Yuryev-Polsky (russian: Ю́рьев-По́льский) is an old

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

and the

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

Yuryev-Polsky District Yuryev-Polsky District (russian: Ю́рьев-По́льский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #130-OZ and municipalLaw #55-OZ district (raion), one of the sixteen in Vladimir Oblast, Russia. It is located in the northwest of the oblast. T ...

Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast (russian: Влади́мирская о́бласть, ''Vladimirskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its closest border 66 km east of central Moscow, the administrative center is the city of Vladimir, w ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, located in the upper reaches of the

Koloksha River Koloksha (russian: Колокша) is a rural locality (a village) in Kolokshanskoye Rural Settlement, Sobinsky District, Vladimir Oblast, Russia. The population was 31 as of 2010. There are 6 streets. Geography Koloksha is located on the Kolok ...

, northwest of

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

, the administrative center of the

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...

. Population: 23,000 (1974).

History

It was founded by

Yury Dolgoruky Yuri I Vladimirovich ( rus, Юрий Владимирович, Yuriy Vladimirovich), commonly known as Yuri Dolgorukiy or the Long Arm ( rus, Юрий Долгорукий, Yuriy Dolgorukiy, meaning "Far-Reaching", c. 109915 May 1157) was a Rur ...

in 1152. First part of its name derives from Yury's patron saint, St. George. The second part is derived from the word ''polsky'' meaning " in the fields". This specification was needed in order to distinguish the town from the earlier established fortress of Yuryev (nowadays

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

), at the time located in the woods in what is now

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

and then the biggest Russian settlement in the territory of the

Chud Chud or Chude ( orv, чудь, in Finnic languages: tšuudi, čuđit) is a term historically applied in the early East Slavic annals to several Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Estonia, Karelia and Northwestern Russia. Arguably, the ...

s. Upon

Vsevolod III Vsevolod III Yuryevich, or Vsevolod the Big Nest ( rus, Все́волод III Ю́рьевич Большо́е Гнездо́, Vsévolod III Yúr'yevich Bol'shóye Gnezdó) (1154–1212), was Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1176 to 1212. During ...

's death in 1212, the town was assigned to one of his youngest sons, Svyatoslav. It was that prince who personally designed the town's chief landmark, the Cathedral of St. George (1230–1234). It is the latest pre-Mongol construction in Russia, unprecedented in abundance of stone sculptures, and also the model for first stone churches in the

Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...

. In the 1460s, the cathedral's dome collapsed, thus burying most of unique sculptures which had adorned the cathedral walls. The collapsed roof was sloppily restored by a well-known Muscovite artisan,

Vasili Yermolin Vasili Dmitriyevich Yermolin () (? – died between 1481 and 1485) was a Russian architect and sculptor. Vasili Yermolin is known to have been a merchant, contractor, and head of an artel of the Muscovite builders. In 1462, he restored the old pa ...

, in 1471. The great

Battle of Lipitsa The Battle of Lipitsa (russian: Ли́пицкая би́тва) was the decisive battle in the succession struggle over the Grand Princely throne of Vladimir-Suzdal following the death of Vsevolod the Big Nest. In the battle, fought on April 22, ...

was fought near the town in 1216. In 1238, Yuryev was sacked by the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

. A century later, it was incorporated into the

Grand Duchy of Moscow The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...

. The chief monument of the Muscovite period is the walled Monastery of

Archangel Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, founded in the 13th century and containing various buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries. Several miles from Yuryev, on the bank of the

Yakhroma River The Yakhroma (russian: Яхрома) is a right tributary of the Sestra that flows through a network of peat marshes in the north of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It passes through the towns of Dmitrov and Yakhroma, crossing the Moscow Canal The Mosco ...

, stands the Kosmin Cloister, whose structures are typical for the mid-17th century.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Yuryev-Polsky serves as the

, to which it is directly subordinated.Resolution #433 As a municipal division, the

of Yuryev-Polsky is incorporated within Yuryev-Polsky Municipal District as Yuryev-Polsky Urban Settlement.Law #55-OZ

Twin towns – sister cities

Yuryev-Polsky is twinned with: *

Hîncești Hîncești () is a city and municipality in Moldova. Hîncești is situated on the Cogâlnic River, southwest of the Moldovan capital, Chișinău. Since 2003 it has been the seat of Hîncești District. History Hîncești was established in ...

, Moldova

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

Unofficial website of Yuryev-PolskyPicture of Kosmin Cloister
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Vladimir Oblast Yuryevsky Uyezd (Vladimir Governorate) Golden Ring of Russia 1152 establishments in Europe 12th-century establishments in Russia