Суздаль – ежелгі қала және Ресейдің Алтын Сақинасының маржаны

Town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia

Suzdal (Суздаль, ) is a town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located near the Kamenka River, north of the city of Vladimir. Vladimir is the administrative center of the surrounding oblast. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 9,286. Suzdal is one of the oldest Russian towns. In the 12th century, it became the capital of the principality, while Moscow was one of its subordinate settlements. Currently, Suzdal is the smallest of the Russian Golden Ring towns, yet it has more than 40 historically important monuments and 200 architectural sites. Several of these sites are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Suzdal served as a capital at the time when Moscow has been described as "still a cluster of cowsheds". Eventually, it united with Nizhny Novgorod until both were annexed by Moscow in 1392. After a decline in political importance, the town rose in prominence as a religious center with development projects funded by Vasily III and Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, wealthy merchants paid for 30 churches, which still stand in the town. Today, the town serves as a tourist center, as it features many examples of old Russian architecture mostly churches and monasteries. Despite having nearly ten thousand residents, Suzdal still retains a rural atmosphere with streams and meadows, and chicken and livestock a common sight on the streets, some of which remain unpaved. This juxtaposition of medieval architecture in a pastoral setting has made Suzdal a popular subject for artists.

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Suzdal serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District, to which it is directly subordinated. As a municipal division, the town of Suzdal is incorporated within Suzdalsky Municipal District as Suzdal Urban Settlement.

The only industry in the town is tourism. Suzdal avoided the industrialization of the Soviet times and was able to preserve many examples of Russian architecture of the 13th 19th centuries. There are 305 monuments and listed buildings in Suzdal, including 30 churches, 14 bell towers, and 5 monasteries and convents. 79 of them are federally protected buildings and 167 are regionally protected.

The Kremlin is the oldest part of Suzdal, dating from the 10th century. It is a predecessor of the Moscow Kremlin. In the 12th century, it was the base of Prince Yury Dolgoruky, who ruled the northeastern part of Kievan Rus' and founded an outpost, which is now Moscow. The original 13th century door from the cathedral is now on exhibition in the Archbishop’s Chambers. Saviour Monastery of St Euthymius, founded in 1352 to the north of the town centre on the high bank of the Kamenka river. It was built under the order of the Suzdal Nizhniy Novgorod prince Konstantin. The monastery was planned as a fortress and was originally enclosed by a wooden wall, later destroyed by the Poles. Today's reddish brick walls of the Suzdal monastery were erected over four years, from 1640 to 1644. The fortifications have 12 towers constructed to house artillery power. Later the monastery became a prison, which had a reputation for brutal punishment of prisoners. In 1905 the prison was abolished. The Wooden Church of St. Nicholas, built in Glotovo in 1766, was moved to Suzdal in 1960 to be part of a Museum of Wooden Architecture and Peasant Life. The church is elevated off the ground about a story high from when it was moved across the country. The church is made entirely of wood. St John the Baptist Church, built in 1720, at the same time as the Wooden Church of St Nicholas. It was constructed with white plastered walls and wooden supports. St Alexander Convent, built in 1240 by an unknown architect. It is said that the princesses of Suzdal, Mariya and Agrippina, were buried here in the 14th century. Покровский монастырь (Суздаль), founded in 1364. In its center stands the Cathedral of the Intercession, an add on built in 1518, financed by Moscow knaz (king) Vasili III. The interior of the cathedral is plain white stone, with no paintings or stained glass. The church houses the burial vaults of 20 nuns of noble birth. An art museum containing works created in the 16th and 17th centuries is connected to the cathedral.

Open Russian Festival of Animated Film, held annually in March since 2002, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Culture. Cucumber Day Festival with folk music performances is celebrated by locals on the second Saturday of July, every year since 2001.

More than 60 movies were filmed in Suzdal and the vicinity.