|
The Trinity-St. Sergiy Lavra, situated seventy kilometers north of
Moscow in Zagorsk, has played an exeptional role in Russian histoty
and culture. The monastery was founded by Sergiy of Radonezh in the
middle of the 14th century. In 1380, just before the Kulikovo
Battle, Prince Dmitri Donskoy came there to recieve the blessing of
the Father Superior. During the rule of Ivan the Terrible, in the
16th century, the monastery was turned into an impregnable fortress,
which withstood the sixteen months' siege of the Polish and
Lithuanian troops in the early 17th century. In the late 17th
century young Peter the Great founded shelter twice in the monastery
during the Streltsy insurrections.
The unique architectural complex of the monastery was built
within six centuries. It contains magnificient relics of different
stages in Russian architecture. The Trinity-St. Sergiy Lavra is
famous all over the world for its artistic uniqueness and its
distinctive appearance.
Today the monastery, The Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary,
and the Zagorsk History and Art Museum are housed in the Lavra.
The architectural ensemble of the Trinity-St. Sergiy Lavra and
its magnificient collection of Russian art of the 14th to 19 century
is a national treasure of Russian people. |