The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl is a white-stone church in the Vladimir region, 1.5 km from the village of Bogolyubovo; an outstanding monument of Vladimir-Suzdal architecture of the 12th century.
The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl represents the heyday of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality under Andrei Bogolyubsky. At that time, Vladimir was transformed and the princely residence of Bogolyubovo with white-stone fortifications, a princely palace and the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary appeared next to it. In 1158-1165, Andrei Bogolyubsky's construction team created a number of remarkable white-stone buildings.
A site was chosen for the Church of the Intercession, just over a kilometer from the princely palace at the confluence of the Nerl and Klyazma (later the mouth shifted to the south, leaving behind an oxbow lake). The mouth of the Nerl was located at the intersection of important trade river routes and served as a gateway to the Vladimir land: here, ships turned to the prince's residence, from here a panorama of Bogolyubovo with the prince's palace and Vladimir unfolded. The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl was built in 1165. Historical sources associate its construction with the victorious campaign of the Vladimir regiments against Volga Bulgaria in 1164. The young prince Izyaslav died in this campaign. In memory of these events, Andrei Bogolyubsky founded the Church of the Intercession. According to legend, the white stone for the construction of the church was delivered as a contribution by the defeated Volga Bulgars themselves. The temple was dedicated to a new holiday in Rus' - the Intercession of the Virgin Mary. This holiday was established by the Vladimir clergy and prince without the consent of the Kyiv metropolitan and the Constantinople patriarch and was intended to testify to the special patronage of the Mother of God of the Vladimir land. After all, the main temple of Vladimir, the Assumption Cathedral, was also dedicated to the Mother of God - unlike Kyiv, Novgorod, Polotsk, Pskov and other princely capitals.