Zvenigorod

Zvenigorod (English) Звенигород (Russian)
-  Town  -
The Moskva River in Zvenigorod
Location of Moscow Oblast in Russia
Zvenigorod Location of Zvenigorod in Moscow Oblast
Coordinates:
Administrative status (as of January 2013)
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Moscow Oblast
Administratively subordinated to	Zvenigorod Town Under Oblast Jurisdiction
Administrative center of	Zvenigorod Town Under Oblast Jurisdiction
Municipal status (as of February 2010)
Urban okrug	Zvenigorod Urban Okrug
Administrative center of	Zvenigorod Urban Okrug
Statistics
Area	48.1 km2 (18.6 sq mi)
Population (2010 Census)	16,395 inhabitants
Density
Time zone	MSK (UTC+03:00)
First mentioned	1338
Town status since	1784
Dialing code(s)	+7 49869
Zvenigorod on Wikimedia Commons

Uspensky Cathedral, 1399

Zvenigorod (Russian: Звени́город) is an old town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: 16,395 (2010 Census); 12,155 (2002 Census); 15,805 (1989 Census).

History

The community has existed since the 12th century, although its first written mention is dated 1338. The town's name is based either on a personal name (cf. Zvenislav, Zvenimir) or on a hydronym (cf. the Zvinech, Zvinyaka, Zveniga Rivers); the derivation from "town of ringing (bells)" is a folk etymology.

Zvenigorod rose to prominence in the late 14th century after it was bequeathed by Dmitry Donskoy to his second son Yuri, who founded his residence on the steep bank of the Moskva River. The local kremlin, called Gorodok, contains the only fully preserved example of 14th-century Muscovite architecture, the Assumption Cathedral (1399). The cathedral's interior features frescoes by Andrei Rublev.

Rozhdestvensky Cathedral in the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, 1405

Zvenigorod is primarily remembered for internecine wars waged by Yuri's sons for control of Moscow during the reign of their cousin Vasily II (1425–1462). After their party was defeated, the town was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

Zvenigorod was granted town rights in 1784. By the late 19th century, the town gained popularity among the intelligentsia as a fashionable banlieue of Moscow. Many extravagant dachas were built in the neighbourhood. Some of these house museums of Sergey Taneyev, Anton Chekhov, and Isaac Levitan.

Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery

Within the Savva-Storozhevsky Monastery

In 1398, Prince Yury asked St. Savva, one of the first disciples of Sergius of Radonezh, to go to Zvenigorod and to establish a monastery on the Storozhi Holm (Watching Hill). St. Savva of Storozhi was interred in the white stone cathedral of the Virgin's Nativity in 1407. This diminutive, roughly hewn church still stands, although its present-day exquisite look is the result of recent restoration. The frescoes in the altar date back to the 1420s, but the rest of interior was painted in 1656. A magnificent iconostasis in five tiers and the Stroganov-school heaven gates were installed in 1652.

In 1650, the monastery was chosen by Tsar Alexis as his suburban residence. In five years, they constructed a white-stone royal palace and a festive chamber for tsaritsa. The cloister was encircled with stone walls and towers, patterned after those of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius. Particularly noteworthy is a large belfry, erected in four bays in 1650 and crowned with three tents and a clocktower. A church over the holy gates was consecrated to the Holy Trinity in 1652.

After the death of Feodor III, who spent most of his time there, the monastery declined. In May 1918, when the Bolsheviks tried to seize the relics of St. Savva, several persons were shot dead. In 1985, the cloister was assigned to the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. St. Savva's relics were returned to the monastery in 1998.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Zvenigorod Town Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Zvenigorod Town Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Zvenigorod Urban Okrug.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia

Twin towns — Sister cities

Zvenigorod is twinned with:

• Mogilev, Belarus (2006)
• Tropea, Italy (2013)

References

Sources

• Московская областная Дума. Закон №11/2013-ОЗ от 31 января 2013 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Московской области», в ред. Закона №72/2015-ОЗ от 5 мая 2015 г. «Об отнесении города Озёры Озёрского района Московской области к категории города областного подчинения Московской области, упразднении Озёрского района Московской области и внесении изменений в Закон Московской области "Об административно-территориальном устройстве Московской области"». Вступил в силу на следующий день после официального опубликования (13 января 2013 г.). Опубликован: "Ежедневные Новости. Подмосковье", №24, 12 февраля 2013 г. (Moscow Oblast Duma. Law #11/2013-OZ of January 31, 2013 On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Moscow Oblast, as amended by the Law #72/2015-OZ of May 5, 2015 On Re-Classifying the Town of Ozyory in Ozyorsky District of Moscow Oblast as the Town Under Oblast Jurisdiction, on Abolishing Ozyorsky District of Moscow Oblast, and on Amending the Law of Moscow Oblast "On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Moscow Oblast". Effective as of the day following the day of the official publication (January 13, 2013).).
• Московская областная Дума. Закон №36/2005-ОЗ от 3 февраля 2005 г. «О статусе и границе городского округа Звенигорд», в ред. Закона №12/2010-ОЗ от 26 февраля 2010 г «О внесении изменений в Закон Московской области "О статусе и границе городского округа Звенигород" и Закон Московской области "О статусе и границах Одинцовского муниципального района и вновь образованных в его составе муниципальных образований"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Ежедневные Новости. Подмосковье", №26, 12 февраля 2005 г. (Moscow Oblast Duma. Law #36/2005-OZ of February 3, 2005 On the Status and the Border of Zvenigorod Urban Okrug, as amended by the Law #12/2010-OZ of February 26, 2010 On Amending the Law of Moscow Oblast "On the Status and the Border of Zvenigorod Urban Okrug" and the Law of Moscow Oblast "On the Status and the Borders of Odintsovsky Municipal District and the Newly Established Municipal Formations It Comprises". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).

External links

• Unofficial website of Zvenigorod (Russian)
• Photo of Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery
• Photo of the Moskva River near Zvenigorod
• About St. Savva Storozevsky and Zvenigorod in the book in a series "Life of outstanding people" by K. Kovalev