Wednesday 19 August 2015

RU-3813970 Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Theotokos) in Suzdal, Russia

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Suzdal, Russia is a World Heritage Site. It is one of the eight White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal and is regarded as one of the most complex monuments of Russian medieval architecture.

This Cathedral is surrounded by a ring of earthen walls in an oxbow of Kamenka River. The cathedral was originally built and decorated with frescoes during the reign of Vladimir II Monomakh in 1102. In 1222, the dilapidated building was taken down and replaced by a new one built of white stone. Thus it remained until 1528, when the white stone walls above the arcade were replaced by brick. In the 17th century, the previously three-domed cathedral was given five domes and the interior was partially repainted. Thus the cathedral survives to this day with numerous changes throughout its history, both in the exterior, and the interior, where the wall frescoes are of 13th-, 15th- and 17th-century origin. The cathedral has also endured fire several times

Since 1945 the cathedral has been under systematic restoration aimed at recreating its appearance after the 1528 reconstruction, but with the onion-shaped domes from 1748 retained.

This postcard came from Marina (5 August 2015) Postcrossing.

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