Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
are attributed to Dionysius and his followers, the cathedral's original 15th-century mural
painters.
Patriarchs' Tombs
The tombs of many leaders of the Russian Church (metropolitans up to 1590, patriarchs
from 1590 to 1700) are against the north, west and south walls of Assumption Cathedral.
Near the west wall there is a shrine with holy relics of Patriarch Hermogen, who instigated
an uprising during the Time of Troubles in 1612. Also a supporter of Minin and Pozharsky's
revolt against the Polish occupation, the martyr was later arrested, beaten and starved to
death.
Throne of Monomakh
Near the south wall of Assumption Cathedral is a tent-roofed wooden throne made in 1551
for Ivan the Terrible, known as the Throne of Monomakh. Its carved scenes highlight the ca-
reer of 12th-century Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev - considered to be Ivan's
direct predecessor.
Iconostasis
Assumption Cathedral's iconostasis dates from 1652, but its lowest level contains some
older icons. The 1340s
Saviour with the Angry Eye
() is second from the right. On the
left of the central door is the
Virgin of Vladimir
(), an early-15th-century Rublyov school
copy of Russia's most revered image, the
Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God
(). The
12th-century original, now in the Tretyakov Gallery, stood in the Assumption Cathedral
from the 1480s to 1930. One of the oldest Russian icons, the 12th-century red-clothed
St
George
() from Novgorod, is by the north wall.
The original icons of the lower, local tier are symbols of victory brought from Vladimir,
Smolensk, Veliky Ustyug and other places. The south door was brought from the Nativity of
the Virgin Cathedral in Suzdal.
Church of the Deposition of the Robe
beside the west door of the Assumption Cathedral, was built between 1484 and 1486 in ex-
clusively Russian style. It was the private chapel of the heads of the Church, who tended to
be highly suspicious of such people as Italian architects. The interior walls, ceilings and pil-
lars are covered with 17th-century frescoes. It houses an exhibition of 15th- to 17th-century
woodcarvings.
