←A Little Town in the Murom Forests

A Little Town in the Murom Forests

Photo of route “A Little Town in the Murom Forests”
9 points2 km1.5 hours

In the very heart of Opolye, among the lands of Vladimir and Suzdal, lies the old town of Yuriev-Polsky. It takes its name from the boundless fields around it (“Polsky” means “of the fields”). Founded in 1152 by Yuri Dolgoruky, the town is 180 kilometers (112 miles) from Moscow. Let's set off on a journey through its ancient streets and learn its history!

Photo of route author Elena Andreeva

Route author

Elena Andreeva

Things to do

  • 📜 Learn the city's history

Route points (9)

  1. Old Granary Building — point on route “A Little Town in the Murom Forests”

    Old Granary Building

    📜 Historic site · ⚙️ Industrial site

  2. Old Granary Building

    Points will be available after purchasing the route

  3. St. George Cathedral — point on route “A Little Town in the Murom Forests”

    St. George Cathedral

    🕍 Place of worship · 🕵️ Urban legend · 🏟️ Architectural landmark

St. George Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky

Point on route “A Little Town in the Murom Forests”

St. George Cathedral — point on route “A Little Town in the Murom Forests”
St. George Cathedral — point on route “A Little Town in the Murom Forests”
St. George Cathedral — point on route “A Little Town in the Murom Forests”
St. George Cathedral — point on route “A Little Town in the Murom Forests”

Point 9

St. George Cathedral

🕍 Place of worship • 🕵️ Urban legend • 🏟️ Architectural landmark

The Oldest Church

In the center of this little town in the Murom forests, an ancient circular earthen rampart has survived. Behind it are a monastery and an unusual low building lavishly decorated with stone carving. This church, familiar to scholars from Nicholas Roerich's “Russian Series,” is the latest of the pre-Mongol churches and probably the first example in history of a professional restoration of a monument. Remarkably, Moscow's first white-stone church (1326) was modeled on Yuriev-Polsky's St. George Cathedral (1234). Built by Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich, it was innovative: a tall drum with windows topped by a helmet-shaped dome, and carved walls with saints and mythical beasts. Two centuries later its vaults collapsed, and in 1471 Ivan III ordered the church restored. But the restoration changed its appearance: the cathedral became squat, and the dome took on a different shape.

A Legend

For tourists and ordinary people alike, St. George's is the most unusual and beautiful of almost all the churches of the Golden Ring. It is small but memorable, above all for the carvings on its walls: lions, birds, saints, plants, patterns, and even an elephant (a little quest: see if you can find it). Locals say that when the church collapsed, the people of Yuriev took pieces of the facade home and kept them as a great relic. Later they returned them during the next restoration, saving this treasure from plunder and loss.