Pereslavl-Zalessky is the regional center of the Yaroslavl region (124 km southwest of Yaroslavl), located on the southeastern shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo. It was founded in the 12th century as Pereslavl.
The small and modest town of Pereslavl-Zalessky was once the center of the principality and one of the main cities of Rus'. In the 12th century, the lands around Lake Pleshcheevo belonged to the Rostov Principality. Previously, the lake was called Kleshchin, and on its shore there was a small fortress - Kleshchin. The ramparts of this fortress can be seen even now, several centuries later, on the northern shore of the lake. Yuri Dolgoruky founded a city on the other side of the lake in 1152 and named it Pereyaslavl. Most historians agree that it was named after a city in the south of Rus', which the prince never managed to annex to his possessions (“Pereslavl” from Old Russian means “who took over the glory”). The prefix Zalessky, which arose later, is also understandable: after all, the city was located in a wooded area.
It was one of the most reliable fortresses in Rus': the height of the ramparts was about twelve meters, and their length was more than two kilometers. They have also survived well to this day. On the rampart there were wooden walls with watchtowers. Pereslavl was considered the most fortified city after Vladimir. Even under Yuri Dolgoruky, the Transfiguration Church was founded here, but its construction was completed after the death of the city’s founder. It was located next to the fortress wall and, according to experts, could have been part of the fortifications. Next to it was the princely palace. The temple has survived to this day thanks to numerous restorations, but at the same time it has almost completely retained its original appearance.
In 1220, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich was born in Pereyaslavl, who in 1240, at a fairly young age, was able to defeat the Swedish army on the Neva, for which he received the nickname Nevsky. Two years later, an even more famous battle took place with the crusaders on Lake Peipsi. Currently, on the main square of Pereslavl-Zalessky there is a monument to the famous commander.
At the time when Alexander Nevsky was winning his victories, he hometown was captured and ravaged several times by the Mongol-Tatars. The fortresses and impressive fortifications did not help: the enemy army was too numerous. However, by that time the city was already quite large and significant. Because of him for a long time There was fierce hostility even between Russian princes. As a result, Pereslavl remained with the famous prince Ivan Kalita and became part of the Moscow principality, although encroachments on the city by the Tver princes continued for several more years.
In 1369, under Dmitry Donskoy, new fortifications were erected in the city. Three years later they had to endure a baptism of fire: the Lithuanians attacked Pereslavl. The Lithuanian detachment was never able to take the city, but only destroyed the villages located nearby. But in 1382, troops led by Khan Tokhtamysh again captured the city and burned it. Pereslavl was restored in 1403, and 5 years later it was subjected to the last attack in its history by the Mongol-Tatars.
In the 16th century, Pereslavl-Zalessky found itself on the territory designated by Ivan the Terrible as an oprichnina. In 1608 he was captured by Polish invaders, but a year later he was released. Soon the city became the center of the first people's militia. After this, Pereslavl-Zalessky had to withstand siege more than once, but it was never captured.
In 1666, a new wooden Kremlin was built in Pereslavl-Zalessky. The walls of the fortress became more than 2 kilometers long, and twelve wooden towers were located along the perimeter. At the end of the 17th century, another significant event occurred in Pereslavl-Zalessky. historical event. Here, at a shipyard located on Lake Pleshcheyevo, the young Emperor Peter Alekseevich founded his first flotilla. It was called amusing, but it was a prerequisite for the formation of the first Russian navy. These ships were carefully stored for a long time, but in 1783 they were destroyed by fire. The only exception was the boat "Fortune", which, according to legend, was built personally by Peter I. In the 60s of the 18th century, the dilapidated fortress of the city was dismantled as unnecessary. After the construction of the amusing flotilla, no significant events occurred in the life of the city
Like most ancient Russian cities located around Moscow, Pereslavl-Zalessky in our time is not big city. Nowadays the city has developed chemical and textile industries. But, first of all, modern Pereslavl-Zalessky is one of the centers of tourism. In this quiet and small ancient Russian city, many temples and monasteries have been preserved. In addition, Pereslavl-Zalessky is located in a rather picturesque place: there are forests and surprisingly clean Lake Pleshcheyevo around it. There is a place here not only for amateurs ancient architecture, but also for fishermen and hunters. In 1988, Pereslavl National Park was also created on the territory of the city.
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I decided to accompany this local history material not with photo illustrations, as usual, but with my old sketches of this wonderful ancient Russian city. In 2005, my wife and I lived there with great pleasure for five days; we had time to sit with an album and a pencil.
View of Lake Pleshcheyevo (eastern shore) from the Goritsky Monastery
In the 11th–12th centuries, southern Rus' suffered from endless princely civil strife and devastating raids of the Polovtsians. Fleeing from these troubles, many residents of the Kyiv south rushed to the distant northeastern outskirts of Rus', separated from the Dnieper region by dense forests and therefore called Zalesie. The settlers brought with them southern Russian cultural traditions (for example, epic epics), as well as familiar geographical names. Thus, in Zalesye many rivers and settlements appeared that had South Russian names. One of these new cities was Pereyaslavl-Zalessky on Trubezh, whose foundation is associated with this wave of migration of the ancient Russian population.
The city’s fortifications were founded in 1152, under the Rostov-Suzdal prince Yuri Dolgoruky. A number of chronicles under this year report that Yuri “moved the city of Pereyaslavl from Kleshchin and created more than the old one, and the church in it erected the Stone of the Holy Savior.” In ancient times Lake Pleshcheyevo was called Kleschin. The transferred city of the chronicle is called Pereyaslavl New (later Suzdal, then Zalessky). In the 15th century, the letter “ya” dropped out of pronunciation, and the city began to be called Pereslavl.
The transfer of a city from an old place to a new one is a fairly common phenomenon in the history of ancient Rus'. But in relation to Pereslavl-Zalessky, historians and archaeologists cannot yet say exactly which of the ancient settlements discovered on the shore of Lake Pleshcheevo should be considered Pereyaslavl Old. It is only obvious that there were serious reasons for moving the administrative and strategic center of the district from the high coastal hills to the lowlands - at the mouth of the Trubezh River. It is no coincidence that the earthen fortifications of Pereslavl became one of the most powerful in the Rostov-Suzdal volost. Only a few years later they were surpassed by the defensive structures of the new capital of northeastern Rus' - Vladimir.
A unique earthen structure - the Pereslavl shaft - has miraculously survived to this day. In the 19th century, in many old Russian cities, boulevards were laid on the site of the rampart ring, but the authorities of Pereslavl-Zalessky did not have the funds for this. Underfunding, as we see, sometimes has positive sides.
Nikitsky Monastery. Chapel at the site of the feat of St. Nikita
The first appanage prince of Pereslavl-Zalessky was Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the third son of Vsevolod the Big Nest. He sat on the Pereslavl table in 1212, after the death of his father, and reigned until 1240. Under him, Pereslavl became a major political and cultural center of North-Eastern Rus'. This is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that independent chronicle writing was carried out in the city. At the court of Yaroslav, a manuscript was compiled, now called “The Chronicler of Pereslavl-Suzdal”.
A quarter of a century later, the peaceful period of development of the Pereslavl principality was interrupted by the invasion of Batu. The Mongols destroyed 49 Russian cities, including Pereslavl-Zalessky. In 1240, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich moved from the deserted city to Vladimir, and in 1243 he was the first among the Russian princes to go to the capital of the Golden Horde - Sarai, where he received from Batu a label for the great reign of Vladimir. Two years later, he again had to go to the Horde at the call of the Khan. He never returned to Rus', dying on the way home. Historians believe that he was poisoned in the Horde with a slow poison.
Transfiguration Cathedral. XII century In ancient times it served as a tomb for the Pereslavl princes. In front of the entrance is a monument to Alexander Nevsky
After Yaroslav moved to Vladimir, the Pereslavl inheritance passed to his second son, Alexander Nevsky, who was born here. Later, at the birthplace of the hero and heavenly patron of the Russian land, next to the former princely court, the Transfiguration Cathedral was erected, which has survived to this day. Now there is almost nothing inside it except white plastered walls, but they charge money for entry.
Alexander Yaroslavich retained Pereslavl until his death in 1263. Nevsky's heir in the Pereslavl reign was the eldest of his sons, Dmitry (the second, Andrey, received the Gorodets principality, and the youngest, Daniil, the Moscow principality). As was common at that time, the brothers immediately entered into a long internecine war. In 1293, Andrei finally won, bringing a huge Tatar army to Rus'. 14 cities were destroyed. The Principality of Pereslavl suffered especially hard.
In 1302, Dmitry's heir, the childless Prince Ivan, bequeathed the Pereslavl principality to his uncle and ally Daniil Alexandrovich of Moscow. So Pereslavl-Zalessky became the first city from which the gathering of Russian lands around Moscow began. In memory of the voluntary annexation of Pereslavl to Moscow, the surprisingly tasty vendace fish, for which Lake Pleshcheyevo is famous, was supplied to the coronation dinner of Moscow sovereigns right up to Peter I.
Goritsky Monastery. Cultural center of the city with a local history museum
The Pereslavl residents provided all possible assistance to Moscow in its struggle for primacy in Russian lands.
At the beginning of the 14th century, the most dangerous enemy of Moscow was the Tver prince Mikhail Yaroslavich. In 1304 he decided to capture Pereslavl. But Pereslavl and Muscovites were well prepared to meet the enemy. On June 8, under the walls of Pereslavl, the united Moscow-Pereslavl army defeated the Tver inhabitants. “And there was great sadness and sorrow in Tver, and great joy and joy in Pereslavl,” the chronicler says about this. The battle took place on the day of remembrance of St. Theodore Stratilates, the patron saint of warriors. On the site of the victory, the Pereslavl people founded the Fedorovsky Monastery. From then until the revolution of 1917, folk festivals were held annually near the walls of the monastery in memory of the deliverance of Pereslavl from the Tver army.
Trinity-Danilov Monastery. Cathedral church with the chapel of St. Daniil Pereslavsky. Bell tower of the 17th century.
Having suffered defeat on the battlefield, the Tver prince decided to strike a blow at the spiritual authority of the Moscow principality. The fact is that from the end of the 13th century the head of the Russian Church lived in Pereslavl, where the metropolitan court was built. In 1310, Peter, a supporter of the Moscow princes, was the Metropolitan of All Rus'. Wanting to deprive him of power, the prince of Tver and his archbishop accused the bishop of trading in church positions. On this occasion, a church council was convened in Pereslavl. In fierce disputes, the Metropolitan managed to prove his innocence. Thus, he strengthened not only his influence, but also the position of his patron, the Moscow prince.
In 1382, the Pereslavl people provided an important service to the Moscow prince Dmitry Donskoy. At that time, Khan Tokhtamysh came to Rus' with a large army. The Tatars captured and burned Moscow and Pereslavl. The chronicles preserve the news that the Pereslavl residents survived thanks to the fact that everyone got into boats and rafts, went to the middle of Lake Pleshcheevo and stayed there while the Tatars plundered and burned the city. Grand Duchess Evdokia, the wife of Dmitry Donskoy, also escaped from persecution by the Tatars with the help of the Pereslavl people. In gratitude for the rescue, she rebuilt the ancient Goritsky Monastery at her own expense. Nowadays the Pereslavl Museum-Reserve is located on its territory.
Cathedral of the Feodorovsky Monastery
In the 15th-16th centuries, Pereslavl was one of the largest Russian cities. Noble boyars lived here (including such famous families as the Pleshcheevs and Vorontsovs), many merchants and townsman artisans.
Pereslavl falconers, fishermen and coachmen played a special role in the life of the city.
Grand ducal and royal falconers raised and trained game birds and protected hunting grounds. According to the documents, there were about 20 of them, including women. In memory of the hunting amusements of the Moscow sovereigns, several villages in the vicinity of Pereslavl bear appropriate names: Big and Small Sokolniki, Sokolskaya Sloboda, Sokolnya tract.
At the mouth of the Trubezh River there was the sovereign's Rybnaya Sloboda, which consisted of 99 fishing yards. The fishermen who lived here enjoyed the exclusive right to fish on the Grand Duke's Pleshcheyevo Lake for a certain rent. They also supplied fish to Moscow, to the table of great sovereigns.
Since the end of the 15th century, along the “Pereslavl Great Road”, which cut the city into two parts, the Yamskaya chase was carried out - the delivery of mail and passengers from Moscow to Kholmogory and back. Pereslavl coachmen were at public service and lived in their own settlements. One Pereslavl village is still called Yam today. In those days it consisted of fifty coachman's yards.
Among the Moscow sovereigns who provided special patronage to Pereslavl was Tsar Ivan the Terrible. It was believed that the very birth of Ivan occurred thanks to the prayer of the abbot of the Pereslavl Trinity Monastery, St. Daniel, who became godfather Grozny. In his mature years, Ivan retained his affection for Pereslavl and visited here several times with his family, including to pray to the local saint Nikita Pereslavsky. By personal order of Grozny, two local monasteries were fortified - Fedorovsky and Nikitsky, which guarded the entrances to the city. In 1557, Tsarevich Fyodor, the future heir of Grozny, was born near Pereslavl. Nowadays there is a chapel on this place. In honor of the birth of his son, the tsar ordered the construction of a new cathedral in the Fedorovsky monastery in the name of Fedor Stratilates.
Temple on the territory of the museum complex "Boat of Peter the Great"
In order to start Russia's first navy, Peter I had to travel a lot by land. Thanks to the young sovereign’s interest in the “big water,” Pereslavl became the birthplace of the Russian fleet.
Peter’s interest in “sea fun” arose in the spring of 1688, when in his residence in the village of Izmailovo near Moscow he discovered an old English boat capable of sailing even against the wind. The Tsar had fun riding it along the Izmailovsky ponds, the Yauza and Moscow rivers. But he soon became bored with the shallow water.
In search of a larger reservoir, 16-year-old Peter came to the shores of Lake Pleshcheevo near Pereslavl-Zalessky. Here in July 1688 a shipyard was founded and the construction of yachts and other small vessels began. But the struggle for power with Princess Sophia distracted Peter from building the flotilla for a long time. Again he returned to Pereslavl only in the winter of 1691. On Mount Gremyach near the ancient village of Veskova an “amusing palace” and a “business yard” were built and things started to get more lively.
By the spring of 1692, a significant flotilla had gathered on Lake Pleshcheyevo - about a hundred ships. These included the 30-gun three-masted frigates Mars and Anna, three yachts, galleys and smaller vessels.
On May 1, the first naval holiday in Rus' took place - the ceremonial launching and consecration of ships. And in August, Peter received the first parade of the first Russian military flotilla. So 1692 can rightfully be considered the time of the birth of the Russian navy.
The "amusing" flotilla did not have practical application. But it turned out to be a good school for the first Russian shipbuilders and professional sailors. In May 1693, Peter sailed on Lake Pleshcheevo for the last time, and in July he left for Arkhangelsk to build a real fleet. The “amusing” flotilla was left to rot in Pereslavl. In 1783, its remains were destroyed during a great fire. Miraculously, only the bot “Fortune” survived, according to legend, built by Peter himself.
Nikolsky Monastery. Cathedral
On August 1, 1803, in Pereslavl, on the initiative of the Vladimir governor, Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Dolgoruky, the grand opening of the first provincial museum of Russia took place. Its central exhibit was the bot “Fortuna,” nicknamed “the grandfather of the Russian fleet.” On the pediment of the museum pavilion there was a sign with the inscription: “To Peter the Great, zealous Pereslavl.”
The history of the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky began in Neolithic times, when people appreciated natural resources and used them rationally. It is on the shore of Lake Pleshcheeva, which is on this moment is part of the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky, the very first traces of the presence of settlers of these places were discovered. Starting from the 1st century BC, representatives of the Merya people began to live in this area. After some time, the territory located in the lake area was occupied by the Slavs. Since those ancient times, a legend has been passed down from mouth to mouth, which tells about the history of the mysterious Blue Stone. From the narratives it follows that this stone was intended for performing various ritual rites and sacrifices. All ritual actions were dedicated to the sun deity Yarila.
According to various historical data, the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky received its name in honor of the place where Yuri Dolgoruky was born. A fairly strong defensive fortification was built in this city. The entire urban area was reliably protected by earthen ramparts, the height of which sometimes reached 16 meters. The Transfiguration Cathedral was erected by local architects near the city walls. This architectural monument has historical value, since its walls served both as a spiritual refuge for the nobility and as a center in which various important military and political decisions were made by the local principality. The power of the defensive structures of the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky for many years quite successfully repelled multiple enemy raids.
At the time when Prince Vsevolod came to rule, with his son Yaroslavl, this principality achieved prosperity and began to be considered one of the cultural centers of ancient Rus'. Prince Yaroslavl's entourage consisted of educated subjects, and from that time chroniclers began to archive everything that happened in this principality. Icon painters worked tirelessly on the territory of the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky, whose works were transferred to various churches and temples. This land is also famous for the fact that it was on it that the great ancient Russian commander A. Nevsky was born. Unfortunately, this ancient city suffered the same fate as many other cities. Ancient Rus'. Its walls were repeatedly subjected to Tatar-Mongol raids. Also, its power and inviolability were influenced by local princely feuds, which consisted in the redistribution of this territory. Only with the advent of Moscow Prince Daniil to the rule did this city begin to actively recover and soon began to be called a craft and trade center.
Pereslavl-Zalessky repeatedly received Moscow princes and kings who visited these places for the purpose of hunting or to study God's word. The great ruler Pyotr Alekseevich began his large-scale construction of a flotilla on Lake Pleshcheevo, which became the progenitor of the Russian navy. In the 19th century, Pereslavl-Zalessky was noted as a city in which buildings and structures made of stone began to be erected. Also, many churches, factories and factories were built in the city area. The well-being of the local population during this period directly depended on the White Sea trade route, which passed through Pereslavl-Zalessky. The city treasury was significantly replenished after construction railway which took place near the city. To this day, this place is famous for its ancient buildings of both architectural and historical value. Many tourists come to these places precisely to get acquainted with the history of this city and visit local attractions, some of which they can observe from the windows of their hotel room.
- (Pezanprob) a voluntary scientific organization that worked for free in the city of Pereslavl Zalessky in 1919-1930. Contents 1 General history 2 Year after year... Wikipedia
City, district center, Yaroslavl region. It was first mentioned in the chronicle in 1152. like mountains Pereslavl, founded by Prince. Yuri Dolgoruky. Oikonym was transferred from the Kyiv land, where Mt. Pereyaslavl was mentioned already in 907. From the 15th century. to differentiate from others... ... Geographical encyclopedia
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Pereslavl Zalessky: Pereslavl Zalessky city in the Yaroslavl region of Russia Pereslavl Zalessky ship Pereslavl Zalessky documentary film ... Wikipedia
Pereslavl-Zalessky- Pereslavl Zalessky. View of part of the city. PERESLAVL ZALESSKY (until the 15th century Pereyaslavl), a city in the Yaroslavl region, in Russia, on the shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo, at the mouth of the Trubezh River. 43.4 thousand inhabitants. Railroad station. Production of magnetic tape,... ... Illustrated encyclopedic Dictionary
- (until the 15th century Pereyaslavl), a city in the Yaroslavl region, on the shore of lake. Pleshcheevo, at the mouth of the river. Trubezh, 21 km from the railway station. d. st. Berendeevo. 45.2 thousand inhabitants (1998). Slavich software (production of magnetic tape, photographic paper, etc.); light, food industry.… …Russian history
- (until the 15th century Pereyaslavl), a city in the Yaroslavl region of the RSFSR, on the shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo. Founded in 1152 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky as one of the fortified points covering the Rostov-Suzdal land. The remains of urban earthworks have been preserved... Art encyclopedia
Pereslavl-Zalessky- Pereslavl Zalessky. Pereslavl Zalessky, a city in the Yaroslavl region, the center of the Pereslavl region, 124 km southwest of Yaroslavl. Located in the northeastern part of the Klinsko-Dmitrovskaya ridge, on the southeastern shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo, at... ... Dictionary "Geography of Russia"
- (until the 15th century. Pereyaslavl) city in Russian Federation, Yaroslavl region, on the shore of the lake. Pleshcheyevo, at the mouth of the river. Trubezh. Railroad station. 43.5 thousand inhabitants (1993). Production Association Slavich (production of magnetic tape, photographic paper and... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
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- Pereslavl-Zalessky, . Pereslavl-Zalessky is an ancient Russian city. It is located near Lake Pleshcheevo along the banks of the Trubezh River and along the slopes of the hills. The beauty of nature and the creations of the mind and human hands merged here...
The city of Pereslavl-Zalessky has great attractive power as an ancient cultural and architectural monument: it is the same age as Moscow (founded in 1152), and now one of the most interesting centers of the Yaroslavl region. Not only architectural masterpieces give reason to include it in the “ Golden ring» old Russian cities. Many events in Russian history took place within the walls and on the soil of this ancient city.
V. Berdnikov
Pereslavl-Zalessky. The name alone of this ancient provincial town is both fascinating and alluring. It seems to invite you into a fascinating old Russian fairy tale that lives in the midst of modernity. The history of the Zalessky region originated somewhere far back in the mists of time. Initial stages it is the retreat of the last glacier, the appearance of taiga forests and rivers with their diverse inhabitants, and, as a consequence of the previous one, the arrival of the first people. The largest site of many ancient settlements in the Neolithic era was located on the eastern shore of the lake at the mouth of the river, later named Trubezh. Nowadays this place is known as Pereslavskaya Rybnaya Sloboda. It represents the oldest part of the city, a corner beloved by artists on the river, with reflections in the water weeping willows and ancient wooden huts along the banks. Another independent site of the ancient inhabitants of the region was located on the so-called Bolshaya Pesoshnitsa - on the banks of the same river, approximately where Trubezhnaya Street is now located. This is evidenced by finds, including shards of pottery with ornaments and large quantities animal bones.
The hilly northeastern shore of Lake Zalesskoe, called Kleshchino in ancient times, has long been attractive to people. According to archaeological research, in the 4th century AD this coast was inhabited by the Finno-Ugric Merya tribes. In the 9th-10th centuries, during the influx of population from the south to the northeast of Rus', Slavs from the Novgorod and Dnieper lands came to Zalesye in search of fertile places. On the northeastern shore of the lake they founded a settlement, giving it the name Kleshchin. Evidence of those times has survived to this day, and it is they that make up one of the popular tourist routes today. This is the north-eastern shore of Lake Pleshcheev, beloved by city guests and Pereslavl residents, where the Kleshchinsky complex is located. It includes the remains of an ancient Slavic town, a burial mound, Alexander Mountain, which was formerly a pagan temple, and the legendary Blue Stone, which was once worshiped by the Merya and the Slavs.
Information from the chronicles says that in 1152, one of the younger sons of Vladimir Monomakh, Yuri Dolgoruky, moved the city “like on Lake Kleshchina” to the intersection of important trade routes near the mouth of the river and “...found a great city and erect a church of the Holy Savior...”. The emerging settlement, which “took over the glory” of the surrounding cities, was named Pereyaslavl New. This is a proud name, according to the historian M.I. Smirnova, sounds like “... combative and completely akin to the favorite princely and squad names: Yaroslav, Svyatoslav, Izyaslav...”. The town, which arose in the 12th century in the north of Rus', became the third with a similar name - after Pereyaslavl of Kyiv (993) and Ryazan (1095). And only in the 15th century, near Pereyaslavl, located from Kyiv “beyond the Bryn forests”, the more familiar name of the city - Pereslavl-Zalessky - was finally established.
This is a beautiful ancient city with an extremely interesting and eventful history. Its picturesque corners preserve the memory of many famous politicians and important historical facts. The 13th century became especially bright in the history of Pereslavl, when the city was the capital of a vast appanage principality, and at the same time a major cultural and political center of North-East Rus'. In those years, independent chronicling was carried out in the city, known today as “The Chronicler of Pereslavl of Suzdal.” In the same century, namely in May 1220, the famous Russian commander Alexander Yaroslavovich, later nicknamed Nevsky, was born here. At one time, he restored Pereslavl after another devastation by the Tatars and founded a monastery on Alexandrova Mountain. The holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky is especially revered in his homeland; he is one of the seven Pereslavl saints.
Pereslavl is one of the few Russian cities where you can see the 12th-century earthen fortress that once surrounded the settlement. The monument to early fortress construction has existed for more than eight and a half centuries and has been perfectly preserved to this day. Today, the ancient Pereslavl ramparts are an excellent place for walking, with a magnificent panorama of the old city opening from here.
Studies of the area have shown that the internal area of the city in the first centuries of its existence was about 500 meters wide and 700 meters long. Earthen walls with a circumference of more than 2.5 km once reached an impressive height of up to 16 meters. The Pereslavl fortress was surrounded from the outer sides by the rivers Trubezh, Murmash and an artificial reservoir - a deep ditch with dug pointed stakes along the edges. Shaft ridge in old times crowned with wooden chopped walls with towers. They burned repeatedly during princely civil strife or Tatar raids, but were then restored. However, in the 18th century, the wooden walls were finally dismantled “due to disrepair and uselessness.”
On Red Square of Pereslavl, in a complex with an ancient embankment, there is a small one-domed stone temple - the Transfiguration Cathedral, founded by Yuri Dolgoruky in 1152 for the needs of the princely court and the garrison of the fortress. He is one of the oldest architectural monuments Vladimir-Suzdal school of architecture. The construction of this temple took five years and was completed, according to many historians, by the son of the city founder Andrei Bogolyubsky. The white-stone Savior, made in the Byzantine style, is a cross-domed four-pillar church traditional for the mid-12th century. Its image is simple and its decoration is sparse; only the drum of the dome and the cornices of the altar apses are decorated with arched belts. Despite the very turbulent course of many centuries, time has hardly left its mark on the appearance of the old Pereslavl temple. However, now in the ancient walls of the Transfiguration Cathedral there is no former splendid interior content, which once impressed the ancestors. Many priceless objects of ancient Russian art - church utensils, icons, books - disappeared without a trace during numerous devastations and fires. The original fresco painting of the second half of the 12th century also turned out to be lost. Miraculously, a silver chalice from the 12th century, decorated with ornaments, which, according to legend, was donated to the Pereslavl Cathedral by Yuri Dolgoruky, has survived to this day. Today this unique monument of decorative and applied art can be seen in the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. The temple icon “Transfiguration” from the 14th century, attributed to the workshop of Theophanes the Greek, has also been preserved to this day. The icon has been in Moscow since the 1920s, being one of the famous exhibits of the Tretyakov Gallery. The marble altar barrier installed in the temple dates back to the 19th century. Previously, the ancient one-domed cathedral was not only the main temple of the city, but also the tomb of the Pereslavl appanage princes. The son and grandson of Prince Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Alexandrovich and Ivan Dmitrievich, are buried there. Like his father, Dmitry Alexandrovich, proved himself to be an outstanding commander of his time. And Ivan Dmitrievich, having no direct heirs, before his death in 1302, bequeathed Pereslavl to his Moscow ally - his uncle Daniil Alexandrovich. This circumstance played an important role in the further formation of Moscow as the capital of Rus'. As a sign of the voluntary annexation of Pereslavl, a tradition appeared - to serve smoked Pereslavl herring - vendace, which has been found in Lake Pleshcheyevo since ancient times, on the royal table at the coronation of the heir to the Moscow throne.
During the Moscow period, the Zalessk city was actually the second religious capital of the Russian state. The names of many famous church figures and saints are associated with Pereslavl, including Sergius of Radonezh, Dmitry Prilutsky, Metropolitans Pimen, Athanasius, Peter and others.
The fate of the wife of Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, Evdokia, who escaped with her baby in the city of Zalessk from the persecution of Khan Tokhtamysh, is also closely intertwined with Pereslavl. Later, with her donations, the Goritsky Monastery, burned by the Tatars, was restored and a new wooden Church of St. John the Evangelist was built on the banks of the Trubezh.
Vasily III and Ivan the Terrible visited Pereslavl on pilgrimages more than once, making rich contributions to the Nikitsky, Trinity Danilov and Goritsky monasteries. Under Ivan IV, the Alexandrova settlement of Pereslavl district became the center of the oprichnina, in which Pereslavl residents Malyuta Skuratov, Alexey and Fyodor Basmanov played a prominent role.
Surviving documents clearly indicate that in the 16th century many merchants and artisans lived in Pereslavl. Among the latter were shoemakers, spoon makers, and nail makers. A special place was occupied by fishermen and falcon washers, who served the princely court and were exempt from regular city duties.
The energetic “tsar-carpenter, tsar-worker” Peter I also left his bright mark on the history of the city, having built an amusing fleet on the shores of Lake Pleshcheevo at the end of the 17th century, which laid the foundations of Russian shipbuilding. The historical museum-estate with the affectionate name “Boat of Peter the Great”, where Peter the Great’s business court was once located, today arouses great interest among Russians and foreign guests who want to see with their own eyes the cradle of the Russian fleet - the oval Pereslavl Lake - and Peter’s boat “Fortune”, which is kept in the museum on Mount Gremyach.
A popular attraction of Pereslavl today is the largest provincial historical, architectural and art museum-reserve in Russia, located within the walls of the former Goritsky Monastery. For almost fifty years, starting in 1744, this ancient monastery was the center of a vast diocese, including Mozhaisk, Dmitrov, Volokolamsk, Ruza and other ancient Russian cities. Today in Goritsy many unique monuments antiquities and art, including church utensils, paintings, furniture, household items, etc.
During the existence of the Pereslavl diocese, more than six thousand inhabitants lived in the city. But after the plague of 1771, this number remained
only half of the townspeople. The basis of the settlement was the merchants, who, according to data from 1776, owned 61 shops and 6 taverns, where there was a brisk trade in goods typical of that time: clothing, cloth, “trifles for ordinary people and the peasantry,” as well as food products – “livestock and indigenous fish.” , nuts, gingerbread, sugar, flour, apples and grape drinks.
Remaining a major spiritual center of Russia with many churches, the famous Pereslavl-Zalessky from the 18th century “quietly rested on the laurels of its past.” At first it was the center of the province of the Moscow province, and since 1778 it has been a district town of the Vladimir province. However, even then Pereslavl was considered one of the first in trade and industry among the same district cities in central Russia. In the second half of the 19th century, six linen factories, a carriage and sausage establishment, and thirteen factories, including fur, tobacco and candle factories, operated here. The largest in the city was the Borisov paper spinning factory, which employed more than two thousand people.
But gradually the economy of the Zalessk city declined, and from the once developed settlement Pereslavl turned into a quiet county town. Many are inclined to believe that the reason for this is the lack of a railway in the city. It passed only 18 miles from Pereslavl, as a result of which he long years was deprived of opportunities for economic growth.
Today Pereslavl-Zalessky is included in the famous tourist route “Golden Ring of Russia” and, despite the fact that Soviet years Many city churches were lost; Pereslavl is still one of the centers of Russian Orthodoxy.
Currently, Pereslavl is the regional center of the Yaroslavl region with a population of about 42 thousand people. This is a cozy, clean and attractive Russian corner for tourists with beautiful scenery, ancient Orthodox shrines and ancient houses along the central streets. More than once, people of art have fruitfully drawn inspiration from the local nature and rich history. The Pereslavl land was captured in their works by writers N.A. Ostrovsky and M.M. Prishvin, artist K. Korovin, D. N. Kardovsky and many others.
The famous Zalessky region is a protected area. His lake Pleshcheyevo today measures more than 6.5 km x 9.5 km and is one of the largest lakes in the Upper Volga region, as well as the center of the National Park of the same name.
On the outskirts of the city, Pereslavl residents bake delicious bread and make cheese, produce photographic paper and a variety of packaging. Graduates of local schools have the opportunity, without leaving the city, to continue their studies at the Film and Photo Technical College, which is named after "Alexander Nevsky" or the University of Pereslavl with the main directions " Applied Mathematics" and "computer science".
Local residents, accustomed to a measured pace of life, in their free time love to relax in the lap of nature, enjoying the coolness of the lake or river, and ski and sled down steep snow-covered hills in winter.
Very often on weekends, the picturesque Pereslavl region is filled with vacationers from near and far cities, many of whom are not in the Zalessky city for the first time. Most of the visitors strive first of all to visit Orthodox monasteries in one or all four - and to visit the local holy springs.
Guests of Pereslavl are always looking forward to comfortable hotels, restaurants with original cuisine and numerous museums with various collections of irons, teapots, steam locomotives and peasant utensils.
But Pereslavl residents and guests of the city especially love the traditional ones - Christmas in the Museum, City Day, Broad Maslenitsa, Youth Day, Aeronautics Festival and Navy Day. The holidays are always perfectly organized - with a unique twist and love for the native land.
Once you arrive in Zalesye, you will not be able to remain indifferent to this amazing land. The small ancient city of Pereslavl-Zalessky will definitely leave pleasant memories of itself, forcing you to return here again and again.
