Yuryev-Polsky
Encyclopedia
Yuryev-Polsky District
Yuryev-Polsky District is an administrative and municipal district of Vladimir Oblast, Russia. Its administrative center is the town of Yuryev-Polsky. District's population:...
of Vladimir Oblast
Vladimir Oblast
Vladimir Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, located in the upper reaches of the Koloksha River, 68 kilometres (42.3 mi) northwest of Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
. Population: 23,000 (1974).
Yuryev-Polsky was founded by Yury Dolgoruky in 1152. First part of its name derives from Yury's patron saint, St. George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
. The second part is derived from the word polsky meaning "in the fields" (see opolye
Zalesye
Zalesye or Opolye is a historical region of Russia, comprising the north and west parts of Vladimir Oblast, the north-east of Moscow Oblast and the south of Yaroslavl Oblast. As a kernel of the medieval state of Vladimir-Suzdal, this area played a vital part in the development of Russian statehood...
for details). This specification was needed in order to distinguish the town from the earlier established fortress of Yuryev (nowadays Tartu
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...
), at the time located in the woods in what is now Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and then the biggest Russian settlement in the territory of the Chud
Chud
Chud or Chude is a term historically applied in the early Russian annals to several Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Finland, Estonia and Northwestern Russia....
s.
Upon Vsevolod III's death in 1212, the town was assigned to one of his youngest sons, Sviatoslav
Sviatoslav Vsevolodovich of Vladimir
Sviatoslav Vsevolodovich of Vladimir was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal ....
. It was that prince who personally designed the town's chief landmark, the Cathedral of St. George
Saint George Cathedral, Yuryev-Polsky
Saint George Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky is one of a dozen survived white-stone churches which were built in Vladimir-Suzdal Principality in the northeastern Rus prior to the Mongol invasion. Constructed between 1230 and 1234, the cathedral was also the last of these churches to be built, completed...
(1230–1234). It is the latest pre-Mongol construction in Russia, unprecedented in abundance of stone sculptures, and also the model for first stone churches in the Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...
. In the 1460s, the cathedral's dome collapsed, thus burying most of unique sculptures which had adorned the cathedral walls. The collapsed roof was sloppily restored by a well-known Muscovite artisan, Vasili Yermolin
Vasili Yermolin
Vasili Dmitriyevich Yermolin was a Russian architect and sculptor.Vasili Yermolin is known to have been a merchant, contractor, and head of an artel of the Muscovite builders. In 1462, he restored the old parts of the whitestone walls of the Moscow Kremlin from the Sviblov Tower to the...
, in 1471.
The great Battle of Lipitsa
Battle of Lipitsa
The Battle of Lipitsa was the decisive battle in the succession struggle over the Grand Princely throne of Vladimir-Suzdal following the death of Vsevolod the Big Nest. In the battle, fought on April 22, 1216, the forces of Mstislav the Daring and Konstantin Vsevolodovich defeated those of...
was fought near the town in 1216. In 1238, Yuriev was sacked by the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
. A century later, it was incorporated into Muscovy. The chief monument of the Muscovite period is the walled Monastery of Archangel Michael, originally founded in the 13th century and containing various buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries. Several miles from Yuryev, on the bank of the Yakhroma River
Yakhroma River
Yakhroma River is a right tributary of the Sestra River that flows for 78 kilometers through a network of peat marshes in the north of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It passes through the towns of Dmitrov and Yakhroma, crossing the Moscow-Volga Canal on its way....
, stands the Kosmin Cloister, whose structures are typical for the mid-17th century.
