Mozhaisk is a city in the Russian Federation, the district center of the Moscow region, located in the upper reaches of the Moscow River, 4 km from the Mozhaisk reservoir, 110 km west of Moscow. Mozhaisk is a station of the Belarusian direction of the Moscow Railway. The population is 29,000 (2001). The first written mention of Mozhaisk refers to the Nikon Chronicle (1231).
The development of the city was largely determined by its economic and geographical position: Mozhaisk stood at the crossroads of two trade routes - one went to Smolensk and the Vladimir principality, the second - from Novgorod and Tver. For several centuries, Mozhaisk was in the center of military conflicts, which was associated with the construction of fortifications in the city. In the 12-13 centuries in Mozhaisk there was a wooden Kremlin.
In the 15th century, Luzhetsky and then Koloch monasteries were built to strengthen the city. In 1541, by order of Ivan the Terrible, new log walls and stone towers were built around Mozhaisk. Mozhaisk suffered greatly during the Time of Troubles. In the middle of the 17th century, the city lost its military importance, numerous crafts developed in it. In 1812, Mozhaisk was captured by French troops, partisan detachments operated in the vicinity of the city, including the detachment of Denis Davydov. In the 19th century, Mozhaisk turned into a typical county city, the economic development of the city slowed down. Many modern enterprises were built after the revolution. During the Great Patriotic War, Mozhaisk was briefly occupied by German troops, during the counteroffensive near Mozhaisk fierce battles were conducted. The city was liberated on January 20, 1942 by the troops of General L. A. Govorov, but many architectural monuments were irretrievably lost.
Mozhaisk and its surroundings are of considerable local history interest, there are numerous mounds, which indicates the settlement of this area in ancient times. On the territory of Mozhaisk itself, the remains of the ramparts of the ancient Kremlin, built in the 12th century, as well as the remains of the fortress of the 14th-15th centuries, have been preserved. On the Kremlin hill there is a beautiful New Nicholas Cathedral, built in 1779-1814 in the spirit of the architectural school of M. F. Kazakov. The cathedral was badly damaged during the Great Patriotic War, restored in 1961. Here is a small Old Nicholas Cathedral (also called the Peter and Paul Church), built in 1849 on the site of an older temple. Preserved in Mozhaisk part of the white stone church of Joachim and Anna - the only surviving structure of the abolished Yakiman monastery. The Church of Joachim and Anna was built in the late 1390s, repeatedly rebuilt and was dismantled in 1867 (only the northern aisle of Leonty Rostovskiy has survived).
Of particular value - religious, historical and architectural - is the Feropontov Luzhetsky Mozhaisky Monastery, founded in 1408 by the monk Feropont Belozersky (in the world Fedor Proskochin). Invited Feropont Mozhaisky specific Prince Andrei Dmitrievich, the monastery was founded "among the meadows" (hence its name) on the high Brykin Mountain, above the floodplain of the Moscow River. The main temple of the monastery - the Nativity of the Virgin was laid by Feropont. Most of the other buildings of the monastery belong to the period when his abbot was Macarius (XVI century). For many years the monastery served as a frontier protecting the approaches to Moscow. In the 1920s, the monastery was closed, the relics of St. Theropontus were opened. The monastery has preserved the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin, rebuilt in the 18-19 centuries, the refectory of the 16th century with the Vvedenskaya Church (rebuilt in the second half of the 18th century), the gate Transfiguration Church (the border of the 16th-17th centuries), the three-tier bell tower (1673-1692), the cell building (1681-1692, 1814), and the monastery fence with four round towers (1681-1692).
Behind the villages of Borodino and Semenovskoye in the vicinity of Mozhaisk is the village of Kolotskoe. Here in 1413 was founded Koloch Monastery, closed in 1917 and revived in 1997. To this day, the Assumption Cathedral (1626, partially rebuilt in the late 16th century and in the first half of the 18th century), the bell tower, cells, part of the towers, fences (17 - first half of the 18th century). Before the Battle of Borodino, the headquarters of M. I. Kutuzov was located in this monastery. Under its walls there were stubborn battles, from the capture of the monastery by Napoleonic troops it was protected by detachments of ataman M. I. Platov. Interest is located near Mozhaisk village Borisovo. It preserved the remains of the ramparts of the fortress founded by Boris Godunov.
20 km north-west of Mozhaisk is the village of Goretovo with the remains of the estate, in the early 18th century belonged to Counts Musin-Pushkin. Preserved brick wing in the style of mature classicism with elegant decor (early 19th century) and Trinity Church (1733-1737), erected on the initiative of P. I. Musin-Pushkin. Among Goretov’s owners was Count A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, one of the largest Russian diplomats of the 18th century.
