“Poem in Stone”: Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir, which eclipsed all the churches built before it. Orthodox Church as customer Cathedral carving

Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir. End of the 12th century.

Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir is the main princely temple, built by Grand Duke Vsevolod the Big Nest according to the research of N. N. Voronin, in 1194-1197. (there is information that according to chronicle data discovered in the 1990s by T. P. Timofeeva, it was built in 1991). It is one of the most striking, expressive and famous monuments of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture of the pre-Mongol period.

The temple was consecrated in the name of St. Dmitry of Thessaloniki - the heavenly patron of Prince Vsevolod Yuryevich, who received the name Dmitry at baptism. Despite the indicated dating, the exact time of construction of the cathedral is unknown. Vladimir chronicler, speaking about death
Grand Duke Vsevolod, mentions that in his courtyard he created a “beautiful church” in the name of the holy martyr Dmitry and “marvelously” decorated it with icons and paintings. That is why a number of researchers attribute the construction of the cathedral to the period between 1194 and 1197.

Only Russian architects were involved in the work on the cathedral - the chronicler especially emphasizes that for the construction of the Demetrius Cathedral they “no longer looked for German craftsmen.” However, according to one version, among the builders there were also people from the Balkan Peninsula - Bulgarians, Serbs or Dalmatians. This explains the similarity of the white stone decoration of the cathedral with general medieval traditions, characteristic not only of
Balkans and Byzantium, but also other European states. In 1197, to the Demetrius Cathedral from the Basilica of St. Dmitry in the Greek city of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki) the main relics were brought - a large icon depicting the saint in full height, and
a chased silver reliquary containing a “shirt” - a piece of clothing soaked in the blood of a martyr. The chronicler reports: “And he brought the tomb board from Selunia of the holy martyr Dmitry, who constantly wears myrrh for the health of the weak, put it in that church, and put the shirt of the same martyr there.”
Why is the cathedral dedicated to Demetrius? Vsevolod's mother, a Byzantine princess, lived in Constantinople, at the court of Emperor Manuel Komnenos, where St. Dmitry was revered as
patron of the imperial family.

Photo by A.A. Aleksandrov from the book by G.K. Wagner "Old Russian Cities".

The current appearance of the cathedral is significantly different from the original: it survived devastating fires in 1536, then in 1719 and in the 1760s. It is known that back in the 15th century, repair work was carried out, the initiators of which were the Moscow princes. At the beginning of the 16th century, the cathedral was still considered a grand ducal cathedral, but later lost this significance. In the 16th-17th centuries the cathedral
was renovated, partially losing the old structural and decorative elements.

Demetrius Cathedral in the 1830s. Drawing by F. Richter

According to some researchers, the greatest damage was caused to the building in the 19th century and not by fire. ; In 1834, during a visit to Vladimir, Emperor Nicholas I drew attention to the extreme dilapidation and poverty of the temple and wished to restore the cathedral to its “primitive appearance.” Diligent “reconstructors” dismantled in 1837-1839 the gallery surrounding the cathedral from the south, west and north, brought under the level of the arched-columnar
belts, as well as towers adjoining from the north and south with internal staircases leading to the choir. These irreparable losses not only distorted the appearance of the temple, but also greatly weakened its structure. In 1840-1847, renovations also took place inside the building: the walls were re-painted, while the ancient frescoes were destroyed, the floor was lowered, a new iconostasis was installed,
spiral staircase to the choir.

Dmitrievsky Cathedral in 1834. Drawing by F. Dmitriev

Dmitrievsky Cathedral. Plan.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that the head of the cathedral on a high drum is covered with a golden helmet. The helmet-like covering of the domes is one of the hallmarks of ancient architecture (as a rule, up to the 16th century inclusive).
The main material for construction was white stone - limestone. The facades of the temple are clearly divided into three tiers. The lower one is practically devoid of any decoration, because initially it was closed with single-tier galleries surrounding the cathedral on three sides. Staircase towers were located at the corners of the galleries. These galleries and towers most likely appeared or were rebuilt a little later than the cathedral itself and connected the cathedral with
princely palace. They also had white stone carvings, slightly different in style, which were later used to fill in losses on the facades of the cathedral when the galleries and towers were dismantled in 1838.

The middle tier displays an arcature-columnar belt with rich ornamentation. The upper tier along its entire plane, from the top of the arcature-columnar belt to the top, is also decorated with carvings. The columns of the arcature belt in this abundance of carvings are perceived as a bordering ribbon; Carvings are also present on the cylindrical drum on which the gilded dome rises.

However, the structural integrity is not violated by the decor: the vertical pilasters rhythmically divide the facades, subordinating all the carved decoration to the architecture.

There are more than five hundred reliefs on the facades of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral.

Authentic reliefs have been preserved on the western facade, in the central and eastern sections of the southern and northern facades, and on the apses. Many carved stones from the dismantled towers mentioned above ended up on the western sides of the southern and northern facades; many reliefs had to be made anew. The ancient arcature-columnar belt survived only in
on the western side of the northern facade, the remaining columns and figures of saints were carved in the 19th century.
The exception is the 13 columns removed from the towers and the seated saints on the western façade. In addition, stone blocks with spreading “trees” under the figures of saints were also removed from the towers.

Sculptural decoration of portals. Fragment.

Carved stones on the facades of the temple create a bizarre picture of the world, where Christian images harmoniously coexist with images of pagan mythology and subjects of medieval literature.

The carving of the columnar belt depicts a whole gallery of saints, among which there are figures of princes Boris and Gleb. Under each figure there are carved images of fantastic
animals or plants. The sculptures are separated by carved columns of an arcature belt.

It can be assumed that in the original plan for the sculptural design of the cathedral, the leading theme was power. The southern façade is decorated with a large composition “The Ascension of Alexander the Great to Heaven.” This plot, which to a modern observer seems very unusual for decorating an Orthodox church, was extremely popular in Rus', Europe, and the East in the Middle Ages thanks to the Byzantine story “Alexandria,” translated into many languages. According to Academician B.A. Rybakov’s “The Ascension of Alexander” in church sculpture of the second half of the 12th century was equal to the most important Christian images. Alexander is depicted in a wicker box, which is carried on the wings of two griffins. He holds small lion cubs in his hands, acting as “bait” for the griffins. Flying monsters stretch to the bait, thereby taking the king up. This plot was very common in Vladimir-Suzdal art: he
decorated both the original Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, and symbolized the divine patronage of the princely power.

On the northern facade facing the city there is a relief “Prince Vsevolod with his sons”. Vsevolod the Big Nest is depicted sitting on a throne, surrounded by his eldest sons Constantine, George, Yaroslav and Svyatoslav, with the newborn Vladimir in his arms. In total the prince had twelve sons. This, as is known, was the reason for his nickname “Big Nest”.

The western wall of the temple is decorated with three reliefs, stylizedly illustrating the labors of Hercules. According to one version, Vladimir masters borrowed these scenes from Western European culture: they transferred to the walls of the palace temple the images that adorned the medieval Romanesque casket, which was kept in the princely treasury.

King David plays the lute. Relief fragment.

The central place among the characters present in the design of the Demetrievsky Cathedral is occupied by the figure of King David. It is presented in the decoration of the three facades of the temple. In the image of David - the psalmist, shepherd, king, prophet - most likely, the image of Christ is anticipated. The entire created world - animals, birds, trees and grass - listens to David at the foot of the throne. According to another opinion, the reliefs of the Dmitrov collection go back to folk
mythology, pointing to the connection of the images with the “Dove Book”, the main character of which is King Davilo, a kind spellcaster of natural forces and an inspired singer. G.K. Wagner, the author of a special monograph on the sculpture of Vladimir-Suzdal Rus', believed that the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral depict not David at all, but his son Solomon, the prophet
and the king, who holds in his hands not a harp, but a scroll. Solomon was considered the ideal of a wise ruler, and that is why Vsevolod sought to decorate his palace temple with his images.

Relief of an arcature-columnar belt. Fragment

The New Testament theme is represented by images of saints in an arcature-columnar belt and in medallions, as well as twelve horsemen. It is difficult not to note that with all this, most of the reliefs are devoted to non-church subjects.

According to some researchers, the animal world of the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral is essentially an “aristocratic” animal world that has acquired significance
heraldic emblems of the nobility.

And indeed, the princely coats of arms of the 12th-13th centuries often contained images of leopards, pardus (leopard cats) and other heraldic creatures.

Therefore, there is an assumption that the walls of the cathedral embody not ideas of folk mythology, but images that came from the world of medieval books - the princely nobility were familiar with them. Such stories were unknown to the common people and
incomprehensible, surprising and even frightening. In addition, and this is worth paying attention to, the cathedral originally stood behind a white stone wall and its carvings could only be admired by those who had access to the princely court.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

KAZAN STATE ARCHITECTURAL AND CONSTRUCTION UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL COMPOSITION

Essay

Sculptural decor of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral (Vladimir).

Semantics of images

Completed:

Student gr. 3RP101

Kutdusova Aida

Azatovna

Accepted: Art. teacher of the department AK

Zilyaneva O.E.

Kazan 2013

Introduction

Reliefs of Dmitrievsky Cathedral. Semantics of sculptural images

2. King David as the main theme of the sculptural decoration of St. Demetrius Cathedral. Semantics of this image

Conclusion

References

Application

Introduction

Demetrius Cathedral of the city of Vladimir (or as often found in literature - “Dmitrovsky”) is a court temple erected by Vsevolod the Big Nest at the princely court and consecrated in honor of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. The history of St. Demetrius Cathedral is very intriguing. The intrigue begins from the very beginning of the history of St. Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir. After all, the exact time of its creation is not known for certain. There are the following versions of the date of the creation of the cathedral: according to the Vladimir chronicler, describing the life of Vsevolod III, a “beautiful church” was built in Vladimir in honor of the martyr Dmitry and marvelously decorated it with icons and paintings. It was erected by Russian craftsmen - the chronicler especially emphasizes that for the construction of the Demetrius Cathedral they “no longer looked for German craftsmen.” Soviet archaeologist, one of the leading specialists in ancient Russian architecture, Nikolai Nikolaevich Voronin, believes that the cathedral was built in 1194-1197. But this is only one of the versions. According to other chronicle data, discovered in the 1990s by the architectural historian and local historian Tatyana Petrovna Timofeeva, the cathedral was built in 1191.

Dmitrievsky Cathedral is one of the most striking, expressive and, probably, famous monuments of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture of the “pre-Mongol” period. However, in the 13th century, the Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir shared the fate of its fatherland. It was plundered by the Tatar yoke, burned and collapsed. The current appearance of the cathedral is significantly different from the original: it survived devastating fires in 1536, then in 1719 and in the 1760s. It is known that back in the 15th century, repair work was carried out, the initiators of which were the Moscow princes. At the beginning of the 16th century, the cathedral was still considered a grand ducal cathedral, but later lost this significance.

According to some researchers, the greatest damage was caused to the building in the 19th century and not by fire. Much later, in 1834, during a visit to Vladimir, Emperor Nicholas I drew attention to the extreme dilapidation and poverty of the temple and wished to restore the cathedral to its “primitive appearance.” He ordered Russian architects, whom he called “experts in Russian style,” to restore it and give it its original appearance. But apparently, the architects did not turn out to be good experts in Russian history. In 1837-1839, the builders dismantled the gallery surrounding the cathedral from the south, west and north, brought under the level of the arcature-columnar belt, as well as the towers adjoining from the north and south with internal staircases leading to the choir. These irreparable losses not only distorted the appearance of the temple, but also greatly weakened its structure. In 1840-1847, renovations also took place inside the building: the walls were re-painted, while the ancient frescoes were destroyed, the floor was lowered, a new iconostasis and a spiral staircase to the choir were installed. In 1883, calorific heating appeared, which made it possible to conduct service all year round. The appearance of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral changed beyond recognition, and the quality of construction was appalling. The cathedral began to collapse again. And only subsequent, more conscientious builders partially managed to return the cathedral to its former original appearance. Also, when clearing the walls, fragments of ancient fresco painting were discovered. It depicts the composition "The Last Judgment". The restorers did not expect to see such a find, because during the “restoration” of the cathedral under Nicholas I, “experts in Russian style” destroyed the frescoes and covered the Demetrius Cathedral with oil paints.

Demetrius Cathedral is a masterpiece of harmony and proportion. The nobility of forms and ideal proportions make the Demetrius Church unique. The cathedral is magnificent. The spirit of solemnity permeates it to the smallest detail. Everything that was created in Rus' that was remarkable in the techniques of filigree, engraving, enamel and especially wood carving was reflected in the visual and decorative motifs of this masterpiece of the Vladimir architects. Due to the abundance of white stone carvings covering the walls of the cathedral, it is called a “precious casket”, “stone carpet”, “stone poem”. The richness of its decoration is so great that it would perhaps have become excessive if the architects and stone-cutters had been changed by a sense of harmony, which allowed them to stop just when the highest limit was reached, beyond which pretentiousness begins.

Although the authors of the white stone carvings of the cathedral are considered to be local Vladimir carvers, according to one version, they worked together with immigrants from the Balkan Peninsula - Bulgarians, Dalmatians or Serbs. Therefore, in the white stone decoration of the cathedral there are so many motifs common not only in the Balkans and Byzantium, but throughout Europe. In 1197, to the Demetrius Cathedral from the Basilica of St. Dmitry in the Greek city of Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki) the main relics were brought - the “tomb board” - a large icon depicting the saint in full growth, and a silver chased reliquary, which contained the “shirt” - a piece of clothing soaked in the blood of the martyr. The chronicler reports: “And he brought the tomb plaque from Selun of the holy martyr Dmitry, who constantly sharpened the ointment for the health of the weak, put it in that church, and put the shirt of the same martyr there.” How these relics got to St. Demetrius Cathedral is another mystery. Historians believe that the creation of the reliquary could have been conceived by Vsevolod the Big Nest long before he became the Prince of Vladimir. At the age of eight, young Vsevolod was forced to leave Rus' in 1162 along with his mother and brothers - under pressure from his older brother, the “autocratic” Andrei Bogolyubsky. Vsevolod's mother, a Byzantine princess, settled in Constantinople, at the court of Emperor Manuel Komnenos, where St. Dmitry was revered as the patron of the imperial family. After 7 years, which Vsevolod spent in exile, he returned to his homeland and soon took a strong position on the Vladimir table, and subsequently got the opportunity to realize his plan - to build the palace Demetrius Cathedral.

The white stone carving of St. Demetrius Cathedral has long been a subject of admiration and study. 566 carved stones on the facades of the temple are unfolded into a bizarre picture of the world, where images of Christianity coexist peacefully with images of folk mythology and plots of medieval literature. They tried to find the origins of Vladimir-Suzdal temple sculpture not only in Kyiv and Galich, but also in Assyria, India, Alexandria, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and Iran, Saxony, Swabia, Northern Italy and France.

After 1917, the Dmitrievsky Cathedral retained its significance as a monument of ancient Russian art. In 1918, the Commission for the Preservation of Painting Monuments worked there under the leadership of I.E. Grabar. It was at this time that 12th-century frescoes depicting episodes from their “Last Judgment” scene were discovered under the choir, which became an important cultural event. However, already in 1919 the cathedral was closed for worship and transferred to the Vladimir Museum. The heating was inactive, structures, wall paintings, and white stone were destroyed. The cathedral building was in a deplorable state, requiring an urgent resumption of repair work, which began only in 1937. Despite the military actions of the Great Patriotic War, architect A.V. Stoletov managed to carry out work to strengthen the structure of the cathedral in 1941. Architects turned to the problem of preserving white stone only in the 1974-1980s, and the final stage of restoration work was carried out quite recently - in 1999-2004: the white stone was covered with a protective plastic mixture, drainpipes were installed, the cross on the dome was replaced and a a special microclimate inside the cathedral, allowing for the preservation of this outstanding monument.

Inside the temple seems small, but it is actually small. After all, the Dmitrievsky Cathedral was built for the princely family; it was not designed for a large mass of worshipers. The wide and measured rhythm of the arches supporting the vaults gives the interior of the cathedral a solemn calm, the space is filled with air and light. This is exactly how the ancient architects intended it. And the interior decoration evokes the idea that this is exactly what the House of Prayer should be.

“Beautiful and mysterious temple. Perhaps the only place in Vladimir where a trace of time remains, worthy of admiration and racking your brains over meaning and time...”

“Strictness, simplicity, completeness of appearance, combined with fine, masterful carving - this is a real masterpiece!..” - these are some of the many reviews of our contemporaries who visited the temple about it, the greatest asset and monument of ancient Russian architecture.

1. Reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral. Semantics of sculptural images

Dmitrievsky Cathedral carving

There are more than five hundred reliefs on the facades of the Dmitrievsky Cathedral. Authentic reliefs have been preserved on the western facade, in the central and eastern sections of the southern and northern facades, and on the apses. Many carved stones from the dismantled towers fell onto the western sides of the southern and northern facades. Quite a few reliefs had to be re-done. The ancient arcature-columnar belt survived only in the western part of the northern façade; the remaining columns and figures of saints were carved in the 19th century. The exception is the 13 columns removed from the towers and the seated saints on the western façade. In addition, stone blocks with spreading “trees” under the figures of saints were also removed from the towers.

The very composition of the reliefs is very interesting - out of 566 carved stones of the three facades (except for the belt), only 46 images of a Christian nature. They are drowned in a variety of fantastic and fairy-tale images: the bulk of the reliefs (470) are images of plants, birds and animals. There are several scenes of fighting animals and griffins, hunting, etc. Therefore, the meaning of the carved decoration of the temple cannot be fully explained based on church chants and texts.

Many hypotheses have been expressed in this regard. It was assumed that the reliefs illustrate the text of David’s psalm “let every breath praise the Lord,” but among the reliefs there are too many formidable predators, warlike horsemen, scenes of struggle and bloodshed, far from the idyllic character of the psalm. Other scholars believed that the reliefs represented a “cathedral of all creation” and conveyed images of animals as they were “intended” by God, but among them were swarming monsters that hardly did honor to the plans of the deity. Still others solved the stone puzzle of the Cathedral of Demetrius as a reflection of cosmogonic ideas such as the “Dove Book” or “Conversations of the Three Saints” - books rejected by the dominant church; but on the walls of the princely cathedral this liberty was hardly permissible.

Carved stones on the facades of the temple create a bizarre picture of the world, where Christian images harmoniously coexist with images of pagan mythology and subjects of medieval literature. The carving of the columnar belt depicts a whole gallery of saints, among which there are figures of princes Boris and Gleb. Under each figure there are carved images of fantastic animals or plants. The sculptures are separated by carved columns of an arcature belt.

It can be assumed that in the original plan for the sculptural design of the cathedral, the leading theme was power. The southern façade is decorated with a large composition “The Ascension of Alexander the Great to Heaven.” This plot, which to a modern observer seems very unusual for decorating an Orthodox church, was extremely popular in Rus', Europe, and the East in the Middle Ages thanks to the Byzantine story “Alexandria,” translated into many languages. According to Academician B.A. Rybakov’s “Ascension of Alexander” in church sculpture of the second half of the 12th century was equal to the most important Christian images. Alexander is depicted in a wicker box, carried on the wings of two griffins. He holds small lion cubs in his hands, acting as “bait” for the griffins. The flying monsters are drawn to the bait, thereby taking the king up into the air. This plot was very common in Vladimir-Suzdal art: it decorated both the original Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, and symbolized the divine protection of princely power, its apotheosis and corresponded well with the general idea of the image of the palace cathedral of Vsevolod III.

It is difficult not to note that with all this, most of the reliefs are devoted to non-church subjects. According to some researchers, the animal world of the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral is essentially an “aristocratic” animal world, which acquired the meaning of heraldic emblems of the nobility. Indeed, princely coats of arms of the 12th-13th centuries often contained images of leopards, pardus and other heraldic creatures. Therefore, there is an assumption that the very world of animal images or strange monsters - half-dogs, half-birds, two-headed animals, etc., which undoubtedly aroused the interest of the townspeople, was especially familiar and understandable to the feudal nobility. In ancient Russian literature, feudal hero-princes were often compared to a lion or leopard, crocodile or eagle; in the treasuries of temples and princely life, precious items of Russian and foreign craftsmen, decorated with fantastic animals, and ceremonial clothes made of Byzantine and oriental fabrics with animal ornaments abounded. The cathedral looked like a powerful feudal lord in magnificent clothes, woven with unprecedented monsters. The solemn rhythm of the cathedral's architecture is different from the high-altitude aspiration of the Assumption Cathedral of 1158-1160. Here it is a majestic “ascent”; Apparently, “the great Vsevolod” moved so calmly and imperiously, rising in heavy precious vestments along the “degrees” of his “table” during palace ceremonies. This analogy was strengthened by the carved decoration of the temple. He solved mainly this ideological and decorative problem. It reflected primarily the tastes of the feudal nobility, intricately fused with elements of church symbolism. It is very likely that precisely because the decoration of the princely temple showed such a strong secular principle and the luxurious carving sharply distinguished it from the strict episcopal Assumption Cathedral, the ecclesiastical chronicler passed over in silence the construction of the palace cathedral of Vsevolod III.

Only in the carving of the columnar belt did the church theme sound in full force. Here, between the columns, a whole gallery of images of saints was placed. But most of these figures were replaced by later reliefs. Authentic sculptures have been fully preserved only in the western division of the northern façade. They are distinguished by their excellent style, their heads have a characteristic “parabolic” profile, and the cutting of clothes and parts is strict and uniform. Among these figures are the first Russian feudal saints - princes Boris and Gleb. It is very likely that the figures of the belt formed a grandiose Deesis order, in which Russian “celestials” and holy patrons of the Vladimir dynasty occupied a prominent place.

In the plasticity of the Demetrius Cathedral, the difference between the two styles of carving, the beginning of which we saw in the Assumption Cathedral of 1158-1160, is even more pronounced.

Some of the carved stones, executed in high relief, are distinguished by great plasticity and reveal in their authors masters who have mastered stone carving well and understand its plastic capabilities. Another part of the stones (there are especially many of them in the western division of the southern facade) are made in extremely flat relief with an abundance of ornamental details; their carvers clearly work in stone, as in wood - they seem to be afraid to “break through” the plane of the board with a cutter and use almost graphic modeling of the form. This latter style of Russian masters leaves its mark on all the carvings of the cathedral. It is generally of a clearly expressed ornamental nature. Russian craftsmen drew its motifs from artistic crafts from church and princely treasuries. They could understand and rethink these motifs in their own way, since the world of animals and monsters was familiar to Russian folk mythology and fairy tales. Therefore, the carved decoration of the cathedral, woven by Vladimir carvers, was imbued with a great poetic feeling and genuine inspiration, acquiring a fabulous character. Thanks to the ornamentation of the carved headdress, the images of animals and monsters lost their formidable, frightening character, turning into entertaining and intricate motifs of “stone fabric”. The row-by-line “arrangement” of carved stones is very reminiscent of the principle of folk art, where in embroidery, fabrics, and carved boards of peasant huts we encounter the same system of row-by-line arrangement of figures and ornaments. At the same time, this “linearity” emphasized the rows of white stone masonry, without at all masking it, revealing the formidable “weight” of the princely cathedral.

The close connection of the cathedral's carvings with its architecture, its line-by-line ordering and ornamentation are a peculiar feature of the decorative system of the Demetrius Cathedral, sharply distinguishing it from Romanesque sculpture, where volumetric carvings predominate, usually placed without a special system on the walls of the temple, where the images of animals are cruel and monstrous. Certain stylistic features of the Vladimir reliefs indicate that their “samples” were deeply rethought by Vladimir carvers, who created a unique and beautiful Russian system of sculptural decoration of the building. He developed and strengthened the idea of the apotheosis of the power of the “great” Vsevolod and the power of his Vladimir land, embedded in the very architecture of the cathedral.

King David as the main theme of the sculptural decoration of St. Demetrius Cathedral. Semantics of this image

The image of King David in the sculptural ensemble of the Demetrievsky Cathedral is the main and, perhaps, the most mysterious theme of the temple’s decor. The relief of King David sitting on the throne is repeated three times in the central zakomari, but on each facade it has a different environment. This indicates different semantic meanings of one topic. Understanding the reliefs surrounding David can lead to a clarification of the entire design of the carved decoration of the cathedral.

First of all, this refers to two reliefs depicting the hero’s victory over a lion. They are located at the lower border of the central zakomara of the western facade, in the center of which there is a relief with the figure of King David. In scientific literature, the relief with a hero tearing the mouth of a lion is interpreted as an image of Samson with a lion, and the relief of a hero with a mace, grabbing the lion by the head, is defined as the fight of Hercules with the Nemean lion. And this closeness of the iconography of the scenes of the fight with the lion of Samson, Hercules and David and the general symbolism of such images creates obstacles in correctly and quickly recognizing the depicted hero, since there are no inscriptions next to them. This also applies to the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral.

In the first relief of the cathedral, a young man is represented seated on a lion. Clasping the lion's head in his hands, he tears the beast's mouth open. Note that the hero's hair is short. Therefore, the reliefs cannot depict Samson, who is known to everyone for his long hair. Also, given the prevalence of illustrations depicting David’s feat, it is natural to assume that the Cathedral of Demetrius also depicts David’s victory over a lion, especially since the relief is located in close proximity to the central image of King David.

The second relief of the St. Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir conveys a different version of the scene - the hero defeats the lion with the help of a mace.

Thus, the two considered reliefs depicting the hero’s combat with a lion, located at the lower border of the central zakomara of the western facade of the cathedral, most likely depict David’s victory over the lion. The Christian symbolism of David's victory over the lion on the reliefs of the Demetrius Cathedral echoes the main image of the cathedral - the image of David as the predecessor of Christ.

In addition to the above-mentioned compositions, there are two more reliefs that should be recognized as images of King David. One of them is inserted into the masonry on the north façade to the left of the top of the west window. He imagines, judging by the mark from the broken crown, a king sitting on the throne. Despite the fact that St. Demetrius Cathedral has been studied for almost 150 years, this relief of the second tier, interesting in terms of iconography, has remained unsolved.

Once again, the same image is repeated in the keystone of the outer shelf of the archivolt of the southern portal of the St. Demetrius Cathedral, where the king is depicted seated on a lion throne, and therefore he was interpreted as Solomon on the lion throne described in the Bible. In the art of the Middle Ages, lion thrones became widespread signs of power. Sometimes Christ and the Mother of God and the Evangelist Luke are depicted on thrones with armrests in the form of lion heads. The lion throne here emphasizes the royal dignity of the biblical king. The attribution of two reliefs of the Demetrius Cathedral as images of King David, repeating with varying degrees of approximation the title relief of the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, indicates that the idea of plasticity of the Intercession on the Nerl, chosen by Andrei Bogolyubsky, does not lose its significance during the reign of Vsevolod III.

The image of David the musician surrounded by animals is one of the earliest and most widespread in medieval art. A feature of the reliefs of Vladimir cathedrals is the blessing gesture of King David and a pose similar to the images of “The Savior on the Throne”. The lions and doves surrounding David may be related to the idea of the kingdom. According to medieval symbolism, they can also be understood as symbols of God. Accordingly, David appears as the king of heaven and earth and, therefore, as a type of Christ.

Finally, the theme of power emanating from God in the reliefs of the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl and similar ones on the Demetrius Cathedral has another meaning. In both monuments, the images of King David clearly indicate a ribbon encircling him and crossed on his chest. G.K. Wagner saw in it a reminder of the imperial lore, the Russian scientist, art historian A.M. Lidov associates it with imperial and liturgical vestments. To this it is necessary to add one more observation - the ribbon on the reliefs of the Church of the Intercession and St. Demetrius Cathedral exactly repeats the ribbon of the deacon's orarion, with which the deacon girds himself before communion. The same girdle is known in images of Christ’s clothes in the compositions “The Virgin and Child.” Thus, the images of King David combine the themes of kingdom and priesthood. This corresponds to the essence of the rite of anointing for the kingdom in the 12th century. traditional for Western Europe.

The focus of the main themes associated with the image of King David is the decoration of the central zakomara of the western façade of the cathedral. David is depicted here surrounded by angels and saints, with eagles flying to his head. The angel to the left of the viewer holds a rolled scroll, and the angel flying from above to David’s head extends his right hand to him with his fingers gathered into a pinch, as if he should be holding something in it. This gesture of the hand of the upper angel, like the scroll in the hand of the left one, can explain the semantics of this group of images. In the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral, where each image of the second tier is carved on a separate block, the hand gesture of the upper angel holding a crown has been preserved. The crown itself is depicted on David’s head on another block located under the angel. An angel with a scroll blessing the king is also carved on a separate stone, to the left of David. Thus, the poses and attributes of the angels surrounding David allow, according to historians, to talk about the development in the carving of the central zakomara of the western facade of St. Demetrius Cathedral, the theme of the coronation of the king. The eagles flying to his head - traditional symbols of royalty - strengthen the credibility of the proposed attribution.

There is another possible interpretation of the figures of saints with scrolls. There is reason to believe that bread is depicted on the relief of St. Demetrius Cathedral. This detail is not found in canonical compositions depicting King David. Euthymius Zigaben interpreted the “angelic bread” of the psalm as ordinary bread, given to support the life of the people of Israel. However, the meaning of the relief, according to historians, is deeper. After all, here the angel gives the bread not to an ordinary person, but to a saint. Christ holds a similar bread in his hands in one of the versions of the composition “Communion of the Apostles.” In both cases - on bread and on prosphora - a cross has been put up. It is important here that on the relief of St. Demetrius Cathedral, a four-pointed equal-pointed cross is also carved in the center of the bread. It can be argued that the angel depicted on the relief of the cathedral gives the saint the Eucharistic bread he received from David, and the scene at the St. Demetrius Cathedral is a prototype of the Eucharist.

Miniatures of manuscripts and sculptures from the Middle Ages provide rich and vivid material for the theme “David - a prototype of Christ. The idea itself that the image of King David in the decoration of St. Demetrius Cathedral is interpreted as a prototype of Christ is not new. The double girdle of David's robe - on the loins and under the arms on the chest in ancient times took place in the clothing of the Jews. Since Old Testament times, girdles have been symbolically associated with the image of the Lord. It is known that the symbolism of the girdle is used to explain the presence of a belt around the loins of the crucified Christ in the famous image of the “Volto Santo” - the shrine of the Cathedral of St. Martin in Lucca - and in its numerous repetitions.

The golden belt of one of these sculptures was donated by the Varangian Shimon to the Kiev Pechersk Monastery. As the Kiev-Pechersk Patericon reports, at the behest of the Mother of God, the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra was built to the extent of this belt. According to the legend of the same Kiev-Pechersk Patericon, the son of Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavich (the future Vladimir Monomakh) was subsequently healed of a serious illness only after he was wrapped in this belt. In memory of this miracle, Vladimir Monomakh ordered the Assumption Cathedral in Rostov to the extent of Shimon's belt, and his son Yuri Dolgoruky, the father of the future customer of the Demetrius Cathedral, ordered the cathedral in Suzdal. Thus, the girdles of Christ had the character of a kind of relic for the dynasty of Vladimir princes and, naturally, could have influenced the composition of the iconography of the clothes of David - the prototype of Christ in the title relief of the Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir.

The reliefs of the central zakomara of the northern façade of the cathedral also present a number of themes, much the same as the decoration of the zakomara of the western facade. Symbols of royalty - eagles - fly to David here, leopards and lions - heraldic animals of the Vladimir princes of pre-Mongol times and the Vladimir principality - march towards him. In the left corner of the western façade of the cathedral there are two figures with halos and crowns. They are depicted walking towards the central spindle with their hands raised in prayer. The significant loss of other relief makes it impossible to determine the age of the king. According to K. Wagner, these are David and Solomon. Since pre-Mongol times, in traditional iconographic compositions, such as the “Descent into Hell” scene, David and Solomon were depicted together. It is possible that David and Solomon at the Council of Demetrius appeared before God as receiving the covenant to secure the kingdom for their family.

The compositions of St. Demetrius Cathedral develop several themes. One of them is the theme of strong royal power emanating from God, a theme that has long been named in science. There is no doubt that Vsevolod III, like his brother Andrei Bogolyubsky earlier, wanted to see himself, like European rulers, as a New David, a New Solomon.

The central image of King David at the Cathedral of Demetrius provides its own individual iconographic version of the theme of power. This theme received more specific expression - in the coronation scene. At the same time, the composition of the central zakomara of the Demetrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir provides an interesting example of the inclusion of the theme of the Eucharist in the sculpture of the cathedral, in which David found himself in the place of Christ. Judging by the ideas expressed in the compositions with David, a significant role in this plan belonged to Vsevolod III himself. The iconographic material chosen as a sample - most likely miniatures of the Explanatory Psalters - reveals a completely original plan of the creators of the cathedral sculpture.

Conclusion

Dmitrievsky Cathedral is one of the best works of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture, which, along with the church on the Nerl, occupies an outstanding place in the history of world art. And the carved stones on the facades of the temple create a bizarre picture of the world, where Christian images harmoniously coexist with images of pagan mythology and subjects of medieval literature. The close connection of the cathedral's carvings with its architecture, its line order and ornamentation are a unique feature of the decorative system of St. Demetrius Cathedral, sharply distinguishing it from Romanesque sculpture. They contain a majestic “ascension”; This is how “the great Vsevolod” moved calmly and imperiously, rising in heavy, precious vestments along the “degrees” of his “table” during palace ceremonies. This analogy was reinforced by the carved decoration of the temple. He solved mainly this ideological and decorative problem. It reflected primarily the tastes of the feudal nobility, intricately fused with elements of church symbolism. It is very likely that it was precisely because the secular principle and luxurious carvings manifested themselves with such force in the decoration of the princely temple. The central figure of the sculptural decoration of the Demetrius Cathedral is the image of King David on three facades, each with its own meaning. These compositions depicting the biblical king, the psalmist, and the prototype of Christ develop several themes. One of them is the theme of strong royal power emanating from God, named in science. There is no doubt that Vsevolod III, like his brother Andrei Bogolyubsky earlier, wanted to see himself, like European rulers, as a New David, a New Solomon. And this desire of a person with a truly great destiny was not only embodied, but was probably reflected in the unique, majestic carved decoration of the St. Demetrius Cathedral, which to this day remains an incompletely solved mystery.

“Dmitrievsky Cathedral,” writes Russian journalist, publicist writer L.D. Lyubimov, is one of the masterpieces of art that affirm in our minds faith in the great destinies of the human race, for the highest nobility of forms testifies in art to the inexhaustible greatness of the human spirit.”

List of used literature

1.Nizovsky A.Yu. The Greatest Temples of the World: An Encyclopedic Reference. - M.: Veche, 2006. - 576 p.

.MDS 31-9.2003. Orthodox churches. Volume 1. Idea and image

.Afanasyev K.N. Construction of an architectural form by ancient Russian architects. M., 1961. S. 120-126; 138-141, 147-151, 157-159.

.Ioannisyan O.M. The main stages of the development of Galician architecture // DRI: Artistic culture of the X - first half of the XIII century. M., 1988. pp. 41-49.

.Pokrovsky N.V. Essays on monuments of Christian art. St. Petersburg, 1999. P. 40. Nikifor, archim. Illustrated complete popular Bible encyclopedia. M., 1891 (Rep. ed.: St. Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1990. P. 527).

.Uspensky B.A. Tsar and Emperor: Anointing to the throne and the semantics of royal titles. M., 2000. Ch. 1:1, 3. pp. 6-7.

.Novakovskaya-Bukhman S.M. Reconstruction of the original location of the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir // Art of the Christian World. M., 2001. Issue. 5. P. 46.

.G. K. Wagner, 1969. P. 162; Lidov A.M. On the symbolic design of the sculptural decoration of Vladimir-Suzdal churches of the 12th-13th centuries. // DRI: Rus'. Byzantium. Balkans. XIII century St. Petersburg, 1997. P. 174 (hereinafter referred to as Lidov, 1997).

.Novakovskaya-Bukhman S.M. King David in the reliefs of St. Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir. In the book: Old Russian art: Byzantium, Rus', Western Europe: art and culture. St. Petersburg, 2002. pp. 172-186

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Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir

Ornamental white stone carving at the top of the spindles

The verticals of the pilasters rhythmically divide the facades

Sculptural decoration of portals

King David tears the lion's mouth apart. Fragment of carving

King David plays the lute. Relief fragment

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He is so unique - magical, amazing, never solved. Centuries go by, years fly by, minutes flash by, but he stands in all his mighty splendor and will always stand. I really want to believe this.
He is so different - thoughtful in cloudy weather, radiant in sunny weather, but always magically attractive with some special power.

There is a path around it, along which people walk in circles, fascinated by the stone lace - an ancient rebus compiled for us by our ancestors, in the hope of finding the key to unraveling the secret signs. I’m going too. This is not the first day. When the distance begins to be a burden, I leave the path and walk along the grass to him at arm's length. And no one will pull back, no one will hiss. People here are used to it. This is how it affects many people - it charms them.
One excursion group replaces another. I haven’t seen anyone indifferent here. It’s so good that I’m not on a tour, but on my own. Free floating. How could I break away from him? Run around with a group for 20 minutes and move on with the program? Even mine have already gone to, and I’m here. I'm mesmerized.

How difficult it is to talk about this perfection. Only platitudes come easy. But I don’t want to say them. He doesn't deserve this...
He is his highness St. George's Cathedral- the main treasure not only of Yuryev-Polsky, but also of the entire Vladimir-Suzdal land, the “swan song” of white stone ancient Russian architecture. Yes, the idea of its creator to build a temple that had not been seen before was a great success.

St. George's Cathedral is one of the few surviving monuments of pre-Mongol Rus' and the only pre-Mongol building whose architect's name is known. The temple was built in 1230-1234 by the holy prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich. And not in a figurative, but in the literal sense of the word - the prince personally headed all stages and directions of construction, including being its architect. This has been documented.
The main decoration of the cathedral is white stone carvings. The plots and the very creation of the relief compositions of the cathedral are the greatest mystery of ancient Russian art, which many generations of researchers are trying to solve and cannot.
The creation of stone drawings took place in two stages: the production of blocks with high reliefs and their further installation in the wall, as well as the completion of work on the finished walls, the so-called “carpet” carving, which made the cathedral so elegant. This particular carving is considered particularly difficult. There is an opinion that the decorative work was not completed simultaneously with the construction of the temple and dragged on until 1238, the year of Batu’s army’s arrival in Rus'.

Carving of St. George's Cathedral

St. George's Cathedral is considered the most perfect white stone church in Russia. Why him? Why not or, also richly decorated with stone carvings and divinely beautiful? The answer is simple: carvings of St. George's Cathedral unique in its beauty, subtlety, diversity. And mysteries.

"Carpet" carving. Floral and animal ornament

Initially, St. George's Cathedral was covered with patterns from the ground to the dome. Over time, some of the carved stones were lost, because... in the first half of the 15th century the temple was destroyed. Myself. The main version of the researchers is that the temple collapsed because it was built by a non-professional architect who tried to introduce untested innovations into its creation. First the head fell, then the pillars separated. The walls suffered over time, because restoration did not begin immediately, and the rains continued their destructive work.
What was St. George's Cathedral like before its destruction? Researchers of many generations have been scratching their heads on this topic, and each has their own version. For example, I present the reconstructions of three researchers - N.N. Voronin, G.K. Wagner and S.V. Zagraevsky, respectively.

Reconstruction of St. George's Cathedral

We know one thing for sure - the cathedral was tall, slender, proportional, directed upward, completely decorated with carvings that covered it, like a carpet with a single pattern.
The man who, together with his team, restored the cathedral during 1471 was the Moscow merchant Vasily Ermolin. It was no longer possible to recreate the temple in its original form. Some of the stones were irretrievably lost. But the master did everything he could. And even in this new form, the cathedral amazes with its power and beauty.
The inside of the cathedral is quite spacious. Its interior decoration and paintings are incredibly good. Unfortunately, the temple is quite dark and photographs do not convey all the colors.

Painting of St. George's Cathedral

Painting and interior of St. George's Cathedral

Sophie in St. George's Cathedral. And the bells are ringing!

It is not for nothing that St. George's Cathedral is called the “swan song” of ancient Russian white stone architecture. This temple is its pinnacle; nothing more perfect was created either before or after. And one can only regret that this song was interrupted by the two-century Tatar-Mongol invasion, which deprived the entire ancient Russian architecture in general and the school of brilliant Vladimir masters in particular from the possibility of further development and prosperity. It is all the more bitter to realize the irreparable loss, knowing that in the pre-Horde period (the end of the 12th - the first half of the 13th century) Russian architecture was at the peak of its development and entered a new stage, choosing a new direction. St. George's Cathedral was the clearest example of this.

Due to the abundance of patterns of white stone carvings covering the façade of this cathedral, it is called “ precious casket», « stone carpet», « stone poem" With its rich carved decoration, it outshines, perhaps, all the temples built before it in Rus'.

History of the construction of the cathedral

The Vladimir-Suzdal principality during the reign of Prince Vladimir Vsevolod the Big Nest reached the zenith of its glory. " The Suzdal region, at the beginning of the 12th century - a provincial north-eastern corner of the Russian land, at the beginning of the 13th century is a principality decisively dominant over the rest of Russia"(V.O. Klyuchevsky). And the personification of this glory was to be the Demetrius Cathedral.

The prince, who received the Christian name Dmitry at baptism, decided to build a new temple in honor of his patron, Saint Dmitry of Thessaloniki. The construction of Demetrius Cathedral took place between 1194-1197. The temple was erected by the hands of the best Russian craftsmen; white limestone was used as a building material for the walls.

The rarest relics were brought from the distant Byzantine city of Thessalonica for the erected temple: " grave board" - an icon with the image of Demetrius of Thessalonica, and a chased silver ark with " shirt" - a piece of the martyr's clothing with traces of his blood.

Before the Battle of Kulikovo, these shrines were taken to the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, where they are still kept; only copies remain in the Vladimir Cathedral.

In 1237, the temple was plundered by the Tatar-Mongols, after which it survived several more robberies and fires. But the greatest damage was caused to it in 1837-1839, when Nicholas I, having visited the cathedral and seeing the condition it was in, ordered its urgent restoration. But " experts in Russian style", who took on this work, instead of restoring it, disfigured the temple, and it began to collapse.

Since 1919, the temple was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Vladimir Museum. Its limestone walls were rapidly collapsing, but for a long time nothing was done to save the temple; reconstruction could only be carried out in 1941, just before the war.

The next stage of work to preserve the stone walls of the cathedral began only after 1974. And the final restoration, as a result of which the temple was able to largely restore its lost original appearance, was completed already in the 2000s. The stone walls were covered with a protective mixture, drainage systems were made and the necessary microclimate was created inside the cathedral. Now Dmitrievsky Cathedral is included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

Here it is, St. Demetrius Cathedral, in all its glory!

Since this cathedral was built on the territory of the princely court and was intended only for the princely family, its size is small, but the rich decor of its facade is impressive - there are more than 600 relief images of animals, plants, mythical creatures, and saints. Moreover, many reliefs have been preserved in their original form, while those that were lost have been restored.

The facades of the temple consist of three tiers. On the lower tier there is practically no decor; only the portals are decorated with carvings.

This is explained by the fact that previously the temple was surrounded on three sides by a gallery connecting it with the house. It ended on both sides with towers. The gallery, unfortunately, has not survived, and the walls remain smooth underneath.

The decoration of the middle tier is a colonnade belt with a rich ornament of carved figures.

The upper tier, which has narrow windows, is completely covered with carvings.

The drum, on which is mounted a gilded dome with an openwork gilded cross, is also decorated with carvings.

The white stone decoration of the cathedral contains many motifs that were widespread in Byzantium, the Balkans, and throughout Europe. Therefore, scientists assume that, along with Russian master carvers, people from the Balkan Peninsula - Bulgarians, Serbs, and Dalmatians - also worked on stone carving.

However, the intention of the creators of the delightful white stone carvings of the St. Demetrius Cathedral has not yet been fully studied; the deciphering of many compositions and plots has been the subject of debate for more than one generation of scientists.

Some elements of carved ornament

The central place in the design of the cathedral is given to the biblical king and prophet David. His image can be seen on three facades of the temple. The quality of these images is excellent; apparently they were made by one of the best stone cutters. At first, historians believed it was Christ, then for a long time they chose between David and Solomon. And only after restorers discovered the inscription “DAV Kommersant” near this image, the controversy over this issue ended.

The façade is dotted with images of animals, birds, and plants. The abundance of plants is used to create the image of the Garden of Eden.

Many of the animals are symbols of power - lions, eagles, leopards. As for strange monsters - animals with two heads, half-dogs, half-birds and the like - these images are well known to us from Russian mythology and fairy tales, so they are not frightening at all, but only give a fabulous character to the carved patterns.

Saints and princes

On the belt-colonnade of the middle tier, which encircled the cathedral on three sides, a whole gallery of figurines of saints was carved. Among them, the first holy prince-martyrs Boris and Gleb were identified, depicted in princely caps and holding crosses in their hands.

All 12 apostles are depicted here; the “portraits” of Peter and Paul are beyond doubt - they are signed.

Two more compositions depicted on the facade are interesting.

Ascension of Alexander the Great

The “technology” of ascension is depicted as follows. Alexander sits in a basket, raising his hands, in which he holds small lion cubs as bait. Two griffins tied to a basket reach for the bait, and due to this, the basket rises up. Despite the fact that Alexander the Great is a pre-Christian character, this plot was used quite often in medieval Europe.

Vsevolod with his sons?

On the northern façade you can find an image of a man sitting holding a child on his lap. He is surrounded on both sides by older children. Many historians believe that this depicts Vsevolod with his sons. He actually had a lot of children, which is why he got the nickname Big Nest. It’s just not clear why Vsevolod doesn’t have a beard here.

However, there is another version, according to which it is not Vsevolod with his sons that is depicted here, but the biblical Joseph with his brothers.

Hypothesis regarding the coloring of cathedrals

We are all accustomed to believing that the white stone churches that have survived to this day were originally the same, namely white.

However, in photographs of the 19th century you can see different color options for the facades of St. Demetrius Cathedral - " white ornament on a dark background" And " dark ornament on a white background". A white ornament on a dark background looks like this (this color existed in 1847-1883):

Vladimir. Demetrius Cathedral from the southeast. Prokudin-Gorsky 1911

And in 2015, in Pereslavl-Zalessky, the remains of ancient murals were discovered on the facade of the white-stone Transfiguration Cathedral. Based on this, scientists have suggested that in ancient times this temple " was painted almost “Khokhloma”"It is possible that the facades of other white stone temples in ancient times were also decorated with paintings, and this beauty looked something like this:

But after the Mongol-Tatar invasion, many temples stood in disrepair. Rus' was in poverty, and in order to refresh the churches, they were simply whitewashed with lime. So the paintings disappeared. But this is just a hypothesis for now.

And in the Moscow region there is. And he is also of great interest.

Dmitrievsky Cathedral is a white stone monument of Vladimir, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Currently, there is a small museum inside the 12th-century monument. From the outside, the church looks interesting and unusual, thanks to the stone carvings that decorate the facades. I’ll tell you whether it’s worth going inside in my review.

Every tourist who has visited the glorious city of Vladimir has not passed by the beautiful Dmitrievsky Cathedral, located in the very heart of the city. You can stand for a long time and look at the white stone carvings decorating the cathedral. The guide is usually told that there is nothing to see inside except bare walls. However, they make the mistake of trying to shorten the time of a city tour. Inside the temple there are small fragments of paintings from the 12th century, of which there are very few left in Russia, the reliquary of Dmitry of Thessalonica, the original cross of the cathedral and much more interesting things.

Let's start with history. Dmitrievsky Cathedral was built in the 1190s as the palace temple of the Vladimir prince Vsevolod the Big Nest. Externally, the building amazes with the beauty of its lines and the elegance of the white stone carvings, where messages from the Bible are encrypted. But we'll get back to carving a little later. The cathedral was built from white limestone by local craftsmen. You can’t tell from the outside, but earlier (until the second half of the 19th century) the cathedral looked a little different. It was surrounded by single-tier galleries that connected the Cathedral with the princely palace (now not preserved). Since the beginning of its history, the temple has survived numerous fires in 1536, 1719 and 1760. However, the greatest damage was caused to the temple by the visit of Nicholas I to Vladimir in 1834, when he ordered the temple to be restored to its “primitive form” and the ancient galleries and towers (they dated back to the 16th century) to be demolished. After the towers were dismantled, carved stones were used to repair losses on the facades of the cathedral.

During the renovation of the building in 1840-1847, ancient frescoes under the choir were discovered. The cathedral was painted anew, preserving fragments of the ancient painting. After 1917, Dmitrievsky Cathedral was already listed as a monument of ancient Russian art. In 1919, the cathedral was transferred to the Vladimir Museum. Throughout the 20th century, work was carried out to reconstruct and preserve the monument.

The museum's ticket office is located directly in the temple itself. Having purchased tickets, we went to see the small exhibition installed around the perimeter. The most important exhibit of the exhibition is, of course, the building of the cathedral itself. Guests are greeted by an audio program broadcasting throughout the museum about the history and significance of this Cathedral.

The Cathedral houses relics - the icon of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica and the reliquary with relics, brought to the cathedral in 1197. Then they went to Moscow in order to return to their place (in copies). It is easy to guess that Prince Vsevolod dedicated a large nest of the Princely Cathedral to Dmitry of Thessalonica, who died in 306. The roots of this act, as always, go back to childhood. When Vselovod was 8 years old, he, along with his mother and brothers, was expelled by his older brother Andrei Bogolyubsky. The family went to Constantinople, because Vsevolod’s mother was a Byzantine princess. At the court of Emperor Manuel Komnenos, Saint Demetrius was revered as the patron saint of the imperial family. Vsevolod spent more than 7 years in exile. Upon his return, he took a strong position on the Vladimir table, restored the Assumption Cathedral after the fire and built the Demetrius Cathedral. It should also be noted that Vsevolod the Big Nest was baptized under the name “Dmitry”.

In the center of the cathedral, where the iconostasis usually stands, there is an authentic cross, reaching a height of 4 meters. The cross was removed from the head of the cathedral in 2002 and replaced with a new one.

Raising your head, you can see those same fragments of paintings from the 12th century. It should be noted that the paintings were again presented to the audience; they had been closed for 30 years. This, of course, is not the Cathedral of the Mirozhsky Monastery in Pskov, where a much larger area of frescoes from this time has been preserved, but these frescoes are certainly worthy of attention. These paintings were found in 1843 and are included in the composition “The Last Judgment”. The frescoes of the Demetrius Cathedral are a variant of the classical Byzantine style of the 12th century. There is an assumption that the painters arrived in Vladimir from the city of Thessaloniki, where the sacred relics of Dmitry of Thessaloniki come from.
Where to look for paintings:
The central vault under the choir contains the figures of the 12 apostle-judges and angels behind them.
Small vault under the choir - Scenes of heaven: trumpeting angels, the Apostle Peter; Our Lady enthroned, “Abraham’s Bosom.”

Also in the Dmitrievsky Cathedral there is another unusual exhibit - this is the tombstone of Count R.I. Vorontsov, the first Vladimir governor. It was erected by his sons in 1804. The monument is interesting because the marble figures (the Mourner over the Urn and the Boy with the Pelican) were made in England, where Alexander Romanovich Vorontsov served as minister.

The cathedral has an interesting display that sheds light on the carved exterior of the cathedral. It turns out that the walls of the cathedral are covered with about 1000 carved stones. The original ones can be seen on the western facade, on the apses, in the central and eastern sections of the southern and northern facades. Some of the reliefs were carved in the 19th century. How do you like this game: find the original? Carved stones are subordinated to one theme - the theme of power. On the facade you can find images of King David, Alexander the Great, and the prince did not forget about himself - the image of Vsevolod the Big Nest with his son is also there. The facade is dotted with symbols of power: you can see heraldic lions, eagles, and leopards. One cannot help but notice the images of saints from the New Testament. Various plants with birds and animals represent paradise. In general, everything was very symbolic.

Dmitrievsky Cathedral

Dmitrievsky Cathedral

Inside the temple there are also fragments of white stone.

Phew, in general, it would seem like a small museum, but you can learn so many interesting things here. And you must admit, it’s not every day that you get to visit inside a temple that’s almost a thousand years old! I definitely recommend visiting.

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