Russian Cities: Sergiyev Posad
Take a Day Trip to One of the Centers of Russian Orthodoxy
A short train ride from Moscow, Russia, Sergiyev Posad is a UN World Heritage Site and part of Moscow's famed Golden Ring, famous for its ancient cathedrals.
Sergiyev Posad, located 90 kilometers from Moscow and sometimes called the "Vatican" of the Russian Orthodox Church, is as stunning up-close as it is from far off. As you approach the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra, the fortified Monastary, which houses the cathedrals and bell towers of Sergiyev posad its golden and blue domes gleam in the sunlight.
Inside the gates, there is a religious hush as Orthodox pilgrims from all over Russia cross themselves before the cathedrals of the fortified monastary and line up to visit the tomb of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Patron Saint of all Russia, whose moral fortitude and support of Dmitri Donskoy helped Ancient Rus shake off the yoke of the Mongol Hordes. A funeral ceremony for St. Sergius, entombed in a massive silver casket, runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Sergius founded the monastary in 1345. The original monastary here was of wood, but the current monastic complex dates mostly from the 15th to the 19th centuries, a stunning collection of cathedrals and belltowers. The first stone cathedral, the Trinity Cathedral, was built by Serbian monks in 1422. The Assumption Cathedral, built by Ivan the Terrible in 1559, contains the remains of Boris Godunov, regent of Russia from 1584 to 1598, as well as several patriarchs of the Orthodox Church.
For 500 years, Sergiyev Posad has been one of the most important pilgrimage sites in all of Russia. It became a UN World Heritage Site in 1993. The monastary, walled in stone in the mid-16th century, survived a Polish-Lituanian Siege in 1608, and sheltered the young Perer the Great from his enemies twice during his reign. The large bell-tower at the monastary dates from the reign of Empress Elisabeth (1744). The Posad was closed after the Russian Revolution but re-opened after Stalin's "conversion" during World War II.
Sergiyev Posad is easily reached by inter-urban train from Yaroslavskiy Vokzal in Moscow (Metro Station Komsomolskaya). Depending on whether you take an express or slow train, time to the Posad can vary from less than one hour to almost two hours. Tickets are readily available for the interurban trains: there is no need to book in advance. The town has a number of good restaurants and hotels, though there really is no need to spend the night: the sights worth seeing are all located within the Lavra itself, and easily toured in a day, returning in the evening to Moscow by electric train.
