Zvenigorod

Zvenigorod is an old town in Moscow Oblast, Russia.

History

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 folk etymology.

The community has existed since the 12th century, although its first written mention is dated around 1339, in the last will of Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan I Daniilovich Kalita, in which he says: "Thus, I pass on to my son Ivan: Zvenigorod, Kremchina, Ruza..." In the historical records, or annals (лéтопись [letopis'] in Russian), Zvenigorod is first mentioned around 1382, soon after khan, Tokhtamysh burnt down Moscow, and destroyed a number of towns on the way, including Zvenigorod.

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 Dormition Cathedral (1399). The cathedral's interior features frescoes attributed to Andrei Rublev.

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 neighborhood. Some of these house museums of Sergey Taneyev, Anton Chekhov, and Isaac Levitan.

During World War II Zvenigorod was near, or on the frontline in the 1941-2 Battle of Moscow.

Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery

The Storozhi Monastery near Zvenigorod was established in 1398 by St. Savva, one of the first disciples of Sergius of Radonezh. The oldest church is the katholikon completed in 1405 and dedicated to the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos. 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 compound 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.