Famous churches in the Kremlin of Suzdal, a photo from Vladimir, Center

Photographer's Note

This photo I took in the Kremlin of Suzdal right on the last days of winter before spring (end of March). You can see here two great examples of white stone and wooden architecture of Russian churches.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin (background on the photo) is the principal temple of Suzdal and one of the latest monuments of the pre-Mongol architecture of the land of Vladimir and Suzdal.
This church, which is the main part of Kremlin's anssemble, was built in 1225 on the site of the Assumption cathedral built by Vladimir Monomakh at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th centuries which had collapsed. The new 13th century cathedral was built in lime stone, but the old plinth from the previous one was used in the masonry inside. This technique distinguishes it from the other monuments of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture. The facades and portals of this 3-domed cathedral were decorated with the white stone carvings. After the fire of 1445 the upper part of the cathedral was rebuilt in brick. The 3 domes were replaced by 5 domes. In 1993 the cathedral appears in the UNESCO's cultural list.

The St. Nicholas church (foreground on the photo) was built in 1766 in the village of Glotovo and was the first exhibit of the future museum of the wooden architecture and peasant life. It was transferred to Suzdal in 1960. It's a perfect example of a wooden village church, which has a clear silhouette, nice proportions, refined shape of the faceted alter, highly pitched wooden roof and an elegant dome decorated with aspen shingles. This church as a good example of folk carpenters' art was hewed with the use of pegs.

sicily198x, wkraj, Albrecht, Bianconeri78, nels, tjanze, sarju, Jazator, Janice, yogi32, andreineamtu, catherinetodd, belowen, avene, edcone has marked this note useful

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sicily198x (2026) 2005-08-13 12:55

Thanks Arthur for sharing a nice shot. I like the contrast between those architecture of Russian. The color tone is perfect in this shot.
You must had a great time there.
Regards

wkraj (1268) 2005-08-13 13:11

Beautiful photo, very good vcomposition, well sharpness and nice sky.
Very good note.
Regards, Wiesiek

lukie (0) 2005-08-13 13:18

Very nice "snow"picture of these two so different churches. Well done !

Luc

Albrecht (11283) 2005-08-13 13:36

Hi Arthur
Great picture; interesting to see because I have never been there and perhaps never will be so these shots make me wonder if ever I would go there....Good compo and colours.
Greetings Albrecht

Cormac (26565) 2005-08-13 13:57

Great shot Arthur! This is one of your best yet. I like the way you have both the old wooden church in the same shot with the stone cathedral, showing both at the same time. The angle of the roof compliments the domes of the cathedral and the overall colour and detail is impressive. Superb!

rbcy1974 (20758) 2005-08-14 4:43

Dobri Viecher,
I love the contrasting architectures, primitive and more elaborate. The point of view that you chose is excellent as is the light and colours.
Regards
Daniel

Bianconeri78 (701) 2005-08-14 11:42

Hi Arthur,
Thanks for sharing another great shot! Any Russian church is fantastic on its own, but here the pristine sky and blanket of snow really make for a awesome picture.
I'm always looking forward to your next photos!
Best
Jeremy

PixelTerror (0) 2005-08-15 6:20

Privet Arthur,
Another splendid composition of yours, the churche sperspective is very nice and the magic winter light combined with the architecture adds here a nice fairy tale feeling, it's a wonderful postcard from Russia !
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

nels (2623) 2005-08-15 16:35

a nice crisp clear picture arthur good composition thedifference between the old and the new work well . adrian

tjanze (5674) 2005-08-17 9:05

Exelent view.I just dont know which church is more pretty.Fantastic arhitecture and I think photo is better becouse it is winter photo.Well done.

sarju (5324) 2005-08-19 0:14

Hi Arthur
this photo is so very full of life and character ... thanks for a very informative note also ... i guess this is what TE is all about ... discovering new places
cheers ... sarju
PS: I have heard that there is this statue in Moscow that was brought from some other country and than they had put Lenin's head (I am not sure though) ... would you have some photo of that ... I was told this story by this russian couple whom I had met sometime back

efimoore (2126) 2005-08-20 16:10

This is a pleasant scene of the stone and wooden buildings together, at snow time.
Looks like you have a fun job!

Photograph2u (0) 2005-08-22 10:23

This photo is gorgeous as well. The contrast of the ragged and the well maintained, the contrast of the colours of brown and white, the definition of your photo, the composition.

Great photo! Take care, Yan

danyy (0) 2005-09-10 12:45

Bonjour Arthur,
d嶰id幦ent aussi belles sous la neige qu'en plein 彋�, les 嶲lises russes sont vraiment superbes.
Les couleurs du bois ressortent bien aussi sur cette neige.
Bien expos� en tous les cas, sans surxpositions.

Bien � toi.

Daniel.

jafadabret (56501) 2005-09-22 2:30

Quel 廦uilibre ! Ces 嶲lises sont tr鋊 photog幯iques chacune dans son genre. La neige efface tout ce qui viendrait distraire de l'essentiel.

Janice (4403) 2005-10-03 17:09

Arthur, this is so interesting seeing the 2 opposite architectural examples of these Russian churches side by side. And I like reading your notes too, always so informative.
I like the colours here, and especially with the snow. The wooden church contrasts so well, colour-wise and shape and style too, against the white building and blue sky. Well composed too. A very good job, thank you for sharing. Well done.

Stepan (27210) 2005-10-09 13:49

I've discovered that kind of wooden churches, here on TE.
I like the contrast and the snowy light. The church seems to be really small.
Thanks for the sharing.
St廧hane

sixTL (8596) 2005-11-01 3:34

Hi Arthur, Your photo is wonderful. I like the composition, frame, depth and contrast. Colors are great. Very good POV! Very impressive picture!

Regards Artur

andreineamtu (466) 2006-05-21 15:04

very very nice. the comparison is speachless. good light

Andre-H (1271) 2006-05-22 12:02

I like the perspective here, which has allowed you to include two quite different, and yet distinctly Russian, styles of church architecture. Thanks for the interesting note, too.

A

rubisheikh (77) 2007-05-13 4:24

Hi Arthur,
a nice crisp clear picture arthur good composition thedifference between the old and the new work well done,TFS
Regards Rubi

catherinetodd (18) 2007-06-21 4:30 [Comment]

Show Comment

avene (12675) 2008-01-17 12:33

looking at photos like this I realise that I really miss the winter and snow, provided it comes with crisp air and blue sky, not the horrible wind and rain that I've experienced during the previous winter here in New York City...
but back to the photo - excellent shot! I like a lot the contrast between the wooden church in the foreground and white stone cathedral in the bacground. the clear blue sky adds a feeling of freshness to the scene, very pleasant to look at, my compliments.
best,
Kristine