Baidildaeva Dinara Nurpeisova, KSU "Secondary School named after Bezrodnykh", teacher...
Before this, we had already visited Bykovo twice - and for some reason we were always unlucky with the weather. On the eve of the trip, we looked at the forecast - Gismeteo promised a clear sunny day.
We wake up at 8 am, look outside - the sky is overcast, and the snow is falling in large flakes without stopping. At the same time, all forecast sources have been updated and show clouds and snowfall throughout the day, only optimistic Yandex claims that it is supposedly sunny in Moscow now. I was already thinking about staying at home, but Yulia still wanted to go. In order not to argue, they planted an old “pocket” from 1991, which I took with me to exams in school (and at the institute too) in order to get an “excellent”. :) The coin made it clear that we had to go. Well, we went - and we were not disappointed!
The Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God in the village of Bykovo was built in 1789. According to one, the most widespread and authoritative version, its project belongs to V.I. Bazhenov, according to others - to M.F. Kazakov or A.N. Bokarev.
The white stone church in the Russian Gothic (or pseudo-Gothic) style has no worthy analogues in the temple architecture of the Moscow region, and, perhaps, in the temple architecture of Russia in general. There are two churches in the building - the upper one in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the lower one in the basement - the Nativity of Christ.
The main volume of the temple is oval in plan, placed on a high basement; a large rectangular refectory with two bell towers in the corners is attached to it from the west.
The main volume ends with a light rotunda with a high spire at the top, surrounded by a number of similar spiers.
The entire decor of the temple is unusually rich.
On the sides of the oval of the main volume of the temple there are high lancet windows...
...Between which there are decorative porticoes with columns framing the side entrances.
The temple looks very impressive from the west, from the bell towers. A two-way grand staircase leads to the area in front of the entrance to the upper temple, under which is the entrance to the lower temple. One tower was built as a bell tower with a platform for ringing, the second - for a clock.
Let's take a closer look at the decor.
The round upper tiers of the towers are cut through by arched openings and end with domes with high spiers, the same as those above the central chapter.
In 1884, a separate bell tower was built next to the temple in imitation of the same style. Some sources call it the architect D. A. Gushchin, others - I. T. Tamansky.
To the side of the street on which the church stands, in the depths of the ancient park, is the Bykovo estate itself, or rather, what has remained of it. The current manor building was built in 1856 by the architect de Simon on the basements of the previous manor house. Currently, it houses a functioning tuberculosis clinic. In 1704, Peter I granted this village to the Rostov governor Illarion Vorontsov “for services to the Fatherland.” Vorontsov was not rich, he owned only two hundred peasant souls. Almost no one remembers Illarion Vorontsov himself now; his descendants became much more famous.
The great-grandson of the voivode, Prince Mikhail Semenovich, was entrenched in history not only because he showed himself brilliantly as the tsar’s viceroy, but also because it was about him that young A.S. Pushkin, who had tender feelings for his beautiful wife, wrote a rather evil and unfair epigram .
“Half my lord, half merchant.
Half sage, half ignorant,
Half-scoundrel, but there is hope
What will be complete at last."
In 1775, Catherine II visited many estates near Moscow, including the estate in Bykovo. The estate looked extremely modest and did not make any impression on the empress. The count could not tolerate such shame. He immediately invited the chief architect of Russia, Vasily Bazhenov, to redevelop the estate and park.
Bazhenov eagerly set to work. He set himself a goal: to radically change the appearance of the master's estate. The Bazhenovs decided to build a new palace in the western part of the estate on oak piles. The hill on which the palace now stands was created artificially. The peasants carried the earth for the hill on themselves in wicker baskets from the places where three ponds were dug.
The walkway, located in front of the portico, is framed by a balustrade - a railing made of figured posts. To the left of the palace, a high tower was erected, on which a telescope and a sundial were installed. Above the balcony is the coat of arms of the Vorontsov-Dashkovs.
The southern façade was built in a classical style. Its decoration is a portico with columns in the form of beautiful female figures, on which the balcony rests.
There is a romantic legend that one of the Vorontsov-Dashkovs, in the absence of his wife, organized a friendly dinner in the palace.
His beloved was invited to it, to whom he allegedly promised to give the palace.
Having learned about this from the servants, the wife demanded to sell the estate. And the old-timers recalled how they once saw the failed owner of the estate, who lived in Moscow until the war, walking with a small knapsack...
The coat of arms of the Vorontsov-Dashkovs is a combination of the count coat of arms of the Vorontsovs and the noble coat of arms of the Dashkovs.
Let's take a closer look at it. Below you can still make out the motto: “Semper immota fides”, which translated from Latin means “Eternally unshakable loyalty”.
The name of V.I. Bazhenov is also associated with the pavilion-gazebo preserved on one of the islands of the pond in the park. The snow-white gazebo is truly proportional and harmonious. Three circular pylons and Corinthian columns support a wide cornice and dome. Unfortunately, the elegant bridge to the island no longer exists, and you can now only get to the gazebo in the summer by boat. But in the cold season you can try to walk to it on the ice, but we didn’t dare then.
Let's return to the palace. Inside it was decorated in English style. The walls of the double-height dining room were lined with oak; under the ceiling there was a frieze of portraits of the Vorontsov family. The Vorontsov library of the 18th century and a portrait of the famous Princess Dashkova (friend of Catherine II) by Levitsky were kept here. Everything melted and was carried away in a whirlwind of time, like the Bazhenov house itself...
Addition from our readers: How to get to Bykovo?
From Moscow to the Bazhenov Church, it is better to go along the Novoryazanskoye Highway (Volgogradsky Prospekt), and then along the highway to Zhukovsky (there are several turns from the Novoryazanskoye Highway to Zhukovsky, any one is suitable).
In the village of Ostrovtsy, at the traffic police post, turn left (signpost to Zhukovsky and Bykovo airport). There have already been turns with these signs before (they also lead to the goal, so if you turn earlier, there will be no mistake). From the bridges over the Pekhorka and Bykovka rivers, to the right along the way, you can see the park rising along the slope of the bank and the palace tower. The church is not visible, it is to the east, behind the park. Next, in order not to get confused in the numerous streets of the village, it is better to get to the highway to Zhukovsky and turn right along it (all access options converge at this point).
On the right, along the highway, one-story houses of the village stretch, and behind them you can already discern the spiers of the Bazhenov temple. At the point where the one-story buildings end (further - multi-story buildings), you need to turn right from the highway and then right again, onto a street parallel to the highway (but in the opposite direction). This street leads almost directly to the church (it will be visible on the left at the end of the short transverse passage).
The time is an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the traffic congestion towards the region, IMHO.
Almost on the border of the Ramensky district, 15 kilometers from Moscow, is located one of the largest urban settlements in the southeast of the near Moscow region - Bykovo. Until recently (2004), Bykovo was considered a village, but in some sources it is already considered a city. Bykovo is one of the most beautiful places in the region: here multi-storey buildings coexist with private houses, busy streets with the peace and tranquility of nearby forests and fields, and the roar of airplanes does not drown out the rustling of leaves in the gardens.
Bykovo repeats the name of a large village located three kilometers to the south. It was first mentioned in documents of the 15th - 17th centuries. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, after the capture of Kazan, cattle began to be driven to the capital. In Bykovo he was fed, slaughtered, and the meat was sent to the capital - hence, apparently, the name. The village changed owners several times and was private and state property. In 1762, it passed to a representative of the ancient noble family, Mikhail Mikhailovich Izmailov (1719-1800), chamberlain and major general. In 1768 M.M. Izmailov was appointed first present (chairman) of the Kremlin Building Expedition, where the architect Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov (1737-1799) worked under his supervision. At the end of the 80s. XVIII century MM. Izmailov planned to turn the village of Bykovo into a luxurious noble estate, which he instructed his former subordinate V.I. Bazhenov, who fulfilled this plan with honor. Away from the royal whims, nothing hampered Bazhenov’s genius. He sought to create a unique architectural and park ensemble, including a palace, a temple, a park with pavilions and ponds. Unappreciated in Tsaritsyno, the architect brilliantly realized his bold plans in Bykovo. This is how a majestic two-story palace appeared on an artificial hill. The earth for the embankment was taken here, in the park, which created three picturesque ponds.
The pearl of Bykov, and the entire Moscow region, was the white stone Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. The two-story building is an architectural masterpiece of world significance. The first floor, where the altar was consecrated in honor of the Nativity of Christ, was built in 1783. In 1788, a second floor appeared with a chapel in honor of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which gave the general name to the church. This temple has a unique oval shape in plan and belongs to rare architectural examples of the neo-Gothic style. Two external, harmoniously curved flights of stairs lead to the second floor. Beautiful paired bell towers located on the sides of the staircase form together with it a picture that is rare in its originality and integrity. As the famous art historian and professor at Moscow University Mikhail Andreevich Ilyin wrote in his guide to the Moscow region, “despite its relatively large size, the church in Bykovo looks surprisingly light and elegant, like a garden pavilion.” This can easily be seen by looking at the picture of D.E. Gauguin "Bykovo. Palace of the Vorontsov-Dashkovs" 1853, stored in the Ramenskoye Historical and Art Museum.
From the beginning of the 19th century. representatives of the Vorontsov family become the owners of the Bykovo estate. The first of them was Ivan Illarionovich (1790 - 1854), nephew of the famous Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova (nee Vorontsova), who received from Alexander I the right to be called Vorontsov-Dashkov.
Then, in 1855, Bykovo passed to Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov (1837-1916). At this time, the Swiss architect Bernard de Simon was invited to the estate, who partially remodeled the palace after the fire and richly decorated its interiors in accordance with the tastes of his time. At the same time, the coat of arms of the Vorontsov-Dashkovs appears on the attic of the palace with the motto in Latin: “Loyalty is always unshakable.”
The last owner of Bykov was Nikolai Ivanovich Ilyin, a travel engineer. In the 1860s. The construction of railways in Russia was just getting started. Anticipating the prospects opening up with the development of a new type of transport, a group of like-minded people (including N.I. Ilyin) led by K.F. von Meck (1821-1876) created in 1863 the first private railway company, the Society of the Moscow-Ryazan Railway. The Moscow-Kolomna line with the stations Lyubertsy, Bykovo, Ramenye, Bronnitskaya, Faustovo, Voskresensk, Peski, built in two years, was extended to Ryazan by 1865.
In 1874 N.I. Ilyin acquired from I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov, who was appointed governor of the Caucasus at that time, his estate and since then lived in it constantly. As a zealous owner, N.I. Ilyin improved not only his home, but also Bykovo.
In 1875, a zemstvo school was opened in the village, for which Ilyin built a two-story building. On the initiative and at the expense of N.I. Ilyin in 1884, next to the Church of the Nativity of Christ (now the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God), a bell tower was built, which in style organically fit into the ensemble with the temple. After some time, in the fence of the church, dependent on N.I. Ilyin, a stone gatehouse was built.
Being a parishioner and long-term head of the Bykovskaya church, Nikolai Ivanovich in 1880 invited his younger brother Alexander Ivanovich to marry his fiancee Caroline Louise Schweikert, who converted to Orthodoxy under the name Ekaterina Yulievna. In this marriage, in 1883, Ivan Aleksandrovich Ilyin was born, a future philosopher who devoted his entire life and works to Russia.
Of particular interest is the description of Bykov in the memoirs of Margarita Kirillovna Morozova (1873 - 1958), the founder of the Moscow Religious and Philosophical Society, owner of the publishing house “Put”. “Bykovo was a wonderful estate back then. There was a wonderful house-palace (built by Bazhenov), like a castle, made of red brick, trimmed with white stone. There were huge terraces all around the house, and the house had huge beautiful rooms. It stood high on a mountain, below there was a pond, on the other side of which stood the old Hermitage gazebo, white with columns. There was a large park all around that went down to the Moscow River. From the entrance to the estate there was an alley leading to a large house; along one side of it were greenhouses and greenhouses, and I remember that they were full of pineapples and peaches; on the other side of the alley there were huge gardens of strawberries and various berries.”
Nature itself, with its light pine forest, clean reservoirs, fresh air, mushrooms, and fishing, was conducive to a good rest. Muscovites quickly fell in love with and appreciated these places and began to willingly travel here in the summer. At the beginning of the 20th century. part of Ilyina’s land was sold for dachas. This is how the village of Ilyinsky appeared, named after the owner. These dachas began to be rented and later bought by famous artists, publishers, bankers, and entrepreneurs.
Fortunately, the name “Platform Ilyinskaya” has survived to this day, but the Sheremetyevskaya platform disappeared from the map, Prozorovskaya was renamed Kratovo after the name of the first red commissioner of the Kazan Railway; Ukhtomskaya station appeared in honor of the revolutionary worker.
After 1917, there was a graveyard in the fence of the Church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, where N.I. was buried. Ilyin, under the slogan “we will destroy to the ground,” was razed to the ground. Grandson N.I. Ilyin, Mikhail Andreevich Ilyin, went through the Gulag and the penal battalion of the Great Patriotic War, his nephew - Ivan Aleksandrovich Ilyin - was expelled from the Fatherland.
Time has put everything in its place. The ashes of the great Russian philosopher Ivan Aleksandrovich Ilyin were reburied in the Donskoy Monastery, his personal archive was returned to the walls of his native Moscow University.
In the villages of Bykovo and Ilyinsky, life goes on as usual. And if you are ever lucky enough to vacation in these places, remember the sons of ancient noble families who left a noticeable mark on the history of the Fatherland and in the chronicles of one of the most beautiful corners of the Moscow region - Bykovo.
I have long heard about one of the most beautiful and most unusual cathedrals in the Moscow region - the Vladimir Church in Bykovo, which looks like a fairy-tale castle. In addition, the noble estate of Bykovo with a park has been preserved nearby. All this served as a reason to go and see this beauty one summer weekend.
The Bykovo estate is located a few kilometers south of Moscow, so getting to it is quite easy even without a car.
As soon as we got off the minibus, we saw the spire of the Vladimir Church. Focusing on it, we walked along private houses to the temple. It was built in 1789 according to the design of the famous architect V.I. Bazhenov for the favorite of Empress Catherine the Great, Izmailov. The church is made in a pseudo-Gothic style and looks quite unusual for our Moscow region. It looks more like some kind of ominous castle, especially from the side of the impressive staircase.
The temple is divided into upper and lower. There is a functioning church downstairs where services are held. The passage to the top is closed due to the fact that the staircase is in disrepair and requires restoration.
Facade of the Vladimir Church
In general, despite the fact that I saw photographs of the entire church along with the stairs on the Internet, it turned out that it was quite difficult to take such a photo without a wide-angle lens. It was not possible to move a sufficient distance away from the entrance, due to the fact that repair work was underway on the territory and building materials were laid out around.
Vladimir Church of the Bykovo estate
In addition, on a small platform near the church there is a bell tower, built already in the 19th century, but which fits perfectly into the architectural ensemble of the Vladimir Church.
Bell tower of the Vladimir Church
There are plenty of tourists here on weekends; everyone is trying to capture this work of art as a keepsake, and themselves against its background.
It can be seen that the people at the church take good care of the territory: flowers are planted around, renovations are slowly underway. I hope that soon it will be possible to restore such an unusual temple and preserve it for future generations.
The area around the temple
Bykovo Estate
Having gone around the church along the path along the playground and walking along the five-story brick building, we came to the entrance to the park. We walked through a turntable, the same one that was installed in Soviet factories, and ended up in the park of the former Bykovo estate. The mountains of garbage immediately caught my eye. It is very difficult to take at least one photo without some pile of papers, a bottle or a tin can fitting into the frame. I never understood how difficult it is to clean up trash after yourself, but you definitely have to leave it in the forest, or in such a stunning place as this estate. People, come to your senses!
The park is also in disrepair and extremely poorly maintained, although some alleys and paths have been preserved.
Once upon a time this estate amazed with its splendor. This place was donated to the Governor of Moscow M.M. Izmailov by Catherine the Great herself. Since on official business he was familiar with the architects who were involved in the construction of the royal estate of Tsaritsyno, V.I. Bazhenov and M.F. Kazakov, he also attracted them to build an estate on his estate in Bykovo.
Main house of the Bykovo estate
In the park of the Bykovo estate
The manor's house was built on an artificial hill, for which the peasants carried the earth in baskets. And they took this land from the park when they dug ponds there.
View from the hill on which the estate is located
Later, under the new owners, the Vorontsov-Dashkovs, the main house was rebuilt and took on the outline of an English castle. All that remains of Bazhenov’s creation is the foundation and a snow-white balustrade at the entrance to the house. This explains the strange appearance of the buildings, which is more common in European countries.
Bykovo Estate
Around the estate there was a park with several ponds, a greenhouse, a Hermitage palace and an alley of black roses bought for gold in France. As you understand, all the former beauty cannot be seen now, which cannot but upset.
Pond near the Bykovo estate
The Vorontsov-Dashkovs were not the last owners of the Bykovo estate. The fact is that, according to legend, one day, in the absence of his wife, the owner of the estate held a dinner party, to which he invited his mistress and promised to give her an estate in Bykovo. When his wife learned from the servants about such a promise, she ordered her husband to immediately sell the estate.
Main entrance to the Bykovo estate
The next owners of the estate were representatives of the Ilin family, who owned Bykovo until the revolution. Later, the estate was nationalized; it housed an orphanage and then a tuberculosis sanatorium. During all this time, numerous valuables of the manor's house were stolen, the greenhouse and the Hermitage palace were destroyed, and the park fell into disrepair.
In the park of the Bykovo estate
Fortunately, on one of the ponds a rotunda gazebo, the work of V.I., has been preserved. Bazhenova. Now it rises on an island and is heavily obscured by wild vegetation. And once upon a time, the owner of the estate met his beloved here, the ponds were well-groomed, and numerous alleys led to the house.
Bykovo estate. Bazhenov's gazebo on the pond
We saw the noble estate from below, and I must say, it made an amazing impression. On the hill rises a red brick building, with a balcony supported by columns with images of girls. Above the balcony is the coat of arms of the Vorontsov-Dashkovs. The palace balustrade has already been destroyed in places, which is a pity.
Columns of the Bykovo estate
I would really like to hope for the restoration of such a beautiful estate, not only the facade, but also the interiors. In this case, I would be happy to visit Bykovo again, I would be happy to visit the museums. Eh...dreams, dreams. But it would be quite possible to do something like Arkhangelsk. There is both the necessary space and beautiful creations of famous architects that can still be saved.
Despite everything, the estate in Bykovo amazed us with its former grandeur and unusual architectural solutions. And the Vladimir Church is a unique temple for the Moscow region, which is definitely worth seeing with your own eyes.
How to get to the Bykovo Estate and Vladimir Church
Address: Moscow region, Ramensky district, village. Bykovo, st. Kolkhoznaya
By car: in the direction from Moscow you need to go along the Ryazanskoye Highway. Approximately 8 kilometers to the turn to Bykovo (via Zhilino), then turn left. Next you need to go to Bykovo and Zhukovsky, and not to the airport. You need to drive through Bykovo, at the border between Bykovo and Zhukovsky at the traffic lights turn right, then after 200 m turn right again. To get to the Vladimir Church, go along Shosseynaya Street.
You can get to the Bykovo Estate by train from the Kazansky station to the Udelnaya platform, and then by minibus 23 or 39 to the Temple stop. Buses No. 424 also run from the Vykhino metro station. A train ticket costs 70 rubles one way, and a bus ticket costs 58 rubles.
moscowhite wrote in August 24th, 2009The village of Bykovo was first mentioned in the 14th century in the spiritual letter (will) of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, who bequeathed it to his younger sons Vasily and Ivan before the Battle of Kulikovo. Later, at the beginning of the 17th century, the village of Bykovo was already mentioned in the salary books of the state order as “the great sovereign’s palace village by the lake” with the Church of the Nativity, wooden, “built in ancient times.” In 1704, by decree of Peter I, the village of Bykovo was granted “for services to the Fatherland” to the Rostov governor Illarion Vorontsov.
In the second half of the 18th century, in 1762, the village of Bykovo became the property of the prominent dignitary M. M. Izmailov, a Turk by origin, who went over to the Russian side in one of the battles and converted to Orthodoxy. Mikhail Mikhailovich Izmailov served as a chamberlain, was a court marshal, and then became the Moscow Governor-General. He was one of the participants in the coup d'etat of 1762, as a result of which Catherine II ascended the throne. His merits were not forgotten - he was granted land near Moscow, the Empress herself visited Bykovo in 1775 and dined with M. M. Izmailov in his new estate near Moscow. Later he was appointed Prime Present (chairman) of the “Kremlin Building Expeditions”. While in this position, Izmailov supervised the construction of the Kremlin Palace. To design it, he attracted one of the most talented architects of that time - V.I. Bazhenov (there were rumors, not documented, that both Izmailov and Bazhenov were members of the Masonic lodge). However, soon expensive construction in the Kremlin, on the orders of the Empress, was suspended, and Bazhenov found himself out of work. During this difficult time for the architect, Izmailov suggested that Bazhenov rebuild his estate in the village of Bykovo. Vasily Ivanovich eagerly set to work. He decided to create a new architectural and park ensemble, consisting of a palace, a church, a park, ponds, a winter garden, a grotto and the Hermitage.
Church of the Vladimir Mother of God. Watercolor from the late 18th century.
The pearl of the entire estate was a two-story white stone church, built according to Bazhenov’s design in 1789 in the “Russian Gothic” style in honor of the Vladimir Mother of God. It was built on the same place where the wooden Church of the Nativity of Christ had been located since ancient times. Bazhenov made two projects; the first, without external stairs leading to the upper temple, but with two symmetrically located church gatehouses, was not realized. The second project was implemented. Experts say that this is the only oval-shaped temple in Russia. On its lower floor there was the Church of the Nativity of Christ, and on the second floor there was the Church of the Vladimir Mother of God. The main volume of the temple is oval in plan, placed on a high basement; a large rectangular refectory with two bell towers in the corners is attached to it from the west.
Unrealized church project.
The main volume ends with a light rotunda with a high spire at the top; it is surrounded by a number of similar spiers. On the sides of the oval of the main volume of the temple there are high lancet windows, between which there are decorative porticoes with columns framing the side entrances. There is a rich carved cornice under the roof. Tall windows with pointed tops also decorate the refectory, the side facades of which are topped with tympanums. On top of the refectory there is a low rotunda with a very small spire with a cross. A two-way grand staircase leads to the area in front of the entrance to the upper temple, under which is the entrance to the lower temple. One tower was built as a bell tower, with a platform for ringing, the second - for a clock. The round upper tiers of the towers are cut through by arched openings and end with domes with high spiers, the same as those above the central chapter. The entire decor of the temple is unusually rich. The variety of details, designed in a single Gothic style, gives the tall building a upward thrust, expressed not only in pointed spiers. In 1884, a separate bell tower was built next to the temple, and so successfully and harmoniously, as if it had been conceived by Bazhenov himself. Some sources call it the architect D. A. Gushchin, others - I. T. Tamansky. The inside of the temple is decorated in the style of classicism. The vaults rest on four groups of columns with Corinthian capitals, the decoration is made of artificial marble, with wooden carvings. The painting of the temple walls is late; it was done at the request of parishioners in 1912, but was not completed.
In November 1937 the church was closed. In front of the eyes of believers, bells were thrown to the ground, crosses were knocked off spiers, church utensils were broken, sacred books were burned in the fire, and revered icons were used as partitions in the stable. The rector of the church, Father Peter, together with Mother Evdokia and the church clergy, were sent to work on the construction sites of communism, where they disappeared forever. The church building, which housed a sewing workshop after its closure, found itself in serious condition after the war. Without really understanding the calorific heating, which had been functioning properly since the time of Bazhenov, it was replaced with the usual “potbelly stoves”, the smoke from which almost completely filled the entire room and ate away at the seamstresses’ eyes. The graveyard around the temple, where not so long ago eminent and respected citizens were buried, was destroyed, and granite monuments, until they were taken away, were lying around haphazardly. In 1989, the temple was returned to the Church, and restoration work and services began there.
Photo: http://www.mostransavto.ru
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The main church in Moscow, consecrated in the name of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, stood before the revolution in Kitay-Gorod, near Lubyanka Square, at the very beginning of Nikolskaya Street. It was founded by vow of Queen Natalya Naryshkina where the chapel with the Icon of Vladimir stood from ancient times. This chapel, like the church, was founded on that road and near the very place where in 1395 Muscovites greeted the miraculous image of the Mother of God from Vladimir with reverence and fear, hoping to find salvation from the terrible Timur, who was marching with an army to Moscow.
And in memory of that legendary, fateful meeting for Moscow, not only the Moscow Sretensky Monastery was founded, but also the Vladimir Chapel on the Moscow Posad, and after it the parish Vladimir Church on Nikolskaya. Its scaly head, “like a hedgehog bristling with thorns,” as a modern Moscow scholar puts it, was far visible from the surrounding area and beautifully towered over the ancient buildings of Nikolskaya Street.
The Vladimir Icon is the main Orthodox and historical shrine of Moscow, and with it the entire Russian state. According to legend, the image was painted by the Evangelist Luke himself on a board from the table at which the Savior and the Most Holy Theotokos had a meal with the righteous Joseph the Betrothed. The icon came to Rus' only at the beginning of the 14th century - then it was sent from Constantinople to Prince Mstislav, who placed it in Vyshgorod. The son of the founder of Moscow, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, moved it to Vladimir and installed it in the newly built Assumption Cathedral. And already in 1395, when Muscovites were awaiting the invasion of the “great lame” with horror, the icon was first brought to Moscow, where by the grace of God it remained for centuries and more than once with its miracles saved the capital city from enemies and granted victories. It was to her that the Russians tearfully prayed in the fall of 1480, when the Mongol-Tatar yoke, which had tormented Rus' for 240 years, fell - after the great stand on the Ugra River, Khan Akhmet left Moscow without a fight and forever. And in 1521, the Vladimir Icon saved Moscow from the invasion of the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey.
It is believed that the ancient chapel with the Vladimir image was built here, on the approaches to the Kremlin, in the same 1395, when the icon was welcomed in Moscow, or later, but precisely in honor of this event, according to Moscow custom. One way or another, the chapel stood here long before the construction of the Kitay-Gorod wall. And when in 1534 the Italian architect Petrok Maly, the architect of the Kremlin Assumption belfry, began to build a fortress wall, then on this site it was closely adjacent to the chapel: then a tower with a gate was built here, which received the official name “Nikolsky” after the local street and “Vladimirsky " - according to the chapel. And then, around the 16th century, a copy of the Vladimir Icon was placed on the outer wall of the Nikolskaya Tower of Kitay-Gorod. This tower ended up on the section of that very epoch-making Sretenskaya road for Moscow...
And Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina decided to build a church here, consecrated in the name of the Vladimir Icon. Indeed, by that time, not only in Moscow, but also in this historical place there was not a single parish church in honor of the miraculous icon, but only the Sretensky Monastery and chapel. And festive religious processions from the Kremlin took place directly to the monastery. The queen made a vow to build a church here.
The reason for this was not only the significant place - the queen considered the Vladimir Icon her patroness, since her name day fell on the day of the feast of the miraculous icon. And it was in the Vladimir image that the queen’s parents (according to other sources, her teacher, boyar Matveev) blessed her on her wedding day with Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich back in 1671. It was this family image that the widowed empress donated as a royal gift to the newly built church, although she did not live to see the consecration of her votive temple.
The construction of the beautiful church in the bright, patterned style of the Naryshkin Baroque was begun by personal decree of Peter I, who loved his mother very much, in the summer of 1691 using public funds from the Streletsky Prikaz, and it was consecrated in October 1694. Then a procession of the cross was held from the Kremlin on May 21 - in celebration of the miraculous salvation of Moscow from the raid of the Crimean Khan in 1521.
What's interesting is this. Because of its location, the church was assigned to the Zaikonospassky Monastery, on Nikolskaya Street, and it was its clergy who served in this ordinary Moscow church. However, the Vladimir Church did not and could not have its own parish in the trading district of Moscow, but, as one pre-revolutionary local historian wrote, this “parishless” church had the whole of Moscow as a parish, and everyone who walked along Nikolskaya Street certainly went into the temple to pray Intercessor of the human race and Savior of Moscow.
The priceless relics of the Vladimir Church corresponded to the “palace” status of the temple, built according to the queen’s vow. She became its first donor, and after Naryshkina, both Elizaveta Petrovna and Maria Fedorovna gave rich shrouds and airs, embroidered by the hands of the empresses, to this Chinatown church. The image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, in the manner of “Fryazhsky writing”, was, according to legend, painted by Simon Ushakov himself. In the second half of the 18th century, the architect Vasily Bazhenov built a huge iconostasis in the temple. The list of the Vladimir Icon at the beginning of the 19th century was decorated with a magnificent golden chasuble with precious diamonds, pearls, emeralds and yachts - this was a gift from the famous Count N.P. Sheremetev according to his will, since the previous setting of the temple miraculous icon was “lightweight”.
And opposite the Vladimir Church on the left side of Nikolskaya there once stood the courtyard of his grandfather, an associate of Peter the Great, the first Russian Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetev. And his daughter, Natalya Borisovna, bitterly mourned here the deceased Emperor Peter II, who greatly favored her husband, Prince Dolgoruky. After the death of the young ruler, she was exiled to Siberia, and her husband was executed. Now the old way of life, when along with the Moscow suburb in the privileged Kitai-Gorod there were courtyards of wealthy boyars, only the names of the local Cherkassky lanes remind us there - the courtyard of Count Sheremetev at one time belonged to Prince Cherkassky. Later, all the aristocratic residents were forced out by trading shops, educational institutions, and business centers of Moscow's Kitay-Gorod.
In the church there was another image of the Mother of God of Vladimir, in a silver setting - the same one with which Patriarch Joachim blessed Queen Naryshkina at the wedding with Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
And in 1805, a new chapel appeared at the church, in which they placed a copy of the icon in a beautiful silver chasuble, built with a donation from a wealthy Muscovite. In that century, the famous “break” already existed - the new entrance gate of the Chinese city wall, broken for the sake of ease of passage to Nikolskaya Street. These breach gates were often called “Vladimirsky”.
“Prolom” had the famous collapse of the Moscow second-hand bookstores (the second largest after Sukharevka), where passionate bibliophiles, “overwhelmed by the book,” were constantly rummaging in search of rarities. One of these inhabitants of “Prolom” was the historian and head of the cadets, Professor P.N. Milyukov, who, when he was a student at Moscow University, came here every day to hold an old and valuable book in his hands - and to add to his home library.
Already in Soviet times, this tradition happily continued - as if in memory of that collapse “at Prolom”, the popular second-hand bookstore “Book Find” was built here.
But the fate of the Moscow church turned out to be sad - in the fall of 1932 it was closed and transferred to the police club. And in the summer of 1934, it was demolished along with the wall of Kitai-gorod, and exactly on the 400th anniversary of this Moscow fortress. Now on the site of the temple there is a roadway.
