Speaking of Vladimir, many people will ask, isn't this the russian name? Yes, the name of Grand Duke Vladimir-Monomacher, Russians have worshipped heroes from ancient times to the present, so heroes and saints like to give names to their children.
Founded in 1108 by Archduke Vladimir-Monomacher, it has been a thousand years since then. So to understand the city, let's start with its history.
In 1157 Vladimir became the capital of the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdari. The period 1176-1212 was the peak of Vladimir's heyday.
In 1238 the Mongol Tatars invaded Vladimir, in 1243 Vladimir became the capital of all Russia, and in 1299, the center of Russian power was moved from Kiev to Vladimir, so now this small city was also the "heart" of state rights.
For more than a hundred years, Vladimir continued to make contact with Moscow, and in 1491 Vladimir rebuilt the fortifications. In 1609-1614 the Polish-Lithuanian army attacked Vladimir again.
Vladimir Province was established in 1719 and Vladimir Autonomous Province in 1778. The Vladimir railway station was built in 1861.
During the Soviet era, Vladimir became the administrative center of Vladimir District, dividing the city into three regions, and today, the permanent population is less than 360,000, with an area of 137.14 square kilometers.
The train station is located on the banks of the Krizma River, opposite the train station is a long-distance station with access to Suzdari.
Vladimir is a small city built halfway up the mountainside, and it is only by walking along the mountain road from the foot of the mountain that you can slowly enter Vladimir.
Winding up the hill you will first see the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, where there are countless monasteries in Russia, most of which will prompt the prohibition of photography and the prohibition of loud noises, which will disturb the practitioners.
The bare branches of the monastery, the quiet atmosphere, the spotting of a few cats in the corner of the wall, who walked quietly around and would burrow into some inconspicuous hole. Turned around and left.
Continuing from the monastery you will see a yellow, somewhat dated church is the Nicholas Kremlin Church, built in the early 17th century but destroyed in the early 18th century.
After another half a century, a new church was rebuilt on the original basis, and the bell tower was built at that time. Now that it has become a space museum, those interested can go and find out.
Next to the church you will see a strong warrior, and this is what is known as the greatest Rus', Alexander Nevsky.
Mr. Nevsky defeated the Swedish army on the banks of the Neva River and was revered as a hero of the Neva River. It then won several battles, maintaining the unity and integrity of the ancient Rus.
Posthumously canonized as a saint by the Orthodox Church in the 16th century, Mr. Stalin called him a national hero, and then in a national referendum, Alexander Nevsky was considered by the Russians to be one of the greatest Russians with the highest number of votes.
Next up is the small red two-story building, which contains ancient Kremlin prototypes, about the religion, culture, life and other aspects of Vladimir. It is a great place to get an intuitive understanding of the historical development of Vladimir.
This striking tall, square church, the Dimitri Cathedral, was built at the end of the 12th century, at the height of the power of the Grand Duchy of Vladimir.
It was built of white limestone, destroyed by the Tatars in 1536, 1719 and 1760, and restored by Nicholas I in 1837-1839, bringing it back to its original form.
The exquisite carvings on the façade of the church are amazing, animals, figures, totems, etc. Dimitri Cathedral was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1992.
The three-sided statue in the square was built during the Soviet period and consists of a technician, a knight and a craftsman. There are also paintings carved in stone on the pedestal.
On the other side of the square, this painter is the greatest, he is Mr. Andrei Rublev (1360-1428), Mr. Rublev is the Ancient Rus, and even arguably the greatest fresco and icon painter.
Many of his oil paintings are treasured by many churches in Russia. Because of his outstanding skills and contributions, Mr. Rublev is revered as a saint.
(The Tretyakov Museum in Moscow has Mr. Rublev's Holy Trinity, created in 1411 or 1425-1427, and is said to be Rus's first painting on this subject.)
Head up a hill high above and in pushkin Cultural Park another landmark, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is right in front of you. The Church of the Assumption of our Lady of Vladimir is of high status and took 30 years to complete.
The use of local limestone (made of the same material as Dimitri Cathedral) was made by Andrea. Grand Princess Bogolyubski built, and all the craftsmen were recruited from the Roman Empire.
In the 12th and 15th centuries, the coronation ceremony of the Tsar was completed here. The original frescoes inside, but were damaged during the war, and later in the 14th century, craftsmen such as Mr. Rublev were asked to redraw them, removing these old frescoes, and the remaining frescoes are works of the 19th century.
The interior is magnificent, with a large number of exquisite frescoes, many of which are also the fine works of Rublev. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside and it is impossible to show its beauty. Similarly, in 1992, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Blessed Virgin Mary was inscribed on the World Heritage List.
On the corner platform of the park, the founder of the city of Vladimir, Grand Duke Vladimir-Monomacher, stands here on a handsome high-headed horse, looking into the distance at the city he founded himself.
Grand Duke Monomacher had served as grand duke of Rostov, Smolensk and other places, and was of prominent origin and had royal blood. The Grand Duke was a man of great achievements and erudition throughout his life, and was buried in the Hagia Sophia in Kiev, Ukraine, after his death.
From the grand duke's point of view, the distant villages, the snow, the churches, the rivers, blended together, like a cool oil painting.
The streets that are not too wide are very tidy, the houses are lined up in a row, and the smiling face of the bus comes to me, and when I see such a bus, the mood will change well.
As you walk, you will encounter the viewing platform, like a distant view, a pleasant heart, next to this painter, his pen may paint the most beautiful years of Vladimir.
This little detective sitting on the side of the road said that the little detective is very smart and always helps the police in Vladimir to solve many cases, so the reputation of the little detective is also excellent in the city, and the opposite of the little detective has grown up to become a big detective.
The red fire truck, needless to say, arrived at the door of the fire brigade, and the man carrying the water gun was a sculpture of a firefighter.
Here is a small square, next to the Church of the Savior and the Church of Nicholas, where the two chapels are next to each other, and the church with the small bell tower on the right is dimly lit.
I walked in and saw a few nuns, and many old women, holding bottles of holy water, and the holy water from the church can bless the believers and dispel diseases and disasters.
Next to this church, is a kindergarten or elementary school, many children playing on the slide, the little face is frozen red, I look at them through the railing, they see me, they all come to greet me, their smiling faces are so beautiful.
There is also a huge cherry statue here, in honor of the cherry orchard in Vladimir, where the cherries once produced here are famous throughout Russia, delicious in taste, full and round.
The brick-red building on the hillside is the Water Tower, built in 1868. It turned out to be indeed a water tower that supplied the city with water.
Now a small museum, the overall shape is like a small heavy tucker, with four floors, the first to third floors show the history of Vladimir, daily life, old photographs, daily activities of the people and the city style, up to the fourth floor, you can overlook the city.
The water tower can be seen here, which is another symbol of Vladimir - the Golden Gate.
Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubski (the grand duke who built the Church of Our Lady) built five gates in 1164, but over time, only the current Golden Gate remains, the only medieval gate that has survived.
The old and orthodox building northeast of Kinmen is the Language Department of Teachers College.
This is overlooked from the observation deck coming down from the water tower.
To the southwest of the Golden Gate is the Holy Trinity Church, which, like the Water Tower, is brick red, the shape is pleasing, the circle is very cute, and now inside is the Crystal and Embroidery Museum, which tells the formation of the Vladimir Crystal Factory and how to make crystal products.
Flocks of pigeons in the square will rise together in the air, and then fall en masse, grunting one after another. Park Shu's "Birch Forest" sings, "The sky is still hazy, there are still pigeons flying."
There are many pigeons in every city in Russia, they fly and fall on their own, they are not afraid of people, even if you feed them, they will only pounce on them, not on people.
They seem to have long been integrated with the city and have a quiet life together, on the contrary, travelers like me are strangers.
Next to another red church is the Church of the Holy Rosary, a distinctly different architectural style, built in 1892.
As we all know, the state religion of Russia is the Orthodox Church, and the Holy Rose Church is a Catholic church, although they all believe in Jesus and the Virgin, but the form of expression is still very different, and there are now more than 200 Catholics.
On Christmas Day 1930, the Soviet authorities decided to abolish the site, and the bell tower became a relay station. It was not until the 1990s that the functions of the church were restored.
Walking through the village, this standard football field is slightly simpler, the January offseason is quiet, the gate is locked, and I can only peek through the crack in the door to see what is inside. This is the home of the Torpedo team Vladimir, who are now playing in the Russian Second Division.
Leaving the stadium, it was almost the end of the trip, and the Church of the Archangel Michael was the end of the trip.
Built at about the same time as the Church of the Holy Rose, it is a Byzantine style church with a chic and exquisite shape, delicate and vivid frescoes, bright colors and gilded trims. Some old women went to church early in the morning, and some monks in black robes.
Vladimir is not big, and the attractions are basically scattered around the main street, which is enough if you only have one day.
Each Golden Ring city has its own unique style, but I especially like Vladimir in cool-toned oil paintings.