Savior Euthymios Monastery

Exterior view in winter

The Savior Euthymios Monastery ( Russian Спасо-Евфимиев монастырь ) is a male monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church in the city of Suzdal ( Vladimir Oblast ) founded in 1352 . As part of the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal , the monastery belongs to the world heritage of UNESCO .

history

Savior Transfiguration Cathedral and the bells

The monastery was founded in the 14th century under Boris Konstantinovich , the Grand Duke of Nizhny Novgorod- Suzdal. The founder and namesake of the monastery was the Igumen Euthymios of Suzdal . The monastery was initially made of wood, and it got its current appearance in the 16th and 17th centuries. The construction of his striking buildings was made possible by large donations from the high nobility (princes and boyars ). The Grand Duke of Moscow and the whole of Rus Vasily III made great contributions . His son Ivan IV. , The Suzdal Prince House Pozharsky and others.

In 1445, a bitter battle between the Russians and the Tatars of the Kazan Khanate (see Moscow-Kazan Wars ) occurred on the walls of the monastery , in which the Tatars gained the upper hand and Grand Duke Vasily II took prisoner.

The main structure of the monastery is the Savior Transfiguration Cathedral, which was built at the end of the 16th century. It has the features of Suzdal architecture made of white stone and has monumental and strict forms. In the cathedral there are preserved fresco wall paintings from the 16th century. On the east wall of the monastery is the tomb of Prince and national hero Dmitri Poscharsky , who played a leading role in the liberation of Moscow from Polish occupation during the time of turmoil .

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the fortified monastery played the role of a place of exile and a prison, both under the tsars and the Soviets. In 1943 the German field marshal Friedrich Paulus was also held here. In 1968 the monastery was converted into a museum. The historic site, which was added to the World Heritage List in 1992, is now one of the main attractions of Suzdal.