The entire centuries-old history of Yuryev-Polsky is inextricably linked with the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky Monastery. Its buildings, which are often called the Yuryev Kremlin, define the face of the city, giving it a distinctive beauty and grandeur. The Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky "princely" monastery was founded in the 13th century by Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich (commemorated on February 16 and July 6 n.s. in the Cathedral of Vladimir Saints), the youngest son of the Great Vladimir Prince Vsevolod III, known in history by the nickname "Big Nest". The exact date of its foundation is unknown. Some monastery documents date it to 1236. Two years later, in 1238, Batu's troops destroyed the monastery during the capture of Yuryev-Polsky, and it stood in desolation for almost two centuries. The monastery was also destroyed by the Lithuanians; then the entire archive was destroyed, and the abbot of the monastery had to submit a petition to Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich asking the Tsar to confirm the privileges granted to the monastery by previous sovereigns. Such a charter was indeed issued.
The cathedral church in the name of Archangel Michael was destroyed in 1408 during another capture of the city and was soon rebuilt. In 1535, a wooden church of Archangel Michael with the side chapel of the prophet Elijah was listed here, built at the expense of Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich. In 1560, the first stone church was built, the funds for its construction were donated by Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Kubensky. During Soviet times, the interior decoration of the cathedral was destroyed, and the building housed the exhibition halls of the museum, which are there to this day. Other churches of the monastery are the five-domed gate church of St. John the Theologian (1670), the five-domed Archangel Michael Cathedral (1792-1806), which seems to repeat its composition, and the Znamenskaya refectory church (1625). They are quite typical for their time, but fit well into the overall monastery ensemble.
Translated by Google •
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