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Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda - the ancient jewel of the city

The “bloodshed hail” and the capital of the oprichnina, the royal residence and the monastery are the heart of the city of Alexandrov. A small white-stone fortress, densely staffed with chambers, cathedrals and small churches, proudly looks at the city from the high bank of the Seraya River. Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda is so legendary and important for Russian history that it is difficult to believe in its real existence in our time, albeit in the form of a museum-reserve. Ivan the Terrible - the character of Shakespearean swing, which provided his second capital with the eternal interest of tourists. Tourists no doubt ascribe Alexandrov to the Golden Ring, although it is not even included in the main classic list of "golden" cities. The textbook plots are more convincing than the list: what to argue about, if in these chambers Ivan Vasilyevich killed his son Ivan. Somewhere near there were the shows of the Tsar's bride, and from the Crucifixion bell tower flew - or did not fly - the Russian Icarus, "serf Nikitka". In terms of color and drama, the history of Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda will not yield to any Borgia series.

The fortress today is a small medieval city. As it should be in such a city, secular museum authorities divide spheres of influence here with the church in the person of the Assumption Monastery. Historically, the monastery has an advantage: the settlement was founded as a royal residence, but in the 17th century, under Alexei Mikhailovich, a convent opened in it, which existed until the revolution. Today, the revived monastery and nature reserve exist on the same territory. The museum got most of the civil buildings, the monastery - the temples.

Thanks to this confrontation, one can look at Aleksandrovskaya suburb from two sides - with a worldly and churchly look, so to speak. Tours are conducted by both sides, and their priorities, naturally, are different. The museum workers talk in detail about the years of the oprichnina, about the murder of the prince, about the reforms of Grozny, his famous library and first Russian printing house, about foreign embassies and the legendary flight on wooden wings ... The nuns speak briefly about Grozny, switching all their attention to the history of the monastery, their fate Mother Superior, icons and temple murals. Visitors have a choice: to listen to those whose ideology is closer in spirit, or to go on one museum and one "monastic" tour - the fuller will be the impression.

Such rivalry is also a traditionally medieval phenomenon, in the spirit of Ivan Vasilyevich. It is a pity that in Alexandrov Sloboda it sometimes creates problems for museum workers, for nuns and for tourists. For example, to photograph inside temples, you need to ask the blessings of the prioress. The nuns, for their part, are forced to observe not too respectful visitors and endure under the windows of the cells of Alexandrov's newly-weds with trials of bitter and champagne from their throats. A visit to the settlement is a traditional part of the urban wedding program. It's a little funny, if you remember the married life of Ivan Vasilyevich, but more beautiful natural scenery in Alexandrov is not found.

Regarding the scenery, the monastery and the museum also differ. Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda - a place exclusively kinogenicheskoe, living historical nature. The museum welcomes both artistic and documentary photography - this is both additional income and the opportunity to show a unique ensemble on the big screen. The monastery in recent years imposes a veto on any artistic subjects in the Alexandrov settlement. It is absurd, but even Pavel Lungin received a refusal with the film “Tsar”, although it is difficult to invent a different nature for a film about Ivan the Terrible during the years of the oprichnina.

In any case, this place is better to see "live" than on the screen. In the settlement, which can not decide whether it is a museum or a monastery, it is good at any time of the year, but it is best to come in the summer. Having settled on a bench near a giant bush of peonies, examine churches built under the watchful eye of Grozny, listen to stories about his wives, who in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda quickly retreated into another world, and imagine how, on a dark night, along one of the paths Malyuta Skuratov drags another sacrifice of oprichnina to Bank of the Gray River.

LOCAL FEATURES

The museum contains a huge collection dedicated to all the ruling persons, who visited it in different eras. Ivan Vasilyevich, naturally, the main character. Alexandrov never forgot that, thanks to the great and terrible king, the city replaced the capital for almost twenty years. They prefer to treat Grozny not as a tyrant, but as a reformer and collector of Russian lands. Although not in a hurry to justify. They prefer to quote Karamzin: "The character of Ivan ... is a mystery to the mind."

The museum collection is located in several buildings. To navigate, study the information stands on the territory.

One of the newest popular expositions is located in the basement and realistically represents the torture chamber of the times of Ivan the Terrible. This attraction was opened at the urgent request of tourists - the museum workers themselves consider such “productions” as vulgarity.

HISTORY

The Tsar's residence in the village of Alexandrovsky was founded by Vasily III, the father of Ivan the Terrible: following the example of the Western European monarchs, he decided to build a country palace for himself. The choice of location was due to the proximity to the spiritual fiefdom of the Moscow princes - the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where Basil III was baptized. In addition, there was a purely practical reason - rich hunting grounds stretched around the settlement. Expanse for the prince, tired of state concerns.

The residence was built by the Italians and the best of Russian architects. They managed in just five years - from 1508 to 1513. After the death of Vasily III, Alexandrov settlement turned to his second wife, Elena Glinskaya, the mother of the future Grozny. Young Ivan Vasilyevich often came here, and after the wedding to the kingdom in 1547, he began to regularly use this place for important state affairs: he honored the governor, received envoys from European autocrats, and from there he sent embassies to the horde.

In December 1564, the most significant event in the history of Alexandrov settlement took place: the residence-fortress became the oprichnaya (that is, the uncrowned, special) capital for 17 years. It was during these years that the unification of the country and the formation of a new political elite was completed.

Sloboda was not only political, but also the cultural capital. In 1577, the country's first provincial print was opened here, where the Moscow-based typographer Andronicus, nicknamed Nevezha (irony of fate), released the Psalter of Slobodskaya. Today, the museum has a memorial sign dedicated to this event. By the way, many believe that the royal library, the famous Liberia, lies somewhere here. Every year enthusiasts come to the excavations, and it is rumored in the city that the library of Ivan the Terrible really remained in Alexandrov, and the locals dismantled it.

In the Alexandrov settlement, the king received all foreign embassies, including “strategic partners” from Denmark and Sweden. Sloboda remembers the magnificent weddings of Grozny - twice, in 1571 and 1575, he was married at the Intercession Cathedral with his chosen ones. The choice of the bride and the marriage ceremony took place so solemnly and magnificently, and the wives of Grozny lived so briefly that the romantic and terrible legends about them still excite the minds. Ivan Vasilyevich is often portrayed by someone like Bluebeard, but in the Museum-Reserve they prefer to speak carefully on this subject, the tsar is not directly blamed for murder. The same concerns the themes of the torture chambers of the Alexandrov Fortress. The facts of torture are acknowledged, but they abstain from bloody details. The same applies to the story of the mysterious death of Tsarevich Ivan. Whether the murder took place, voluntarily or involuntarily, or whether Ivan died for some other reason, the history is not precisely known. One thing is certain: immediately after the death of his son, in November 1581, Ivan the Terrible hastily left the Alexandrov settlement and never returned here. The capital of Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda became spontaneously, just as spontaneously and lost this status.

The fate of the settlement was no longer so brilliant, although the kings did not forget about it. In the Time of Troubles, the fortress was captured by the Poles, burned and looted. Under Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, they restored it, built the Tsar’s traveling palace, which was not preserved to this day. Under the quietest Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, they founded the Assumption Convent. Peter I coached in Alexandrov his amusing regiments. Elizaveta Petrovna was sent here by Anna Ioannovna and barely escaped from the vows of the Assumption Monastery nun. Finally, under Catherine II, Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda received a new status, after which a new history began - the history of the city of Alexandrov.

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