The Golden Ring Gate

The brainchild of Monomakh and the medieval capital of Russia, Vladimir is an incredibly beautiful city, whose historical center is fully included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are several dozen architectural monuments of exceptional value, and there are more than a hundred sights in Vladimir! One of Vladimir’s business cards – the Golden Gate – was once used by Russian princes for solemn entrances to the city. In the XIII century, the gates were able to contain the onslaught of the Tatar horde and today appear before you in all the power of its white-stone splendor. Golden-domed cathedrals are another recognizable feature of Vladimir. The Assumption Cathedral is the main temple of the city and, once, of all Russia. For its construction invited the most skilful masters "of all lands", the interiors of the cathedral painted the great Andrei Rublev (you will see more than 300 square meters of its frescoes), and the main shrine of the temple for a long time was the Assumption Icon of the Mother of God, repeatedly defending Russia from the Mongol-Tatar hordes. White-stone Dmitrievsky Cathedral, built in honor of the holy warrior Dimitri of the Solunsky, is famous for the first openwork stone masonry in Russia of 556 carved stones, in which Orthodox, mythological and literary images are folded into a bizarre phantasmagoria.
14 km from Vladimir on the picturesque shore of the quiet Nerli is the village of Bogolyubovo. Behind the provincial facade of his houses hides a glorious and often turbulent past: in the XII century in Bogolyubovo was the residence of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. After the villainous murder of the ruler, the details of which our guides will tell you, his memory was immortalized in the Holy Bogolyubsky monastery. A visit to what remains of the princely palace on the grounds of the monastery is perhaps the most intriguing part of the tour. Undoubtedly, your attention will be attracted by a magnificent Baroque church built on the foundation of the Palace Cathedral, which collapsed in the XVIII century. The exposition inside the church tells about the history of Bogolyubov, his architectural monuments and archaeological excavations.
Soaring between the blue of the river and blue of the heavenly white Church of the Intercession on the Nerli is one of the most recognizable churches in Russia, on the model of which many churches were created in Russia and in Orthodox dioceses abroad. A magnificent example of solemn, elegant and at the same time laconically modest Vladimir-Suzdal architecture, the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl was built in the XII century and dedicated to the feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God. The veneration of the Virgin, as a special patroness of the Principality of Vladimir, was unusually strong in Vladimir and, as if to become the Mother of God, the Church is full of peace and purity. The place for the construction of the church on a remote meadow next to the Nerl River was chosen by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky himself. In spring, the spilled waters of Nerli completely surround the hill on which the Church of the Intercession stands, and it seems to ascend into the azure sky in the harmony of shining white clouds.

07:45 – Departure of the bus from Partizanskaya. Travel information.
– Vladimir: sightseeing tour of the city; white stone monuments of the XII century, included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List: external inspection of Dmitrievsky Cathedral and the Golden Gate. Visit to the Assumption Cathedral, which preserved frescoes of the great Russian artist Andrei Rublev (XV century) and the Museum "Old Vladimir".
- Sightseeing tour of the existing Bogolyubov monastery, on the territory of which in the XII century the residence of Andrei Bogolyubsky was located (a fragment of the prince's palace is preserved).
Church of the Intercession-on-Nerli XII century. (visit for weather conditions).
21:30 – Arrival in Moscow. Disembarkation of tourists at the nearest metro station on the way.