The island-hail Sviyazhsk, located in Tatarstan, is known for almost five hundred years. Sviyazhsk began as a fortress. From history we know that the three campaigns of the Moscow princes to Kazan ended in failure. For the successful assault of Kazan, the Russian army needed a military base. In 1551, in less than a month, in the rear of the enemy the fortress was built, thanks to which the capital of the Kazan Khanate fell. From the wooden fortress of that time to the present days only the Trinity Cathedral has been preserved, in which before the capture of Kazan a moleben served in the presence of Ivan the Terrible.
Currently, Sviyazhsk is a popular tourist complex in Tatarstan. Tourists planning a trip to this ancient city will be interested to know what you can see in Sviyazhsk.
The main sights of Sviyazhsk are ancient sacral constructions. The history of the island-city of Sviyazhsk knew many ups and downs. One of his important missions on the plan of Ivan the Terrible was connected with the conversion of the faithful to Christianity. But if at first the adoption of the Christian faith was voluntary, then under Peter I they were baptized forcibly. By order of Catherine II violent baptism was canceled, and the temples and monasteries of Sviyazhsk began to decline.
In the twentieth century, the Revolution and the Civil War were deplorable in the fate of the city. Monasteries became economic warehouses, and Uspensky Bogoroditsky monastery was turned into a correctional labor colony. From 1935 to 1953, the prison of the Sviyazhsk NKVD was located here.
In 1957, in connection with the construction of the Zhigulevskaya HPP, the Kuibyshev reservoir flooded a huge area. Only thanks to Ivan the Terrible, who ordered once to build a fortress on Mount Krugloy (it was a military strategy), Sviyazhsk remained unprotected, but turned into an island. In a separate historical city at the present time you can get on the asphalt road running along the dam, and in the summer from Kazan you can still swim on the boat.
In 1997, Sviyazhsk was included in the list of the Renaissance Foundation, and in the same year the Assumption Bogoroditsky Monastery was transferred to the Kazan Orthodox Diocese. The Assumption Cathedral in Sviyazhsk is a special temple in the Pskov-Novgorod style. His frescoes, executed in the distant 1561, are unique. Thus, the fresco depicting St. Christopher is considered to be the only one in the world where a holy-faced saint is depicted contrary to canons with a horse's head.
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Currently, there are more than 10 active churches in Sviyazhsk. The Cathedral of Our Lady, built on the model of the Kronstadt Naval Cathedral, stands out for its splendid article. The iconostasis, created in the 16th century, has been preserved in the Trinity Church. In the Ioanno-Predtechensky Monastery there are shrines - icons of the Mother of God "The Inexhaustible Chalice" and "Tikhvinskaya", the image of John the Baptist and part of the relics of Herman of Kazan.
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Sviyazhsk has always been famous for its craftsmen. Now the island revives and develops ancient crafts: pottery and Kuznetsk art. The ethnographic complex Equestrian Court of Sviyazhsk was opened after the restoration. Built in the second half of the XVI century from wood, in the XVIII century the courtyard was rebuilt from stone. Currently, the museum complex includes craft workshops, a souvenir shop, a functioning stables, a restaurant and a guest house.
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Like any ancient city, Sviyazhsk has its own legends. One of them is the fact of erecting in Sviyazhsk a monument to Judas Iscariot, who sold Christ. White emigre newspapers wrote about this, the memories of the Danish diplomat Henning Koehler and the writer A. Varaksin testified to his installation. Ostensibly at the opening of the monument was attended by Leon Trotsky. However, most critics and historians consider all these publications to be unreliable.
The symbol of Sviyazhsk is the cannon "Devkina's head", recreated according to ancient manuscripts, which is crowned with a feminine face with a terrible grimace, reminiscent of the mythological Medusa Gorgon.
Prospects for the development of Sviyazhsk are connected with the creation of a federal museum on the territory of the city. Since 1998, Sviyazhsk is a candidate for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.