Vladimir (English) Владимир (Russian)
View of Vladimir
Location of Vladimir on the map of Russia
Coordinates 56°9′N 40°25′E / 56.15, 40.417Coordinates: 56°9′N 40°25′E / 56.15, 40.417
Coat of Arms	Flag
City Day: May 1
Administrative status
Federal subject In jurisdiction of Administrative center of	Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast
Local self-government
Charter	Charter of Vladimir
Municipal status	Urban okrug
Head	Alexander Rybakov
Legislative body	Council of People's Deputies
Area
Area	308 km² (118. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms. A flag is a piece of Cloth, often flown from a pole or mast, generally used Symbolically for signaling or identification Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Russia is a Federation which consists of 83  subjects. These subjects are of equal federal rights in the sense that they have equal Vladimir Oblast (Влади́мирская о́бласть Vladimirskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an Oblast) Vladimir Oblast (Влади́мирская о́бласть Vladimirskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an Oblast) Vladimir Oblast (Влади́мирская о́бласть Vladimirskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an Oblast) A charter is the grant of authority or rights stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified Being the largest country in the world spanning a large percentage of Eurasia, and one of the most populated Russia is divided into several types and levels of A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. 9 sq mi)
Population (as of the 2002 Census)
Population - Rank - Density	315,954 inhabitants 58th 1,025. Russia 's area is about 17 million square kilometers (65 million sq Russian Census of 2002 (Всеросси́йская пе́репись населе́ния 2002 го́да was the first Census of the Russian Federation carried This is a list of cities and towns in Russia with population over 50000 grouped by federal subject and sorted by population Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume 8/km² (2,656. 8/sq mi)
Events
Founded	990 or 1108
Other information
Postal code	n/a
Dialing code	+7 4922
Official website
http://www.vladimir-city.ru/

Vladimir (Russian: Влади́мир; Russian pronunciation: [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr]) is a city in Russia, located on the Klyazma River, 200 kilometers (124 mi) to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. A postal code (known in various countries as a post code, postcode, or ZIP code) is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a All Country calling codes for the European Union countries start with +3x or +4x A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages The classification system of the types of inhabited localities in Russia, the former Soviet Union, and some other post-Soviet states has certain peculiarities compared Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Klyazma River (Клязьма is a River in the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ivanovo and Vladimir Oblasts in Russia Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of The Russian Route M7 (also known as the Volga Highway) is a major Trunk road running from Moscow through Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod It is the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast. Vladimir Oblast (Влади́мирская о́бласть Vladimirskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an Oblast) As of the 2002 Census, it had 315,954 inhabitants, down from 349,702 recorded in the 1989 Census. Russian Census of 2002 (Всеросси́йская пе́репись населе́ния 2002 го́да was the first Census of the Russian Federation carried The 1989 Soviet Census was the final and most comprehensive census taken within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Vladimir was one of the medieval capitals of Russia, and two of its cathedrals are a World Heritage Site. Vladimir-Suzdal Principality (Влади́миро-Су́здальское кня́жество A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site (such as a Forest, Mountain, Lake, Desert, Monument, Building, complex It is served by Vladimir Semyazino Airport, and during the Cold War Vladimir was host to Dobrynskoye air base. Semyazino Airport (Аэропорт Семязино is an airport in Russia located 6 km west of Vladimir. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Dobrynskoye is an air base in Russia located 16 km northeast of Vladimir.

History

Foundation date controversy

Assumption Cathedral (12th century)

The area occupied by the city of Vladimir has been inhabited by humans (at least intermittently) for approximately 25,000 years. Traditionally, the founding date of Vladimir has been acknowledged as 1108, as the first mention of Vladimir in the Primary Chronicle appears under that year. The Primary Chronicle (ѣѣтъ Пóвесть временны́х лет Povest' vremennykh let; Пóвість врéм'яних літ Povist' vremjanykh This view attributes the founding of the city, and its name, to Vladimir Monomakh, who inherited the region as part of the Rostov-Suzdal principality in the 1093. For the cruiser see Russian armoured cruiser Vladimir Monomakh, for the submarine see RFS Vladimir Monomakh Vladimir II Monomakh A principality (or princedom) is a monarchical feudatory or Sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of Prince In 1958, the 850th anniversary of the city foundation was celebrated, with many monuments from the celebrations adorning the city squares.

In the 1990s, a new opinion developed that the city is older than this. Scholars reinterpreted certain passages in the Hypatian Codex, which mentions that the region was visited by Vladimir the Great, the "father" of Russian Orthodoxy, in 990, so as to move the city foundation date to that year. The Hypatian Codex ( Hypatian Chronicle, Ipatiev Chronicle, Ипатьевская летопись is a compendium of three Chronicles Primary Chronicle Saint Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great ( Old Russian: Володимеръ Святославичь, c See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure The defenders of the previously uncontested founding year of 1108 dispute the claims of those who support the new date, arguing that the new theory was fabricated in order to provide a reason to have a celebration in 1995.

The neighboring town of Suzdal, for instance, was mentioned in 1024, and yet its 12th century inhabitants alluded to Vladimir as a young town and treated its rulers with arrogance. Suzdal (Су́здаль is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated north-east of Moscow, from the city of In the words of a major chronicle, they said that the people of Vladimir were "their kholops and scions". Kholops (Холопы were Feudally dependent people in Russia between the 10th and early 18th centuries In the seniority conflicts of the 12th and early 13th centuries, Vladimir was repeatedly described as a "young town" compared to Suzdal and Rostov. The Charter of Vladimir, the basic law of the city passed in 2005, explicitly mentions 990 as the date of the city's foundation [1]. The term basic law is used in some places as an alternative to " Constitution " implying it is a temporary but necessary measure without formal enactment

Golden Age

Main article: Vladimir-Suzdal

Assumption Cathedral was a venerated model for cathedrals all over Russia. Vladimir-Suzdal Principality (Влади́миро-Су́здальское кня́жество Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir (sometimes translated Assumption Cathedral) used to be a mother church of medieval Russia in the 13th and 14th centuries The photo was taken in 1912.

Regardless of which founding date is most accurate, the city's most historically significant events occurred after the turn of the 12th century. Serving its original purpose as a defensive outpost for the Rostov-Suzdal principality, Vladimir had little political or military influence throughout the reign of Vladimir Monomakh (1113–1125), or his son Yury Dolgoruky ("long arms") (1154–1157). Prince Yuri I Dolgoruki (Юрий Долгорукий "Yuri the Long-arm" also known as George I of Russia, (c

It was only under Dolgorukii's son, Andrei Bogolyubsky (1157-1175), that it became the center of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Vladimir-Suzdal Principality (Влади́миро-Су́здальское кня́жество Thus began the city's Golden Age, which lasted until the Mongol invasion of Russia in 1237. The Mongol invasion of Rus' was heralded by the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223 between Subutai 's reconnaissance unit and the combined force During this time Vladimir enjoyed immense growth and prosperity, and Andrei oversaw the building of the Golden Gates and the Cathedral of the Assumption. In 1164, Andrei even attempted to establish a new metropolitanate in Vladimir, separate from that of Kiev, but was rebuffed by the Patriarch of Constantinople. ^[1]

Scores of Russian, German, and Georgian masons worked on Vladimir's white stone cathedrals, towers, and palaces. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Unlike any other northern buildings, their exterior was elaborately carved with the high relief stone sculptures. A relief is a Sculptured Artwork where a modeled form is raised (or alternatively lowered from a flattened background without being disconnected from it Only three of these edifices stand today: the Assumption Cathedral, the Cathedral of St.  Demetrios, and the Golden Gate. During Andrei's reign, a royal palace in Bogolyubovo was built, as well as the world-famous Intercession Church on the Nerl, now considered one of the jewels of ancient Russian architecture. Bogolyubovo (Боголю́бово is an Urban-type settlement in Suzdalsky District, Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located some north-east The Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin on the Nerl River (Церковь Покрова на Нерли Tserkov Pokrova na Nerli) is an Orthodox church Russian architecture follows a tradition whose roots were established in the Eastern Slavic state of Kievan Rus'. Andrei was assassinated at his palace at Bogolyubovo in 1175.

Decline

St.  Demetrius' Cathedral is famous for its masterfully carved exterior, representing the Biblical story of king David

On February 8, 1238, Vladimir was besieged and taken by the Mongol-Tatar hordes under Batu Khan. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin David, Arabic: داوود or داود dawud, "beloved" was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible Events 421 - Constantius III becomes co- Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Tatars ( Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic -speaking ethnic group or multiple ethnic groups Batu Khan (Бат Хаан Баты́й (c 1205–1255 was a Mongol ruler and the founder of the Blue Horde. A great fire destroyed 32 limestone buildings on the first day alone, while the grand prince and all his family perished in a church where they sought refuge from the fire. The bishop of Vladimir managed to escape.

After the Mongols, Vladimir never fully recovered, and even though the most important Rus prince (usually the Prince of Moscow, but sometimes of Tver or another principality) was styled the Grand Prince of Vladimir and was the tax--collector of the Golden Horde. From 1299 to 1325, the city was seat of the metropolitans of Kiev and All Rus, until Metropolitan Peter moved the see to Moscow. In Hierarchical Christian churches the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the Diocesan bishop or The Grand Prince of Vladimir were originally crowned in Vladimir's Assumption Cathedral, but when Moscow superseded Vladimir as the seat of the Grand Prince, the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin, loosely copied by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti from Vladimir's original, became the site where the grand princes were crowned. Aristotele Fioravanti (c 1415 or 1420 &ndash c 1486 was an Italian Renaissance architect and engineer Even after the rise of Moscow though, Muscovite grand princes built several new churches in Vladimir, notably the Annunciation church at Snovitsy (ca.  1501), three kilometers north-west of the city, and a charming church in the Knyaginin nunnery (ca.  1505), with murals dating to 1648.

Remains of the prince-saint Alexander Nevsky were kept in the ancient Nativity abbey of Vladimir until 1703, when Peter the Great had them transferred to the Monastery (now Lavra) of Aleksandr Nevskyin St. Petersburg. Saint Alexander Nevsky (Алекса́ндр Яросла́вич Не́вский in Russian; transliteration Aleksandr Yaroslavich Nevskij) ( May 30 Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River The Nativity church itself (1191–1196) collapsed several years later, when they tried to make more windows in its walls, in an effort to brighten the interior.

Sightseeing

Modern Vladimir is a part of the Golden ring of the ancient Russian cities and a significant tourist center. Its three chief monuments, White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal, inscribed by UNESCO on the World Heritage List, are the following:

1. The magnificent five-domed Assumption Cathedral was designed as a sepulcher of grand princes and dedicated to the holy icon Theotokos of Vladimir, which had been brought to the city by Andrew the Pious. The White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal is the name of a World Heritage Site in Russian Federation. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir (sometimes translated Assumption Cathedral) used to be a mother church of medieval Russia in the 13th and 14th centuries The Theotokos of Vladimir,( Greek Θεοτόκος του Βλαντιμίρ also known as Our Lady of Vladimir, the Virgin of Vladimir or Vladimirskaya The cathedral was constructed in 1158–1160, expanded in 1185–1189, and painted by the great Andrei Rublev and Daniil Chyorny in 1408. Andrei Rublev (Andrew Rublev Andrey Rublev Andrey Roublyov Russian: Андре́й Рублёв (c Daniil Chyorny (Даниил Чёрный (c 1360 &ndash 1430 was a Russian Iconographer. In 1810, they added a lofty bell-tower in Neoclassical style. Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and
2. The warrior-like cathedral of St.  Demetrius was built in 1194–1197 as a private chapel of Vsevolod the Big Nest in the courtyard of his palace and was consecrated to his holy patron, St. Demetrius. Saint Demetrius redirects here For another saint see Demetrius of Alexandria. For all its formal unity, the cathedral represents a truly international project of Russian and Byzantine masters, Friedrich Barbarossa's masons, and carvers sent by Queen Tamar of Georgia. Frederick I Barbarossa (1122 &ndash 10 June 1190) was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned Tamar (თამარი also transliterated as T'amar Thamar or Tamara ( c
3. The Golden Gate, originally a tower over the city's main gate, was built in 1158–1164. The Golden Gates of Vladimir (Zolotye Vorota Золотые ворота constructed between 1158 and 1164 are the only (albeit partially preserved instance of the The gate acquired its present form after having been grossly reconstructed in the late 18th century, to prevent the dilapidated structure from tumbling down.

Other remarkable monuments of pre-Mongol Russian architecture are scattered in the vicinity. Russian architecture follows a tradition whose roots were established in the Eastern Slavic state of Kievan Rus'. For more information on them, see Suzdal, Yuriev-Polsky, Bogolyubovo, and Kideksha. Suzdal (Су́здаль is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated north-east of Moscow, from the city of Yuryev-Polsky (Ю́рьев-По́льский is an old town and the administrative center of Yuryev-Polsky District of Vladimir Oblast, Russia Bogolyubovo (Боголю́бово is an Urban-type settlement in Suzdalsky District, Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located some north-east Kideksha (Кидекша is a village ( selo) in Suzdalsky District of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located at the

Golden Gate (Vladimir), 1164

Sister cities

Vladimir is twinned with:

• - Canterbury, England
• - Erlangen, Germany (since 1983)
• - - Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, United States
• - - Sarasota, Florida, United States
• - - Marion, Indiana, United States
• - Saintes, France
• - Ústí nad Labem, Czech republic

See also

• Theotokos of Vladimir
• Vladimir-Suzdal

View of railroad station and Klyazma river in 1911 by Prokudin-Gorskii

View of the same place in 2003

Reference

External links

• Official website of Vladimir (English)
• Information on the city of Vladimir (sites, attractions, tourist info, etc)
• http://www.allvladimir.ru/
• More abour Vladimir and other towns of the Golden Ring of Russia