Учебный проект: "Murom is my native town"

MUROM

Murom is my native town. It is of the most ancient towns of Russia. A beautiful city with many parks and historical buildings, Murom is situated on the steep bank of the river Oka on the border with the Nizhniy Novgorod region.

First mentioned in chronicles in 862, the ancient Murom came into being at the place of the Finno-Ugric tribe "Muroma" settlement!! The Slavs settled here by the end of the 10th century First the town served as a Russian fortress on the bank of the river and in the middle age period it was an important commercial center.

The most ancient part is the central part of our town. There are many shops in the central streets, practically in every building.

Oksky Park is also a very popular place among our citizens. There are some attractions for children there The best place of the park is a small square where you can stand and enjoy the wounderful sight of the Oka river.

A monument to our national hero, Ilya Muromets , stands in the middle of this square. There is also a nice embankment which stretches along the bank of the river.

The cultural life of Murom has always been rich. One of the finest buildings is a Palace of Culture, which is situated in the center of town. Concerts of classical music and drama performances are often held here.

Leo Tolstoy street is one of the most beautiful streets of the town. Here you can see Victory Square with the monument to the Unknown Soldier. There is, also a central telegraph office on this square. Victory Square with its beautiful fountain is a favourite place among young people who like to meet there in summer.

Murom is also an important railway junction. It connects Moscow with the Urals, Siberia and Far East. The railway station was built last century m a typical Oriental style.

There are also many architectural monuments of the past: churches and cathedrals.

The Church of the Smolensk icon of the Mother of God (Smolenskaya)

The Church is situated on a high terrace of the Oka river. It was built in honour of the Smolensk icon of the Mother of God. This temple was built by a merchant Elin in 1804. The high bell tower was constructed in 1832, and a warm gallery – in 1838. In 1840 parishioners of the temple Murom merchants Titov, Elin, Kiselev donated a bell in 200 poods. An ancient cross of 1676 with particles of sacred powers was considered to be a relic of the church. In 1868 the church replaced ancient temple St. Kozmas and St. Demyan whose parish was liquidated after its destruction. Closed in 1930 the church became an exhibition hall of the local museum in 1977-1995. In August 1995 the temple was given back to the eparchy.

The Savior Monastery

The first mention of the Savior monastery in the Russian annals was made in 1095. A number of stone temples were erected in Murom, including the Transfiguration cathedral after the successful campaign of Ivan the Terrible to Kazan in the middle of the 16th century (the exact date of the construction is not known).
In December 1615 the town was exposed to invasion of the armed Lithuanian group commanded by A. Lisovsky. The Savior monastery suffered from the incursion. The Poles plundered churches, tore off the silver rizas and jewels from the icons.
In 1636 the territory of the monastery was surrounded by a wooden fencing. Inside the cloister there was a stone five-headed Transfiguration cathedral, Pokrov church, the stone church of St. Kirill Belozerski above the sacred gate. 28 monks lived in the monastery in 1636. Pokrov temple was rebuilt many times. Around 1687 a stone two-storeyed senior priest house was erected; it was the first stone civil construction in Murom.
The stone three-storyed bell tower with octahedral tent was erected in 1757 by Murom merchant Samarin P. It stood up to 1929 in the western part of Pokrov temple.
The stone fencing was constructed around the monastery in 1807-1810.
In 1891 a stone three-storeyed brotherly house with a church inside was erected.
The Savior monastery declined in the 18th century.
In 1725 one archimandrite and 19 monks lived in the monastery.
In 1886 there was the archimandrite, 5 celibate priests, 2 deacons, 17 lay brothers in the monastery.
The monastery was closed in 1918. In 1925 the church property of the monastery was given to the Murom museum.
In 1930 the monastery was occupied by the military department. At the same time the necropolis of the monastery was destroyed.

St. Nicholas Church on the Embankment (Nikolo-Naberezhnaya)

St. Nicholas Church is named so because it is situated on the bank of the Oka river. The foundation of the church is connected with tsar Ivan the Terrible and his stay in Murom during his military campaign to Kazan. The wooden church stood on this place up to 1700.
The construction of the stone temple instead of a wooden one began in 1700. Demetrius Khristoforov, the priest of Moscow temple of the Resurrection of Christ was the builder of the new temple.
The iconostasis was arranged in 1714. It was gilded in 1716 and in 1717 the temple was consecrated on the blessing of Right Reverend Stephan, metropolitan of Ryazan city.
The stone temple has preserved its original appearance till the present day. The temple has five-domes, the altar with three semicircular apses, windows in the temple are in two tiers.
The architecture of the temple is similar to the architecture of other Murom churches constructed in the 17th century.
St. Nicholas Church was closed in 1940. In 1990 the temple was transferred to Vladimir eparchy.
The shrine of sacred relic of St. Iulianiya Lazarevskaya is the object of worship of the temple. She is honoured for her godly life and mercy.

Saint Annunciation Monastery

The monastery on the spot of Annunciation church was founded on vow by Ivan the Terrible. In 1552 during his march to Kazan the tsar visited Murom and worshipped the new saints for victory and promised to found a monastery if the victory is won. During the construction works of the stone church on the place of the wooden one the tombs with relics of princes were found, which afterwards were solemnly moved into the new church.

Saint Trinity Convent

Saint Trinity convent was founded in 1642 by a rich merchant Tarasi Borisovitch, known by his nickname Bogdan Tsvetnoi. It was built in the spirit of new Moscow architectural tendencies. Prior to this time on this spot there stood a wooden church founded by prince Yuri Yaroslavich. In 1643 the patriarch blessed the foundation of a convent. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovitch supported the convent financially. In spite of the fires in 1792 and 1805, Trinity convent was built a new and continued to exist. In the beginning of the 20th century it had two churches: the cathedral, and the church over the gates. The convent maintained a parochial school for girls. The whole convent was administered by the Mother Superior.
Trinity convent, like all other monasteries of Murom, was closed down in the 1920s. Its architectural ensemble was retained almost completely.
Trinity convent was revived in May 1991.
At present on the territory of the convent one can see the architectural monuments: Trinity cathedral (1642-1643); Kazan church over the gate (1648); belfry (1652); fence and towers (1807-1808).
In the Trinity cathedral the shrine of sacred relics of St. Peter and Habronia is kept. St. Peter and Habronia are honoured as protector of the family and marriage in Russia.

The Church of St. Kozma and St. Demyan (Kozmodemyanskaya)

In the 16th century, during the Ivan the Terrible period, four stone churches were built in Murom. One of them is the tent-shaped church of St. Kozma and St. Demyan on the bank of the Oka. St.Kozma and Demyan church, a very attractive tent-shaped building, is the best masterpiece of architecture of the 16th century. Unfortunately, this beautiful building has a distorted shape: in April 6, 1868 the top of the church, twelve-faceted tent-shaped structure, caved in. But even the ruins of St.Kozma and Demyan church attract those who like art clean shaped proportion and unusual picturesqueness of the appearance.

The Convent of Christ Resurrection (Voskresensky)

The churches of the Convent of Christ Resurrection have been known since the middle of the 16th century. The Convent was mentioned in town chronicles of 1636. Stone temples were constructed by Avraam Cherkasov in the middle of the 17th century instead of wooden ones in the reign of Tsar Aleksey Mikhailovich. Closed in 1930 the Convent was utilized for dwelling and a store house. The temples were opened again in the 1990s.

The Receptional Church (Sretenskaya)

The Receptional Church is situated in K. Marx street. The wooden church in honour of Demetrius Solunsky was built here in the 16th century. This church was first mentioned in 1574. The stone temple was erected in 1795 due to a rich Murom merchant Zworykin’s donation. The temple was reconstructed in 1888-92. A large wooden Cross was the main relic of a temple. The citizens of Murom prayed here during strong epidemics and diseases.