful period.
Sviyazhsk official site.
Detailed information about the city, excursion routes and travel agencies is posted on
Present-day Sviyazhsk is a city-island that arose on the site of a fortress founded at the confluence of the Sviyaga River into the Volga. Now it is about 30 km from Kazan along the M7 highway.
I want to make a reservation right away: when writing the text, I largely quoted materials from Internet resources. The most useful sources were two monographs by Andrey Vladimirovich Roschektayev:
"History of the Sviyazhsky John the Baptist Monastery"
"History of the Sviyazhsky Assumption Monastery".
If you want to dive deeper into the topic, be sure to check them out.
For a quick acquaintance with the sights of Sviyazhsk, two resources are suitable, which contain contact information, routes, questions of organizing excursions, etc .:
Official site "Island-city Sviyazhsk"
Island-city of Sviyazhsk
Background - relations between Russia and the Kazan Khanate
The significance of Sviyazhsk in Russian history is difficult to feel without understanding the context of its foundation. Indeed, what kind of city is this, on the lands of the Kazan Khanate, inhabited by the Chuvash, but founded by the Russian governors and the Kazan Khan Shah-Ali? The topic is extremely interesting, but also voluminous. Willy-nilly, we have to go back to the beginning of the 15th century, to the times when the Golden Horde was falling apart. Delving deeper into the relationship between Russia and the Kazan Khanate, you understand that you will have to cover areas and periods that go far beyond the boundaries of mutual strife and temporary alliances of the two medieval states. Here you have Crimean (read Turkish), Lithuanian and even Western European interests, and even a powerful Nogai factor. It was against this background that the Kazan Khanate sought to preserve its independence and the role of the largest Volga trade center, and the Moscow principality pursued its important goals. The aggressive actions of the Moscow princes had a long history and were due to a set of compelling reasons.
On the right side, an 86-meter power transmission tower is visible, now dismantled
Assumption Monastery. 2010 year
Assumption Monastery. year 2014
John the Baptist Convent, 2014
The reasons were as follows:
1) The struggle for access to the Great Volga Route, the most important trade artery of Eastern Europe since the 9th-10th centuries. For Russia, the trade route to the southeast was available only until Nizhny Novgorod... Conflicts with Khazaria, then with Volga Bulgaria, and then with the Kazan Khanate, occurred precisely because of the opportunity to freely travel and trade in the Caspian Sea, to Persia. Those. fought for transit trade and huge profits.
2) Direct need for extensive expansion of the territory of the Moscow state. Feudalism is characterized by a very low agricultural culture, and in Russia the problem was aggravated by a shortage of good land and a very difficult climatic situation. Hence the desire for an increase in the fertile Volga land.
3) The political situation, due to centripetal tendencies, the collection of Russian lands around Moscow. Fragments remained around them, into which the Golden Horde disintegrated. These hated each other almost more than the Moscow principality, and did not consider it possible / necessary to unite against Russia.
4) Civil war in the Kazan Khanate. The top broke up into two opposing parties, focused on specific centers of power. The first is a pro-Turkish party with very specific anti-Moscow sentiments, of course, with hope for the Crimea, and through it for Turkey. The second party was formed by a part of the Kazan nobility, ready, for the sake of ending civil strife, even to abolish the khanate as an institution of power and transfer government directly to Moscow.
5) Grievances accumulated over the years of raids. In the Kazan Khanate, a real raid economy has developed. All their campaigns ended in the hijacking of Russian captives for subsequent sale to Persia or to the Crimean cities. Major centers The slave trade was Kaffa (Feodosia), Chembalo (Balaklava), Tana (Azov), from where people were transported to the Mediterranean and Europe.
6) The emergence of the Kasimov Khanate. The history of its appearance is not the topic of my story, so I will briefly outline. In 1445, the founder of the Kazan Khanate, Ulu-Muhammad, undertook another campaign against Russia. The aim of the raid-based event is to force Moscow to pay tribute on a regular basis. In the battle at the Spas-Efimievsky Monastery near the Nerl River, Grand Duke Vasily was captured. The Russians concluded a peace treaty on appalling terms. Baskaks again landed in the cities, watching the collection of money. In the Meshchera land, a buffer state was allocated - the Kasimov Khanate, formally a vassal of Moscow. As soon as Vasily II returned from captivity, by the end of his reign it became clear that the new mini-state was, in fact, a vassal to Moscow. It was here that all the dissidents of Kazan, Astrakhan and the Nogai Hordes found refuge.
It follows from the above that "Kazan took" was not the result of a voluntaristic decision of a single Ivan, even if the Terrible, but a turning point in the centuries-old history of the Russian-Kazan wars, which began already in 1437. There was everything in that story - both the repeated devastation of Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow, and the capture of Kazan in 1487. Nevertheless, in order to understand the historical context, it is enough to realize the inapplicability of the stereotyped approach to assessing the opposing sides. It is impossible to present the Kazan Khanate as an innocent victim of Russian expansion in the Volga region, but it is also impossible to define the army of the Moscow principality solely as an avenger for numerous raids, devastations and hijackings. The six points listed above are an attempt to show the underlying causes of the existing contradictions.
2014: the dam leading to the island. There are no turnstiles yet, helipad etc.
In 2016, turnstiles were installed, but as of February 2017, visiting Sviyazhsk is still free
Troitskaya street, 2010
Troitskaya street, 2014
Foundation of Sviyazhsk
However, now my goal is not a historical excursion, but a story about Sviyazhsk. For those who really want more details, I suggest referring to the bibliography at the bottom of the page. I had to delete half of the written text, strictly limiting the depth of immersion in this story to December 1549. That winter, Ivan IV, "nicknamed Vasilievich for his cruelty," personally led his second Kazan campaign. On February 12, 1550, the tsar first arrived at the walls of Kazan. The unusually warm windy weather and the rains that began in February led to the fact that the rivers opened up, the roads were messed up, the supply of food to the army was disrupted. On February 25, the siege was lifted. Karamzin describes the retreat positively:
"Having sent forward a large regiment and a heavy shell, the Emperor himself followed them with light cavalry in order to save the cannons and hold back the enemy's pressure; showed firmness, did not lose heart and, being occupied with only one thought, the overthrow of this pernicious, hated Kingdom for Russia, carefully observed the places; stopped at the mouth of the Sviyaga, saw high mountain, called Round; and, taking with him the Tsar Shig-Alei, the Princes of Kazan, Boyar, rode up to its summit ... An immeasurable view opened in all directions: to Kazan, to Vyatka, to the Lower and to the deserts of the present Simbirsk province. Surprised by the beauty of the place, John said: "There will be a Christian city; we will constrain Kazan: God will hand it into our hands." Everyone praised his happy thought, and Shig-Alei and the Tatar nobles described to him the wealth, fertility of the surrounding lands".
In the winter of 1550-1551, the main set of the future fortress was prepared in the Uglitsky district in the patrimony of the princes Ushatykh. They cut down living quarters, two churches, fortress walls, towers and gates. The work was supervised by the sovereign clerk Ivan Grigorievich Vyrodkov, who had to not only make the fortress, but then, in disassembled form, deliver it to the mouth of the Sviyaga. All parts were re-marked, disassembled, and put on rafts. An example of these marks can still be seen on the walls of the wooden Trinity Cathedral.
The aforementioned Shig-Alei (aka Shigali, Shah-Alei, Shah-Ali, etc.) is the Kasimov khan. In 1545 he was even appointed as the Kazan Khan for a short time. Occupying the throne, he consistently pursued a course of union with Moscow, for which literally a year later he was expelled by the Kazan elite, replacing him with a ruler from the pro-Crimean party.
Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary destroyed in the 1930s
Double fences - traces of the arrangement of the new look of Sviyazhsk
The building of the basic educational school (women's gymnasium)
In the early spring of 1551, Ivan IV sent Shah-Ali to the mouth of the Sviyaga with five hundred noble citizens of Kazan and a strong Russian army. Meanwhile, a river caravan set off, which arrived at the mouth of the Sviyaga at the end of May 1551. It is clear that it was impossible to hide the fortification works 20 kilometers from Kazan. However, this was not required. Distracting blows were delivered in four directions.
1) The army of Prince Peter Silver-Obolensky left Nizhny Novgorod and in the early morning of May 18 ruined the Kazan posad. About a thousand inhabitants were exterminated, Russian captives were released, with whom the army returned to the mouth of the Sviyaga.
2) A detachment of Bakhtiyar Zyuzin moved from Vyatka - archers and Cossacks occupied all transports along the main transport arteries of the khanate: the Volga, Kama and Vyatka.
3) 2500 foot Cossacks, led by the atamans Severga and Elka, left Meshchera (the territory of the present Ryazan region) raided the Volga, and then joined the army of the governor Zyuzin. Karamzin mentions Prince Khilkov as their boss.
4) In the Lower Volga region, detachments of service Cossacks operated.
On May 24, the main army arrived at Round Mountain by river. The landing site was covered by the army of Prince Serebryany-Obolensky. Having cut down the forest at the top, the soldiers proceeded to markup, then the site was consecrated and began construction. Semyon Mikulinsky, who arrived with the Moscow army, was appointed governor of the fortress. The construction of the fortress took four weeks. When assembling the walls, the blanks were not enough and the local wood that grew on the hill was used. The result was a structure traditional for Russian wooden fortification, capable of withstanding a long siege. Powerful rounds - cages heaped up with stones with earth filling. According to the custom of the 16th century - plantar, medium, horse fighting. Loopholes, upper platforms for archers and shooters, etc.
The defensive structures covering the summit of the Round Mountain were elliptical in plan. The perimeter of the fortress wall reached 1200 fathoms (1 fathom about 2 meters). The fortress had several two- or three-tiered towers, of which seven were passable. Christmas, Nikolsky, Sergievsky, Nikolo-Mozhaisky, Zhiletsky, Adashev gates led to the Kremlin, on the territory of which there were two churches, administrative and residential buildings. Three caches were built for military operations: two to the Sviyaga River and one to the Shchuka River. The main gate was considered to be Christmas, located on the northeastern side of the main entrance. The fortress was named "in the royal name" by Ivangorod Sviyazhsky (Sviyazhsky).
The forward detachments of the Russian troops under the leadership of the voivode Alexander Gorbaty were housed in the fortress. The erection of a strong fortress in the very heart of the Tatar state demonstrated the strength of Moscow and contributed to the beginning of the transition to the Russian side of a number of the Volga peoples - the Chuvash and Cheremis-Mari, and Ivan the Terrible received a base for the siege of Kazan. Russian governors in Sviyazhsk swore in the inhabitants of the surrounding villages. One of the conditions for the oath was the release of Russian slaves: " they can’t keep a full Russian, liberate the whole". To check the loyalty of the sworn oaths, they were forced to participate in the Russian raid on Gostiny Island. The chronicle says:" The Kazan people took cannons out of the city and squeaked, and taught them to shoot, and the mountain people - the Chuvash and Cheremis - trembled and ran ... and the mountain people all ran to the king (Shah-Ali) and the governors".
Political crisis in the Kazan Khanate
In June 1551, the power in Kazan went haywire. The rebellious "Chuvasha Arskaya" demanded submission to Russian demands and the expulsion of the Krymchaks. Soon, the Crimean garrison decides to flee, hoping to slip through the Russian blockade. Having abandoned their families, "three hundred people of ulans and princes and azees and murzas and good Cossacks" suddenly left Kazan. At the mouth of the Vyatka they ran into a Russian ambush and were partially killed and partially captured. As a result, the Crimean Tatars, who were the support for the young khan and for Syuyumbike, ended their days on the chopping block in Moscow.
The pro-Crimean (read pro-Turkish) party, which remained without support, fell. Power passed to the supporters of peace with the Russians. The provisional government entered into peace negotiations. The head of the Kul-Sharif clergy and Prince Bibars Rastov went to Sviyazhsk to invite Shah-Ali to the throne. Under the terms of the armistice, the Kazan government recognized Shah-Ali as khan, extradited Khan Utyamysh, Queen Syuyumbike and the families of the Crimeans who had fled to the Russians, and also released all Russian prisoners. In return, the blockade was lifted and freedom of movement was restored.
Syuyumbike, her son and relatives were handed over to the Russians as hostages on August 11, 1551. On the right of the levirate, the khansha was passed off as Shah-Ali, i.e. for the closest relative of the deceased prince. Thus, in August, Shah-Ali established himself on the Kazan throne. Together with him, on August 16, the boyar Ivan Khabarov and the clerk Ivan Vyrodkov, already known to us, arrived in the Tatar capital. Near the khan's palace there were 300 Kasimov Tatars and 200 Russian archers. On this day, the Tatars released 2,700 Russian prisoners. In total, according to the lists that were kept in Sviyazhsk when giving out grain allowances, 60 thousand slaves were freed in the entire Kazan Khanate. The prisoners came to Sviyazhsk, and from there they went to their homes. The main forces of the Moscow army returned home. Shah Ali began repressions against his opponents (supporters of Crimea and Turkey). In addition, the newly-minted khan undertook to secretly spoil the stocks of gunpowder, render the cannons and squeaks unusable. However, he limited himself to the fact that at the beginning of 1552, he took part of the Kazan artillery to Sviyazhsk.
House built in the 19th century by Illarionov-Brovkin-Medvedev
Hotel in the house of merchants Kamenevs (late 19th century)
Monument to the Red Army soldiers who were shot in 1918
Meanwhile, Ivan IV led the case towards the abolition of the khanate by peaceful means. In February 1552, a Russian ambassador went to Kazan, who was supposed to stand there with a garrison and swear the khanate directly to Moscow. AF Adashev suggested that the khan let the Russian governor into the city and surrender the fortress to him. On March 6, Shah-Ali withdrew the Russian garrison from Kazan to Sviyazhsk. Under the pretext of big fishing, the khanu brought with him 84 representatives of the local nobility, whom he handed over to the Russians as hostages.
On March 7, the Tatar princes Chapkun Otuchev, Burnash and the streltsy head Ivan Cheremisinov swore the citizens of Kazan. On March 8, they returned to Sviyazhsk together with the embassy. The mullahs and local princes who arrived at the Russian fortress took an oath from the governor that they were subject to all the privileges of the Russian boyars and nobles. Shah Ali, who left his capital forever, summoned his wife to Sviyazhsk. Everything went perfectly calmly. The luggage of the governor and 70 Cossacks arrived in Kazan. The queen was getting ready for the journey. Rural people, having taken an oath, went home.
On March 9, the Tsar's governor, the Sviyazhsky governor, Prince Semyon Ivanovich Mikulinsky, was supposed to enter Kazan. With him rode the governors, a military detachment, followed by the hostages, withdrawn by Shah-Ali on March 6. When the governor arrived at Bezhbalda (a village located on the site of the Admiralty settlement), three of the Kazan residents accompanying him - Prince Islam, Prince Kebek and Murza Alike Narykov asked him for permission to go ahead. Arriving in Kazan, these three putschists locked the fortress gates and spread a false rumor that the Russians intended to arrange a massacre and kill all the inhabitants. A quietly smoldering conspiracy suddenly broke out in open revolt.
When Prince Mikulinsky drove up to Kazan, on Bulak he was met by Prince Kul-Ali and Ivan Cheremisinov who had left the city to meet him, reporting that dashing people stir up the people, and many are armed. Meanwhile, Prince Chapkun Otuchev joined the rebels. The entry into the city of the Russian governor did not take place, and the few archers were put to death. The Russian detachment that approached the city stood the whole day, but then retreated to Sviyazhsk. The noble citizens of Kazan assured the Russians that they had to wait until the excitement from false rumors calmed down. Not a single shot was fired and the posad was not touched. The parties still hoped to settle the matter through negotiations.
2010: a view of the stairs, along which tourists climb to Sviyazhsk
Wicket and fence made of material typical of local fences
On March 10, 1552, Chapkyn Otuchev headed the Kazan government, which invited the Astrakhan prince Yadygar-Muhammad (Ediger) to the throne. Russian archers and other persons who were in the city at the time of the coup - "Punkov with comrades" were killed. About 180 people died. The plan of peaceful annexation, which was supported by a significant part of Kazan society, failed. As soon as navigation on the rivers opened, the Russians resumed the occupation of the river routes and the blockade of Kazan. Artillery pieces and an extensive supply of food were sent to Sviyazhsk to supply the detachments. The Kazanians seized herds of cattle in the meadows near Sviyazhsk, brought by the Russians for the preparation of food. The sent pursuit of hundreds of Cossacks lost 70 people. A Cossack detachment, traveling to Sviyazhsk for food for the main Kama outpost, was captured and all 30 prisoners were killed. On the Kama the outposts missed the Khan Ediger, who arrived safely in Kazan and took the khan's throne.
Meanwhile, discipline in the Sviyazhsk garrison completely fell. The fortress was filled with marketeers, businessmen of all kinds, soldiers, merchants and prisoners of war released from Kazan, men and women who had no specific occupation, received rations and wandered around, waiting to be sent home. There were many different goods, but there was no bread, and the army was starving. A scurvy epidemic broke out in Sviyazhsk. Metropolitan Macarius addressed the Sviyazhsk garrison with a message drawn up in strong and touching expressions. This appeal made a great impression. The troops pulled up, gambling was prohibited, drunkenness and debauchery weakened, and with the onset of summer and with the supply of supplies, scurvy stopped.
The third Kazan campaign of Ivan IV
I must say that the experience of the previous Kazan campaigns had a huge impact on the formation of Ivan IV as a military commander. In 1552, he did everything to synchronize the movement of the marching columns. After all, how was it before? Heavy cannons were sent down the river. The foot and horsemen went on dry land and usually came to the walls of Kazan before the artillery. As soon as the besiegers began to have problems with food or diseases, the Tatars left the city and beat the intruders. Then it was the turn of the river caravan. To these problems were added the eternal meteorological troubles of many months of crossings - now a thaw, now an unexpected thaw, and the lengthy routes for the supply of food and military equipment. In general, a very sad story. What did the 22-year-old Ivan Vasilyevich do to radically improve matters?
1) One-man management. No one could make a decision except the king. Moreover, he had to defend this right before his boyars and princes.
2) Strategic misinformation of the Crimean Khan that the Russian forces are already somewhere near Kazan.
3) Conducting reconnaissance on the march.
4) Constantly maintained (with the help of messengers) communication between the marching columns and the river caravan.
5) Engineering support of the moving army.
Newly built typical red brick cottages on Uspenskaya Street
It is possible to buy a plot and build a semi-antique house, but it is expensive and troublesome
Another example of a remake in private property
Ivan IV suggests that as soon as the troops leave for Kazan, the Crimean Tatars will come to Russia. The Tsar is building his strategic plan on the fact that the horde from the Crimea will definitely come. In doing so, he makes a brilliant tactical move. The preparations and the withdrawal of the troops themselves are not hidden, but then the columns move extremely slowly. On June 17, intelligence reports that the horde has left the Crimea. Then the movement of Russian troops stops altogether. As soon as it turns out that on June 23 the main forces of the Krymchaks approached Tula, a host of 15,000 people deployed there, which utterly defeats the uninvited guests. The defense of Tula by the garrison and the militia under the command of Prince Grigory Ivanovich Temkin-Rostovsky, as well as the victorious battle on the Shivron River, are separate, interesting topics... But about them some other time. The main thing is that the horde of Devlet Giray is defeated and runs back to the Crimea. Now you can move to Kazan without fear of being stabbed in the back.
Russian troops are marching towards Sviyazhsk in two marching columns. The northern column - from Vladimir through Murom to Alatyr - is led by the tsar himself. The southern column follows from Ryazan through Meschera. Considering that they travel at different speeds (due to the different ratio of foot / mounted warriors), daytime crossings in the north are 20 versts each, in the southern ones - 25 versts each. Ahead, in 3 days' journey, the ertaul (forward guard) is moving. At the distance of a day's march from ertaul, there is a squadron army (sappers) cutting through glades, laying gatis, building bridges. The forward guard, two columns and a supply train following by water, are constantly communicating with the help of messengers. The movement is proceeding strictly according to the schedule with the maintenance of communications and the engineering support of the march. Yes, they moved for a long time - a month went by, but without losses in people and material. Meanwhile, in Sviyazhsk, stocks of food, gunpowder, kernels, repair devices, and other materials are accumulating.
Siege
On August 13, the combined Russian army reaches its base of operations. After three days of rest, on August 16, 1552, a leisurely three-day crossing of the Volga begins and preparations for the siege. Every 10 warriors must make a round, in addition, each must carry a log for the tyn. The fifth siege of the capital of the Kazan Khanate was coming. The Russians were able to take the city only once - in 1487. In 1524, 1530, 1550, sieges were short-lived and unsuccessful. In the campaigns of 1469, 1506 and 1545, the Russians did not even succeed in encircling the city. From this rich historical experience, the Kazan government was confident in the success of the defense.
Here is how V.A. Volkov in the book "Wars and Troops of the Moscow State": " The Kazan Kremlin was surrounded by a double oak wall, filled with rubble and clayey silt, with 14 stone arrow-towers, located at a distance not exceeding a double arrow flight (about 500 m). The approaches to the city were covered by the channels of the Kazanka rivers - from the north and Bulak - from the west. From other sides, especially from the Arsk field, the most convenient for organizing siege work, Kazan was surrounded by a large ditch, reaching 3 fathoms (6.5 m) in width and 7 fathoms (15 m) in depth. The most vulnerable part of the fortress was 11 gates, although they were covered with towers and additional fortifications from taras. On the city walls, to protect the soldiers from shelling from the enemy, parapets 140 cm high were erected, over which a wooden roof was erected. In addition to the external fortifications of Kazan, an internal citadel was built in the city itself, which was located in the northwestern part of the city, on a natural hill. There were "royal chambers and mosques, extremely high, mutilated." The palace was separated from the rest of the city by deep ravines and stone wall ". A lot of supplies were prepared in the fortress, and 15 versts to the north-east of Kazan, at High mountain, equipped a fortified position. This spot was prepared for the base of the detachments of Prince Yapanchi, Murza Shunak and Arsky prince Eyyub. Thus, the Kazan people were preparing to use the time-tested tactics: active defense, constant sorties and raiding operations in the rear of the besiegers.
2014: Uspenskaya st., 24
Home restoration
The same house, 2015
2016, works completed
A delegation was sent to Kazan with proposals for peace. In case of surrender, residents were guaranteed life, inviolability of property, as well as the opportunity to freely practice the Muslim faith and the ability to freely choose their place of residence. Khan Ediger refused.
On August 23, the Russian army surrounded the city and began building fortifications. At the very beginning of the siege, a terrible storm broke out that broke the tents in the camp, including the tsar's one, smashed many ships on the Volga, and destroyed part of the reserves. This time the "climatic weapon" misfired - new supplies were delivered from Sviyazhsk. The siege continued. The very first skirmishes with Kazan showed an unprecedented order: only those who were ordered to fight fought. The rest of the regiments did not dare to interfere, as there was a strict order: not to arrange an attack without the tsar's command, and in the regiments without a command, the governor did not dare to approach the city.
On August 30, Princes Humpbacked and Serebryany defeated the detachments of Prince Yapanchi, thereby securing the rear of the besiegers. Ivan IV ordered to send one of the prisoners to Kazan with an offer to surrender, warning that in case of refusal, he would execute all prisoners from the Yapanchi detachment. The besieged did not give an answer and 340 captives were killed in front of the city.
By September 1, Kazan found itself in a ring of fortifications. We set up tours, supplied them with guns. Where it was impossible to stage a tour, they put a tyn there. It is now impossible to establish who exactly drew up the siege plan. It is only known that the construction of these fortifications was directed by Ivan Vyrodkov and a certain Rozmysl. Most likely, it was a German named Erasmus. Some sources mention Italian and English engineers. It would seem that an effective plan should be the simplest: with the fire of battering guns to make gaps through which troops will rush into the city. But the besieging walls from their side will have time to erect a tree-and-earth barricade in the shape of a horseshoe at the breach. If the attackers break into the gap, they will be in the bag. And when they run away from there in panic, they will hit them with buckshot from the flanking towers with a plantar battle.
The Russians, on the other hand, do something completely unexpected. Instead of breaching, they have been waging an intense counter-battery fight for two days. The gunners of Ivan IV consistently knock out the enemy's artillery, and their positions are located so as to fire not head-on, but at an angle.
On the night of September 3 to 4, in front of the Arsk Gate of the Kazan Kremlin, the besiegers, under the leadership of Ivan Vyrodkov, assembled a siege tower of six fathoms from ready-made parts. A huge structure, about the height of a modern 4-storey building, was built according to all the canons, with plantar, medium and horseback fighting. The armament of this monster consisted of 10 cannons and about 50 gakovnits. The tower towered over the walls and with its fire suppressed the operational resistance of the defenders. Under her cover, the battering guns of the "tsar's outfit" got down to work. Now, to build a barricade around the breach, the Kazan citizens will have to either keep a small detachment under the stone fortress wall, or bring it in from afar. In any case, there will be losses from fire from the siege tower. It would seem that it is possible to begin the assault, but Ivan IV does not give in to the advice of his retinue and again acts according to plan. His troops continue to systematically move siege tours to the walls of the fortress and repulse the Kazan attacks.
The day of September 4, 1552, was rich in surprises. In addition to the construction of a huge siege tower, the besiegers carried out undermining the mine gallery, brought under the aquifer. It is clear that it was difficult to stop the water supply to the fortress - there were still sources of water inside. It was much more important to try out a new tactical technique for the Russians. Sapa was brought down accurately, and the detonation of 11 barrels of gunpowder produced the desired effect.
On September 6, with heavy losses, the Russians captured the Kazan fortification on the Arsk field, erected on a mountain between the swamps. The troops begin to comb the banks of the Volga to the confluence of the Kama, burning villages, freeing the prisoners and completely knocking out the ideas of the local population that someone needs to be released there. At the same time, at the expense of the captured livestock, the food issue is being resolved.
The glanders under the Arsk Gate are kept in great secret. On September 30, a mine was blown up under them. The besieged are confident that the troops will rush through the gap formed. There is no time to build a barricade, and the hail of lead from the siege tower interferes. Therefore, the citizens of Kazan immediately rushed out on a sortie. The besiegers did not even think to get into the breach. They met the defenders' sortie with strong fire, and then, "on the shoulders" of the retreating Kazan residents, burst into the Arsk Gate. The counterattack was commanded by Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky. The voivode asked the tsar to build on the success and start a general assault, but Ivan IV again did not give the order to attack. The planned siege continues, artillery fires harassing shelling, troops fight off sorties and obstruct attempts to repair walls. No improvisation!
On October 1, large-caliber cannons of the "Tsar's outfit" destroy a section of the wall. The moat is filled with earth and forest. Before a decisive assault, the Kazan citizens were offered to surrender, but the offer was rejected. Then at 7 am on October 2, 1552, another mine gallery explodes under the walls, into which 240 poods of gunpowder are laid. About a hundred meters of the fortress wall disappeared or turned into fragments. And only then did the assault columns begin to attack.
The bulk of the troops entered Kazan without any problems. Russian troops broke into the city and started plundering. The governors ordered the execution of the looters on the spot, this measure allowed to restore the fallen discipline. Monstrous resistance and street battles fell only to the lot of the regiment of the right hand, where Prince Andrei Kurbsky fought. By evening Kazan was busy. In street battles near the mosque of the khan's palace, one of the leaders of the defense, Kul-Sharif, who led the resistance in this sector, was killed. Chapkun-bek also died in street battles. Khan Ediger surrendered. After the victory, Ivan IV, acting in the spirit of that time, gave the city to the troops for plunder. Only banners and guns were taken to the treasury.
After the capture of Kazan
On October 12, the Russian army moved back. Prince Gorbaty-Shuisky remained the governor. No peace treaties was not concluded in connection with the disappearance of the subject of negotiations. For the first time in many years, Moscow was able to offer peace and tranquility to these lands. However, resistance continued in the occupied territories. So, in December 1552, the Chuvash and Cheremis on the road from Sviyazhsk to Vasilsursk killed many Russian messengers, merchants and people who accompanied the carts with government cargo. Moscow responded with terror. The participants in the attack were brought to Sviyazhsk: 74 people of the Tsivilian Chuvash. They were all hanged, and the property was given to the informers. In February 1553, the rebels defeated the detachment of boyar Saltykov sent against them from Sviyazhsk. The governor was executed, 36 children of the boyars and 170 Chuvash were also killed, 200 people were taken prisoner. The central government responded to these speeches with merciless terror. Nevertheless, the partisan war in the lands of the former Kazan Khanate lasted until 1556.
The further fate of the 22-year-old winner of the Kazan Khanate Ivan IV the Terrible is well known to us from the school history course. Returning home from Kazan, he became very ill. At that moment, his closest associates, instead of swearing an oath to the young heir, right next to the king's bed, conferred who would be the regent. These events will significantly affect the formation of Ivan the Terrible as a tyrant. After the betrayal of his closest friend Andrei Kurbsky and the failures of the Livonian company (which had the goal of gaining access to Baltic Sea), Ivan IV will plunge the country into the oprichnina, the result of which will be a socio-economic crisis and the ruin of the state. The king dies in 1584, at the age of 53, almost losing the ability to move. For the last six years of his life he was carried on a stretcher.
In 1556, Russian troops took Astrakhan. The entire course of the Volga was in the hands of Moscow. Thus, a direct road was opened to the annexation of Siberia, which Russia grew into. In 1569, the Ottoman-Crimean army will try to return the city, but will be defeated.
1571 - Crimean Khan Devlet Giray (aka Davlet Giray) with military support Ottoman Empire and political from the Commonwealth undertook a campaign to avenge Astrakhan and Kazan. His raid ended with the burning of Moscow and the devastation of many southern Russian regions. Ivan the Terrible lost this war and was ready to hand over Astrakhan to the Crimeans, but not Kazan. The issue was "finally settled" in 1572. A battle that surpassed Kulikovskaya took place: the destruction of the 120-thousandth Crimean-Turkish army in the battle of Molodya. The victory will be won by the 60-thousandth Russian troops under the leadership of the governors Vorotynsky and Khvorostinin. Only 5-10 thousand returned to Crimea, attempts of Turkish-Tatar expansion in Eastern Europe were no longer undertaken.
In memory of the victory over the Kazan Khanate in Moscow in 1555-1561, the Cathedral of the Intercession was erected on the Moat (Intercession Cathedral), known as the Trinity Cathedral, and later as the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed.
Ivan Vyrodkov built fortresses in Astrakhan, the mouth of the Narova River, Galich, participated in the Livonian War, in the Polotsk campaign of Ivan the Terrible. In 1564, during the oprichnina period, Vyrodkov was executed on a denunciation. The chain mail of the talented clerk is now on display in the State Historical Museum.
Shah Ali returned to Kasimov to manage his inheritance. For the fact that he left the Kazan throne, the tsar generously rewarded him: "many sat in Meshchera" and the wife of the queen Syuyun-Bike. Shah Ali took part in the Livonian War (1558), the Polotsk campaign (1562).
Syuyumbike (Syuyun-Bike) at the time of the fall of the Kazan Khanate was 35 years old. She was married to the unloved Shah Ali and separated from her son. The former queen spent the rest of her life in Kasimov.
The last Kazan khan Yadygar-Muhammad (aka Ediger) was baptized with the name Simeon on February 26, 1553. Received the city of Zvenigorod as an inheritance, participated in the Livonian War. He died in 1565 and was buried in the Chudov Monastery.
Sviyazhsk will become large shopping center, its role, as the first Christian city of the Kazan Territory, will be taken into account in the titling of the archbishops and metropolitans of the Kazan diocese, called Kazan and Sviyazhsky.
Sviyazhsky Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Monastery
Having finished with the historical part, let's move on to the architecture and sights of the current island city. One of the most interesting objects is the Assumption Monastery, founded in 1555. Archimandrite German (Sadyrev-Polevoy) became the first abbot of the monastery. In 1566, the abbot was summoned by Ivan IV to Moscow, where he was offered the Moscow metropolitan see. However, Archbishop Herman sided with the disgraced Metropolitan Philip and began to denounce the oprichnina, for which he was removed, and soon, according to some sources, he was killed, according to others, he died during a plague epidemic. In 1595, under Metropolitan Hermogenes of Kazan, the relics of Archbishop Herman, who was canonized at the same time, were acquired. The relics were transferred to the Sviyazhsky Assumption Monastery, where they became the main monastery shrine. In 1888, during the re-vesting of the relics, the version of a violent death was confirmed: "his head was chopped off, and in a way unusual for an ordinary execution, and with two blows - one in the front, cutting off the lower part, and the other behind on the neck"
July 2011
July 2011
July 2011
November 2011
November 2011
November 2011
May 2014
May 2014
May 2014
May 2015
May 2015
May 2015
May 2016
April 2016
Church of St. Herman of Kazan and Mitrofan of Voronezh in the fraternal building
February 2017. The construction joints of the 18th century are faintly visible, when the Assumption Cathedral acquired a new dome and sharp kokoshniks
February 2017
February 2017. Completed construction gate temple Ascension of the Lord on the basis of the preserved lower tier
The entrance to the monastery is through the Holy Gates. In the summer of 2010, construction work was going on at the monastery and this entrance was closed. It was possible to pass through a gap in the wall (apparently at the site of the utility gate) through which heavy equipment and trucks entered the territory. In the summer of 2011, the passage through the main gate became available again. The visit to the territory of the monastery ends at 18:00 (there is a corresponding sign at the gate with a description of the access mode and rules of conduct).
The restored main gate of the Assumption Monastery
Remains of painting in
opening of the main gate
In 2012, construction began on the previously lost gateway church of the Ascension of the Lord. The fact is that at the end of the 17th century, a church in honor of the Ascension of Christ was built over the southern gates of the Assumption Monastery, which was destroyed in the 1930s. Only the lower tier with the Holy Gates and fragments of painting have survived. But this is not about the quirks of the access regime, but about the fact that once you get behind a high wall, you can see two beautiful temples built in the 16th century.
Household gates - exit to the cliff over the Shchuka river
Repaired wall: between the abbot building and the monastery school
Hard-to-read bas-reliefs on the southwestern wall of the Assumption Monastery
Southwest wall of the Assumption Monastery
Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is the oldest stone building in Sviyazhsk. It is a rare type of church-bell tower with a massive tower on an almost monolithic base. It was built in 1555-1556 from hewn limestone almost simultaneously with the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, and, apparently, by the artel of the Pskov craftsmen Ivan Shiryay. The bell tower is 43 meters high and is the tallest building in Sviyazhsk.
The dismantled roof is visible, the scaffolding around two built-on tiers, the door to the cell of St. Herman
As of April 2016
Restoration work, 2011
Restoration work, 2011
Frescoes of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
2016 year. Work continues
Forests moved higher
2017 year. Bell tower and Assumption Cathedral in the scaffolding
Near the church, a three-tiered bell tower was erected from hewn limestone, on which five bells were installed: "two bells, and three are larger than those." Upstairs, even during the time of Ivan the Terrible, the tower clock of the "tsar's tribute" was installed. A secret underground passage led from the lower tier of the bell tower to the shore of Shchuchye Lake, intended for water supply in the event of a siege of the Sviyazhsk fortress. Later, two more tiers of the bell tower were built of bricks.
Inside the temple, on the eastern façade, in a niche, a fragment of the face of Nikola Mozhaisky has been preserved. The church has preserved the ancient cell of St. Herman, in which his belongings were kept at the beginning of the 20th century.
Bell tower of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Dome of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Assumption Monastery
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Assumption Monastery
In general, St. Nicholas Church is active and is open only for monks, but when construction and restoration work was carried out in it, the inspection of the premises was not a big problem. The photographs show the progress of excavations carried out under the film covering the section of the removed roof. The thickness of the "cultural layer" is striking.
The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built simultaneously with the Nikolskaya Church. The cathedral was erected in 4 years from white hewn stone by the artel of Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan Shiryay - the architects who built the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed (Pokrovsky Cathedral) and the Annunciation Cathedral in Kazan in Moscow. The Assumption Cathedral was opened on September 12, 1560, that is, after the Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed, which contradicts the legend that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architect.
Initially, the Assumption Cathedral was made in purely Pskov architectural traditions. There was an external fresco painting, now almost completely lost. But the interior frescoes have been preserved quite well. The dome, walls and even window slopes are covered with a unique multicolored painting - a total of 1080 m2 of ancient frescoes and this is the only ensemble of frescoes from the era of Ivan the Terrible that has survived to this day.
The temple acquired its present appearance in the 18th century, when, under the influence of the then fashionable "Ukrainian Baroque" trend, the cathedral grew significantly in height, acquiring 12 sharp kokoshniks, and a new dome.
A huge porch added in 1857 to the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, photo - July 2011
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, photo - July 2011
Altar wall with three semicircular apses of the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, photo - November 2011
Church painting of the 16th century frightened the holy fathers, accustomed to the Europeanized manner, with their "non-canonical subjects and lack of theological thought". In 1859, the abbot of the Sviyazhsky Assumption Monastery even turned to the Synod for permission to rewrite the Sviyazhsky Cathedral frescoes. In the response of the Holy Synod, the special significance of these ancient frescoes, their full compliance with the canons, was noted, and Vladyka Evlampy was forbidden to distort them. A typical example of frightening uncanonism is the depiction of St. Christopher on the northwestern pillar of the cathedral. There are several versions explaining the strange appearance and equally unusual nickname of the righteous man - Christopher-kinokephal (psoglavets). The options are as follows:
1. The future martyr (presumably a real person with a pagan name Reprebus) possessed extraordinary beauty, because of which he was constantly exposed to temptations. In the end, he asked God to make him ugly, and therefore Saint Christopher is always depicted with the head of an animal.
2. Borrowing the image of the psoglavet from the Coptic Christian tradition (by analogy with the images of Saints Augani and Achraks on the icon in the Cairo Museum of Coptic Art). Those. it may be an echo of the veneration of the jackal-headed Anubis.
3. A literal translation of the nickname given to a person for a terrible appearance (face overgrown with hair, congenital deformity or injury).
4. Origin from the habitat. Hills of Kinocephala (dog heads) in Thessaly (in the north-east of Hellas on the coast Aegean) are known as the site of one of the battles between the Macedonians and the Romans, which took place in 197 BC.
5. Distorted cananeus. Indian Christians used the words "Canaanite", "Southerner" to describe their co-religionists who migrated from Persia to southwestern India in the 4th century. Later, "Hananite" could be interpreted as "doggy".
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Assumption Monastery, 2016
In the corners, in the area of the bends of the drainpipes, oblique seams are visible - traces of the reconstruction of the 18th century, when the cathedral received a new dome and kokoshnik decorations
In the Western tradition, Saint Christopher is portrayed as a giant carrying a blessing baby across the river. In fact, this is an illustration of an episode from The Golden Legend, the work of Jacob Voraginsky (about 1260). The enormous Roman was looking for a ruler for faithful service, but the holy hermit directed him to serve on a dangerous ford across the river. The giant began to help people cross dangerous water, carrying travelers on its back. One day he was carrying a little boy across the river. In the middle of the river, the child became so heavy that the strong man was frightened lest they both drown. The boy told him that he is Christ and carries with him all the burdens of the world. Then Jesus baptized Reprev in the river, and he received his new name - Christopher, "carrying Christ". The further path of the saint was short - see numerous biographies.
In Orthodoxy, the life of a saint is described somewhat differently. Reprev was supposedly captured by the Romans during the battle in Marmarica. Then he served Rome in the unit of immigrants from North Africa. When the famous strongman was ordered to be delivered to the emperor, miracles happened along the way: the rod in the saint's hand blossomed, through his prayer, loaves multiplied, which the travelers lacked. After baptism, Reprev received the name "Christopher" and began to preach the Christian faith, using the ability given by the angel to speak the Lycian language, which he did not know before (they lived in the area of the modern Turkish city of Demre). The emperor Decius sent two harlots to persuade the saint to renounce Christ and offer sacrifices to the Roman gods. When the "honey trap" did not work, Christopher was thrown into a red-hot copper box, which did him no harm. Then, after being tortured, the martyr's head was cut off.
Image of St. Christopher in the Assumption Cathedral
So, in the Eastern tradition, the martyr was portrayed with an animal's head, or as a young man, with long hair, with a four-pointed cross in his right hand. There are images borrowed from Catholics: a giant with a baby on his shoulders crosses the river. Meanwhile, by a decree of May 21, 1722, the Synod forbade the use of carved and chiselled icons - the skill of the carvers was extremely ambiguous, in addition, it is inconvenient to clean such images from dust, traces of the vital activity of birds and mice. The same decree forbade "inventions from unsophisticated or insidious icon painters who invented icons contrary to nature, history and truth itself, which are the essence: the image of the martyr Christopher with a dog's head, the image of the Mother of God with three arms." The ban also included frescoes with God the Father lying on pillows after six days of worldwide creation and other non-canonical images. An interesting quote from the same decree: “Saints Peter, Alexei and Jonah of Moscow are portrayed as miracle workers in white hoods, which they did not have in Russia. heads and other things like that, not in dignity and decency. "
In the course of this struggle, the images of St. Martyr Christopher were destroyed or copied. Four frescoes with St. Christopher have survived to this day - in the Makaryevsky monastery, in the Spassky monastery (Yaroslavl), in the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Nyroba, Perm Territory), where he is depicted with a dog's head, and in Sviyazhsk, where the saint's head looks more like a horse's. Several more icons have survived. Images of a martyr with a dog's head can be seen in State Museum the history of religion (St. Petersburg), the Old Believers Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos at the Rogozhsky Cemetery (Moscow), the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, in the Cherepovets Art Museum, the Vologda Museum-Reserve, in the collection of the Rostov Kremlin Museum, in the Yegoryevsky History and Art Museum, and at the Tretyakov Gallery.
Another reason for the surprising for us controversy "about canonicity" was the plot "Fatherland" in the cathedral dome. This is a type of New Testament Trinity. In the 19th century, the depiction of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove in the hands of the Son seemed "uncanonical".
Also among the most famous frescoes is the Procession of the Righteous to Paradise. Associated with it is the assumption that there "are written images of Ivan the Terrible and Macarius the Metropolitan - they are the ones who close the procession of the righteous." If this assumption is correct, then this is "the only image of the young Ivan the Terrible in monumental painting that has survived to this day." Unfortunately, this fresco cannot be seen, since it is located in the altar part.
There are also a number of interesting frescoes: "The Creation of Man", "Rest of God after the Creation of the World", "The Incarnation of God - the Word", but it was not possible to photograph them - now this is hampered by wooden scaffolding erected for restorers. In general, the frescoes of the Assumption Monastery of the Mother of God are on a par with the frescoes of Dionysius in Ferapontovo. The five-tiered gilded iconostasis of the cathedral (18th century) has also survived, the icons of which are kept in the State Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan.
Fraternal corps, state for 2011
Fraternal Corps (late 17th century)
Fraternal corps, state for 2016
Archimandrite Corps (XVII century)
In addition to the above-mentioned buildings, the Assumption Monastery has preserved:
- a two-story archimandrite building, built in the 17th century in the Russian terem style,
- the building of the monastery school (XVIII century)
- a fraternal building, consisting of three buildings attached to each other and the church of St. Herman of Kazan and Mitrofan of Voronezh.
John the Baptist Convent
John the Baptist Convent was founded at the end of the 16th century and was originally located in the northwestern part cathedral square Sviyazhsk. However, after severe fires in 1753 and 1759. The John the Baptist Convent was moved to the premises of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, which was abolished in 1764. It is the legacy of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery that explains the extraordinary fact that the new St. John the Baptist Monastery did not have a temple corresponding to its name. This is the rarest case. The main cathedral of any monastery is almost always the monastery of the same name. It is called necessarily in honor of the same saint or the same holiday to which the monastery is dedicated.
The wall of the St. John the Baptist Monastery. 2010 year
Decorative corner turret 2010
One of the five openings of the monastery gates
In the photographs you can see the monastery fence. Initially, it was made of wood, but during the heyday of the monastery, it was replaced by a brick one. Again we turn to and read: " In fact, the St. John the Baptist Monastery is much less like a fortress than the Assumption Monastery. Its 19th century brick fence is also a fence rather than a wall. Until the 1820s, the fence was wooden ( last time it was built of wood in 1808), but the most important stage in the flourishing of the monastery was marked by the construction, simultaneously with the first brick buildings, of the fence of 1819-1826. It is she who has survived to this day almost unchanged. With as many as 5 gates, which can be called a great rarity for monasteries. Usually there are only the main, Holy gates and one more - spare, economic. In addition to the gates (simple arched openings not marked by gate churches), decorative corner turrets have been preserved here, but they also bear little resemblance to serfs."
Monastery wall. year 2012
Decorative corner turret 2014
The gate at the cell building
The main gate of the monastery
The main gate of the monastery
The roof of the Sergievskaya church, which served since 1836
Household gates (western, close to Taynitsky descent)
Household gates near Sergievskaya church. Stacks of bricks - disassembled abbess's body
The utility gate near the Cell building, built in 1879
Trinity Cathedral
Trinity Cathedral - this is how the small log church of 1551 was officially called. It is one of the oldest monuments of wooden architecture in Russia. The church was built in the winter of 1550 in the Uglich forests from thick semi-arshin larch logs, hewn inside. The frame is erected in the form of a cross and has two tiers: the first is quadrangular, with a quadrangular semicircle for the altar; the second is octagonal.
The design of such temples differed little from a five-walled hut: an internal non-blind wall separated the refectory (vestibule) from the main volume. The simple secret of the log house - when the logs are threaded into one another - made it possible to build churches, indeed, "without a single nail." The entire upper volume (a tent or a form that replaces it) turned out to be "false" and was separated from the interior by a ceiling. He is a kind of "hat" over a wooden church. In winter, in such a temple with a low plank ceiling, it was warm as in a hut.
Several logs
had to be replaced
Old shops along the walls
The iconostasis is still under restoration
Initially, it was hipped in shape, which is why the temple was, apparently, almost twice as high as it is now. For comparison: the main of the fortress towers - Rozhdestvenskaya - was less than 13 meters high. The Trinity Church probably reached a height of 20 meters. That is, it was very visible from behind all the walls and towers.
The temple was erected in one day by the soldiers of Prince Silver-Obolensky and consecrated on May 17, 1551 - on the day of the Holy Trinity. This is the first temple of the first monastery in the entire Middle and Lower Volga region. That is why they named it respectfully - the cathedral. In all of Russia, perhaps, only one Lazarevskaya church (1390) from the Murom monastery (now transferred to Kizhi) is older than it.
In 1552, 22-year-old Tsar Ivan IV and his governors Gorbaty-Shuisky, Serebryanny, Kurbsky and others prayed here before the last crossing of the army on the way to Kazan.
Front door, made according to the standards of the 16th century - wide and low
Metal lock plate
Metal lined side door
Fastening the rods of the window lattice
Binding of a window lattice
Front porch
Decor of the metal plate of the main entrance lock
Marks on logs - for collecting the temple in a new place
The peculiarity of the interior of the Trinity Church, which further enhances its resemblance to a village hut, is the long benches along the walls. Even in the old days, they were firmly nailed to the floor and thus became an integral part of the interior. Two shops were nailed down even in the altar. We see that it was, indeed, a fraternal church - where the little brethren of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery gathered every day for very long, according to the charter, prayers. In ancient Russian churches, there were usually such benches that those who were tired from standing could rest a little.
Previously, ancient vestments on some icons shone dimly here. Now the icons of the festive rank from the iconostasis of the Trinity Church are kept in the Old Russian department of the Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan in Kazan. The only thing that stands out from this kingdom of logs, planks and wooden carvings is the central chandelier, which has darkened with old age - a hanging copper chandelier (the word comes from the distorted Greek polycandylon, i.e. many-luminescence).
Royal gates
Chained door
Benches along the walls
New dome (2012)
The main decoration of the church was the iconostasis - also wooden and originally four-tiered. The presence of a 4-tier iconostasis in such a small church is surprising and suggests a possible transfer of it here from another church. The patterns of the iconostasis have survived only partially, part of the overhead carving is broken off, but it can be seen that it is made in the style of "Ukrainian Baroque".
Trinity Church. 2010 year
The Royal Doors are perhaps the most luxurious part of the iconostasis, and indeed of the entire interior of the church. "The semicircle of the arch with a carved gilded imitation of the curtain and its ornate fringe; a lush garland crowned with a crown, falling down the escutcheon of the Royal Doors - contrasts with the extremely modest appearance of the church."
In 1819, the covered gallery on pillars, encircling the church from three sides, was dismantled and replaced with porches - also on three sides. Thanks to them, the church became strictly cruciform in plan. But due to the abundance of glass in the walls of these wings, it began to resemble a country house, and not at all an ancient temple. In 1821, it was completely sheathed with wood and painted with oil paint (since then it has been repainted many times, but most often with blue and green paint). The resemblance to a country house has increased even more. In 2011, the country house was dismantled, thanks to which we can see the true appearance of the log house. In 2012, after the completion of the work carried out, the temple was reopened to the public, but all of its interior decoration is now under restoration.
Cell building built in 1820
Cell building, 2010
A.V. Roschektayev writes the following about this building: " The building of 1820 closed from the west the main square in the monastery - between the Trinity and Sergievskaya churches. Thus, as in most monasteries, construction began around main square, with the exit of all structures to it. The square was as old as the city of Sviyazhsk itself, but its appearance was formed gradually, until the beginning of the twentieth century.
The long two-story building with a small pediment in the center is executed in the usual provincial classicism style. But its design is very peculiar. This is not a brick, but a wooden-brick building: its inner frame is wooden (log type), and brick walls rest on the frame from the outside. Despite the seeming primitiveness of this construction method, the building has stood for almost 2 centuries. In the twentieth century, it became one of the ordinary residential buildings of Sviyazhsk (one of the largest in terms of its houses). For the St. John the Baptist Monastery, such buildings soon became literally "typical" ones. Interestingly, almost all of them have survived to this day. In 1830, according to the same model, the abbess's building was built - between the Sergievskaya church and the aforementioned building, at right angles to the latter. And its main facade overlooked the same square - directly opposite the Holy Gates of the monastery.
The whitewashed lime paint facades of these houses were in good harmony with the white-stone Sergievskaya church, and the average height of the two-storey buildings turned out to be optimal for the monastery ensemble. It is interesting that in the neighboring Assumption Monastery, where both the cathedral and the bell tower were much higher, the three-story height turned out to be optimal for residential buildings."
2010: was
2014: became
2014: View from the back of the case
2015: works on the territory are not finished yet
Currently, the cell building, built in 1820, has been thoroughly restored. In the photographs you can see its previous and current state. But the abbess's body, which, in a dilapidated form, was still found by A. Roschektayev, is now dismantled to the foundation. At one time a wooden monastery shop was built on its foundation, but now it has also been dismantled. However, the bricks of the abbess's body were neatly cleaned and stacked closer to the utility gates closest to the Trinity Church. Whether it will be restored - I do not know.
Cell building built in 1879 (brick lined in 1892)
A structure of unknown purpose, something like the remains of an old water pumping station
The wall separates the eastern and western parts of the monastery
All in the same place, in the "History of the Sviyazhsky John the Baptist Monastery" we read: " The number of inhabitants of the monastery grew rapidly, and more and more new buildings were needed. The territory of the monastery in the 19th century was constantly expanding to the west, and it was there, behind the large building of 1820, that two-storey buildings of the same type grew up (2nd half of the 19th - early 20th centuries). In architectural terms, they do not represent any special value - and such a task was not set by their builders. It's just that this town was supposed to accommodate hundreds of new inhabitants. Fortunately, there were enough funds for this, and the territory of the monastery was late XIX century turned out to be quite large - 2 tithes 656 sq. fathoms for 1897 (that is, about 2.5 hectares). It expanded for half a century thanks to donations from benefactors who bought up plots adjacent to the monastery from the west. In 1857, a plot of 478 sq. fathoms, in 1858 - another 176 fathoms (the provincial secretary Cherubims became the benefactor). In 1895, immediately after the city fire of 1894, the local Sviyazhsk philanthropist I.A.Kulikov bought 4 burnt places (even to the west, near a small ravine) and donated them to the monastery, which expanded its territory by another 567 sq. fathoms.
It was on these new territories that in 1879, from logs, was built, and in 1892 another 2-storey cell building was lined with bricks (under Abbess Barsanuphia 1873-1881 and Photinia 1889-1893), and in 1896 - another, 2-storey wooden (under Abbess Apphia, about whom we wrote in the previous paragraph).
The location was good for the placement of cell buildings. It seems to be specially fenced off from the main monastery square by the first long building of 1820. The monastery, as is often the case, was divided into 2 parts: one - front, for pilgrims and local residents who come to services in ancient temples; the other is half-hidden, fenced off from the hustle and bustle, intended only for the nuns themselves. These are, respectively, the eastern and western halves of the huge monastery."
Sviyazhsk is a village in the Zelenodolsk region of the Republic of Tatarstan, 60 kilometers from. It is interesting for its location on the island at the confluence of the Shchuka and Sviyaga rivers and for the fact that it has preserved the appearance of an old district town with numerous monuments of ancient Russian architecture.
This is popular tourist place, on the territory of which there are several Orthodox churches, museums, church shops, stables, souvenir shops, hotels, cafes.
The island offers magnificent views of the Volga and the neighboring river bank.
As of 2018, you can visit Sviyazhsk free of charge, only entrance to museums and excursions are paid separately.
History
Sviyazhsk was founded in 1551 as a military fortress to conquer the Kazan Khanate. In 1552, after the capture of Kazan, Sviyazhsk began to develop as the spiritual center of a vast conquered territory.
By the end of the 16th century, three monasteries and nine churches functioned here.
In 1781, Sviyazhsk became a district town in the Kazan province.
During the Stalinist repressions, Sviyazhsk was a place for executions, exile and forced labor. The monastery buildings were looted and closed.
In the first half of the 20th century, a prison operated in the building of the Mother of God - the Assumption Monastery, then a colony for minors and even a psychiatric hospital.
In 1956, Sviyazhsk first became an island as a result of the construction of the Kuibyshev reservoir. It became possible to get there only by motor ship or boat, and the population left the city en masse.
In 1932 the city was transformed into a rural settlement, and now it is still a village.
In 2008, Sviyazhsk was connected by a dam with the "mainland" on the left side of Sviyaga, a road was laid to it. In 2011, the village became an island again - this time the transport dam was cut by a canal. A bridge was built across the canal, and now you can freely drive up to the island by car.
In 2009, a museum-reserve "Island-city Sviyazhsk" was opened in the village.
Since 2010, the stage of restoration of historical objects began in Sviyazhsk - all churches were restored and new objects were built (museums, stables, hotels).
Now in the village, which is unofficially called the "island-town of Sviyazhsk", only about 300 people permanently live, but in the summer it is visited by a large number of tourists.
The main attractions of Sviyazhsk
On the territory of Sviyazhsk there is a functioning male monastery, several Orthodox churches, museums. The diagram of the objects of the museum-reserve can be seen below.
Assumption monastery
The Mother of God - the Assumption Monastery, founded on the territory of Sviyazhsk in 1555, was one of the richest and most influential in the Middle Volga region. In the 19th century, the monastery fell into disrepair, and at the beginning of the 20th century it was closed. Later it was used to house a prison, a juvenile colony and a psychiatric hospital.
In 1997, the monastery was inaugurated again, and in 2017 it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The official site of the Mother of God - the Assumption Sviyazhsky Monastery: sviyazhsk-monastery.ru.
Built in 1561, it is a masterpiece of Russian architecture.
The frescoes in the cathedral are of particular value - they date from the time of the reign of Ivan the Terrible (16th century). This is one of two complete collections of frescoes from that period that have survived in Russia to the present day.
Built in 1556, it is a unique type of church-bell tower.
The bell tower is 43 meters high.
3. The building of the monastery school.
Belongs to the 18th century.
Built in the 17th century.
In the middle of the 19th century, the Sviyazhsk religious school was located here.
5. Fraternal corps.
The building consists of several buildings erected in the 17-18 centuries. They housed monks' cells, a hospital, and a treasury chamber. On the eastern side of the building in the late 18th - early 19th centuries, the church of Saints Herman of Kazan and Mitrofan of Voronezh was added.
6. Ascension Gate Church.
The construction dates back to the end of the 17th century; now the temple is under restoration.
John the Baptist (Rozhdestvensky) Monastery
John the Baptist Monastery was founded at the end of the 16th century as a women's monastery. By the beginning of the 20th century, it was one of the largest women's monasteries of the Kazan diocese - there were about 400 novices and nuns in it.
In 1919 the monastery was closed, now it is the courtyard of the Mother of God - the Assumption Monastery.
On the territory of the monastery there are:
1. Cathedral "Joy of All Who Sorrow".
The red-brick multi-domed Easter-colored temple is the latest of all the temples of Sviyazhsk, it was built in 1898-1906. The height of the cathedral is 32 meters.
The temple is active, morning and evening services are held in it.
2. Trinity wooden church.
This is one of the few surviving ancient wooden churches in Russia and the oldest in the entire Middle and Lower Volga region.
It was built in 1551, but since then the appearance of the temple has been significantly changed.
3. Sergievskaya refectory church.
A stone one-domed church built in honor of Sergius of Radonezh in 1604. A little later, a bell tower was added to the temple. The temple itself is located on the second floor; an ancient fresco "Trinity" has been preserved at the entrance.
The museum is located in the former buildings of state institutions, built in the middle of the 19th century and restored in 2010.
The museum has permanent and temporary exhibitions dedicated to the history of Sviyazhsk.
In 2011, a memorial sign was erected at the site of the mass grave of victims of the repressions of the 40s of the 20th century. It is a two-meter part of a marble wall, into which a prison grate and a hand releasing a dove are mounted.
The monument is located to the left of the main entrance, after climbing the steps.
The ethnographic complex was opened after restoration in 2012 opposite the Assumption Cathedral. Back in the 16th century, a wooden horse yard was built here, which was later rebuilt into a stone one. For a long time it was in a ruined state, but now it has received a second life.
The ethnographic complex has a stable that rides horses for everyone.
There are also craft workshops, souvenir shops, a guest house, a cafe, fresh bread and Sviyazhsky sweets are sold.
There are cafes and taverns throughout Sviyazhsk; on summer weekends, they are filled with visitors.
You can also buy monastery pastries, ice cream and drinks.
Excursion prices
Museum staff conduct sightseeing tours of the sights of Sviyazhsk as groups recruit.
Types of excursions and cost:
1. Sightseeing pedestrian. Duration - 1.5 hours.
The cost of a sightseeing tour of Sviyazhsk is 1500 rubles per group, for 11 and the next person - 150 rubles. The price does not include visits to museums.
2. Historical pedestrian. Duration - 2.5 hours.
Cost - 2500 rubles per group, for 11 and the next person - 250 rubles. The price includes a visit to the permanent exhibition of the main building of the Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk.
3. Walking tour "Through the prism of centuries". Duration - 3 hours.
The cost is 2700 rubles per group, for 11 and the next person - 270 rubles each. The price includes admission to all permanent exhibitions and exhibitions of the Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk.
4. Walking tour "The Legend of the Land of Sviyazhskaya". Duration - 3 hours.
Cost - 3700 rubles per group, for 11 and the next person - 370 rubles. The price includes a visit to the Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk and participation in the interactive program "Shooting Games".
5. Walking tour "Leafing through the past of Sviyazhsk". Duration - 3.5 hours.
Cost - 3900 rubles per group, for 11 and the next person - 390 rubles. The price includes a visit to the Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk, the Horse Yard and participation in the interactive program "Shooting Games".
6. Children hiking for children 7-13 years old "On the Buyan island, or in the kingdom of the glorious Saltan". Duration - 2.15 or 3 hours.
Cost - 2500 (4500 for 3 hours) rubles per group, for 11 and the next person - 250 (450) rubles. The price includes a visit to the Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk, Center children's leisure"Fairy Tale" and participation in the interactive program "Shooting Games".
Prices in museums
Sviyazhsk museums can be visited not only as part of an excursion, but also separately.
The cost of visiting the permanent exhibition of the Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk:
- adults - 150 rubles, for organized groups (by prior arrangement) - 120 rubles;
- schoolchildren, students, pensioners - 100 rubles, for organized groups (by prior arrangement) - 80 rubles;
- children under 7 years old - free;
- photography in the museum - 50 rubles;
- group tour (up to 10 people, in addition to entrance tickets) - 1000 rubles.
Price for visiting temporary exhibitions of the Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk:
- adults - 120 rubles;
The cost of visiting the Museum of the Civil War:
- adults - 120 rubles;
- schoolchildren, students, pensioners - 80 rubles;
- group excursion (up to 10 people, in addition to entrance tickets) - 500 rubles.
The price for visiting the Exhibition Hall "Old water tower»:
- adults - 100 rubles;
- schoolchildren, students, pensioners - 50 rubles.
You can also purchase a single ticket entitling you to visit all exhibitions of all museums in Sviyazhsk (Museum of the History of Sviyazhsk, the Old Water Tower exhibition hall, the Civil War Museum, the Gennady Arkhireyev Museum and the Art Gallery):
- adults - 510 rubles, with a souvenir magnet - 630 rubles,
- schoolchildren, students, pensioners - 330 rubles, with a souvenir magnet - 430 rubles.
It will be interesting for children to visit the Skazka Children's Leisure Center:
- child ticket for 1 hour (up to 13 years old, unaccompanied by an adult) - 300 rubles;
- child ticket accompanied by an adult - 180 rubles.
Excursions to Sviyazhsk from Kazan
Group excursions to Sviyazhsk are offered not only on the island itself, but also by travel agencies of nearby cities. For example, Kazan has a fairly large selection of options for group excursions, which include a transfer to Sviyazhsk.
For a couple or a small company, the ideal option is individual excursion with a guide. In this case, the accompanying person will adjust to the preferences and time frames of tourists, devote more time to interesting details that are not covered in group tours.
Island - city of Sviyazhsk
A four-hour excursion around Sviyazhsk with a visit to all the interesting objects on its territory. The guide will not only tell you about the history of this region and its shrines in an engaging and accessible way, but also tell you where you can have a delicious lunch and take beautiful pictures.
River excursion to the island - city of Sviyazhsk
A three-hour excursion for a company of 1-3 people. The highlight of this trip is that the trip will take place on a small motor boat with the real captain and professional guide... The tour also includes a guided walking tour of the island and some time to explore on your own.
Raifa, Sviyazhsk, Ecumenical Temple
A seven-hour excursion for 1-7 people with a visit to several interesting sights in the vicinity of Kazan - the Raifsky Monastery, the Temple of All Religions and the island of Sviyazhsk. The rich program also includes a little rest - you can drink tea from a samovar, try on armor and shoot from a real bow and crossbow.
You can get to the island of Sviyazhsk by river or by road, and electric trains follow in this direction.
How to get there by car
From Kazan, you need to move along the M7 highway, after the bridge over the Sviyaga River and the village of Isakovo at the road junction, turn right, then there will be a right turn to Sviyazhskaya Dam No. 1, then without turns to the island.
There is a large free car park directly at the entrance to the Museum Reserve.
Entry to the island itself by car is prohibited.
How to get to Sviyazhsk from Kazan by boat
The distance from Kazan to Sviyazhsk by water is 31 km. Motor ships leave daily from river port Kazan at 08:20, return flight at 15:30 ( current schedule flights are recommended to be checked at the port).
The cost is 127 rubles one way. Travel time is about 2 hours. You can buy a ticket for the ship only at the ticket office of the River Station.
The usual summer navigation period is from late April to late October.
How to get there by train / train
The Sviyazhsk railway station is located 15 kilometers from the village of Sviyazhsk. Trains and commuter trains from Kazan in the western direction stop there (Adler, Kanash, Albaba, Sviyazhsk, Kislovodsk, Volgograd 1). Travel time is about 1 hour. Tickets are sold on the websites of Russian Railways and. You can take a taxi from the railway station to the island.
