Radonezh
Encyclopedia
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Sergiyev Posad
Sergiyev Posad
Sergiyev Posad is a city and the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It grew in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, the Trinity Lavra established by St. Sergius of Radonezh. The town status was granted to it in 1742...
.
The old town of Radonezh is known to have existed since the first half of the 14th century, when it belonged to Ivan Kalita. In 1328, he settled there many captives from Rostov
Rostov
Rostov is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population:...
, including the future Sergii Radonezhsky. About twenty years later, Sergii founded the Trinity Monastery
Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra
The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about 70 km to the north-east from Moscow by the road leading to Yaroslavl, and currently is home to...
to the north of Radonezh.
The town belonged to Vladimir of Serpukhov and to his descendants until 1426, when the last appanage prince of Radonezh died, without naming his heir. There ensued a bitter struggle for the town's possession, which ended in Vasily II of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
's being taken captive in Radonezh by his cousin Dmitry Shemyaka
Dmitry Shemyaka
Dmitriy Yurievich Shemyaka was the second son of Yury of Zvenigorod by Anastasia of Smolensk and grandson of Dmitri Donskoi. His hereditary patrimony was the rich Northern town Galich-Mersky...
and later blinded.
The economic and political rise of the nearby Trinity Monastery adversely affected the overall development of Radonezh. In the late 15th to 16th century, the town was eclipsed by the monastery and later turned into a village.
Today, the remnants of Radonezh are located on an elevated cape, rounded by a curve of the Pazha River. There are still traces of rampart
Defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
s and a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
. A monument to St Sergii was opened in front of the local church in 1988. Designed by Vyacheslav Klykov
Vyacheslav Klykov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Klykov was a Russian sculptor who specialized in public monuments to key figures of national history and culture....
, it was the first public statue to be erected in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
without permission from the authorities. The biggest part of the former town is now occupied by a cemetery. Despite the fact that any new burials at this archeological site are now illegal, new graves are continued to be added; some of them - at the expense of the old earth walls being destroyed.