THE 'GOLDEN RING'

North east of Moscow lies a group of historic towns closely bound up with the first 3 or 4 centuries of Russia's history. Several of them served as capitals of small or large principalities, and later of the burgeoning state of Muscovy, which had subsumed them all by the late 14th century. The history of 'Russ' (roughly, the eastern slavs) began further south in Kiev (now Ukraine once more) but linked slav principalities grew up in the north and a northern capital was established in 1015. From the end of the 11th century the Golden ring cities began to grow and prosper, usually on the back of a religious foundation which worked the land - huge tracts of it in some cases - and the commerce of local traders whose dealings stretched from the Baltic to Turkey.

The wealth of historic buildings - kremlins (fortified citadels), monasteries and nunneries (generally also fortified), churches and cathedrals - has survived the soviet era remarkably well. One, Sergiev Posad, was allowed to start to function as a monastery again in the sixties and was tolerated as the home of the orthodox religion and its patriarch from then on.
It contains the graves of tsar Boris Godunov and his family. Boris died in 1605, just as an uprising started in which his son was lynched. His wife died soon after, but his sister lived on (in the monastery) until 1622. (The 7,--- dates are of the orthodox system, counting from the creation.) There is also a sacred well supposed to have sprung up miraculously when the monastery was being besieged (unsuccessfully) by a Polish army. People queue to fill bottles with the Holy Water.


Vladimir is now one of the largest cities in the area and contains a magnificent 12th century cathedral with beautiful carvings outside,
and another larger one with frescoes within.
It also has a "Golden gate", modelled on the great gate at Kiev;
and a statue to Alexander Nevsky, who defeated a Swedish army in 1240 and was subsequently made Grand Prince of Vladimir (back view!) The cathedral on the right was converted into a planetarium... There are also some fine 18th and 19th century buildings.

Suzdal is a complete contrast - quiet and rural, although tourism is being fast developed on quite a large scale. There are three large monasteries, some smaller ones, a kremlin
and 30 or more independent churches, mainly sponsored by merchants from the 17th-19th centuries.
One monastery has a tall classical bell tower built to celebrate the defeat of Napoleon in 1812. We stayed in a 17th century merchant's house, now a B&B, with a sunny flower garden.

The St Euthymius monastery has a beautiful herb and vegetable garden which inspired Magda to several photos!
All the plots are labelled, with Russian and latin names and the uses of the plant.

It is a remarkable fact that the traditional building style is the same here as we met when we first entered Russia in Ulan Ude. Presumably as Russian colonists drove east they took their techniques with them, and these are faithfully reproduced even down to details of the ornate fretwork surrounding the windows. The same techniques are still being used...

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Al noreste de Moscu existe un grupo de ciudades historicas estrechamente ligadas a los primeros 3 o 4 siglos de la historia de Rusia, conocidas en conjunto como el Anillo de oro. Varias de ellas sirvieron de capitales de estados pequenos o medianos, y algunas, posteriormente, del estado Muscovito, el cual las habia absorbido hacia el fin del siglo 14. La historia de los pueblos 'Russ' (aproximadamente, los eslavos orientales) empezo mas al sur en Kiev (ahora nuevamente capital de Ucrainia) pero luego se formaron principalidades en el norte, y en 1015 se establecio un capital norteno. A partir de fines del siglo 11, las ciudades del Anillo de oro empezaban a florecer, normalmente basado en algun monasterio que trabajaba la tierra - grandes extensiones en algunos casos - y del comercio que se desarollaba desde el Mar Baltico hasta Turquia.

Una gran cantidad de edificios historicos - kremlins (ciudadelas fortificadas), monasterios (en general fortificados tambien), iglesias y catedrales - sobrevivio la epoca sovietica. En una ciudad, Sergiev Posad, el monasterio fue permitido funcionar nuevamente a partir de los anos 60, y tolerado como el hogar de la religion ortodoja y de su patriarca. Contiene las tumbas del tsar Boris Godunov y su familia - Boris murio en 1605, en el momento de una rebelion en la cual mataron a su hijo. La esposa de Boris murio poco despues, pero la hermana vivio en el monasterio hasta 1622. Tambien existe un pozo milagroso, que supuestamente broto durante un sitio por parte de los polacos. La gente hace cola para llenar botellas de agua santa.

Vladimir es hoy en dia una de las ciudades mas grandes de la region y contiene dos catedrales magnificos del siglo 12. Hay un "Porton de oro", copiado del Porton grande de Kiev; y una estatua de Alexander Nevsky, quien derroto un ejercito sueco en 1240 y fue convertido por el tsar en Gran Principe de Vladimir. Otra catedral fue convertida en planetarium... Ademas hay unos edificios esplendidos de los siglos 18 y 19.

Suzdal es un contraste completo - tranquilo y rural, aunque el turismo se esta desarrollando. Existen tres monasterios grandes, algunos mas chicos, un kremlin y 30 o mas iglesias independientes, la mayoria auspiciadas por comerciantes de los siglos 17 a 19. Uno de los monasterios tiene un campanario grande construido para celebrar la derrota de Napoleon en 1812. Alojamos en una casa de comerciante del siglo 17, convertido en hotel, con un bonito jardin. El monasterio de San Eutimio contiene un hermoso jardin de hierbas y verduras, el cual inspiro a la Magda a tomar varias fotos! Cada pedazo tiene su etiqueta con el nombre de la planta en ruso y latin, y sus usos.

Es un hecho remarcable que el estilo de las casas tradicionales aqui es igual al que encontramos cuando llegamos a Rusia en Ulan Ude. Supongo que a medida que los colonos rusos avanzaban hacia el oriente, llevaban consigo las tecnicas conocidas; y estas reaparecen, hasta en el detalle del trabajo ornado alrededor de las ventanas. Siguen construyendo casas de la misma manera...