Kirzhach () is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and the

administrative center An administrative centre 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 the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

Kirzhachsky District Kirzhachsky District () is an administrativeLaw #130-OZ and municipalLaw #36-OZ district (raion), one of the sixteen in Vladimir Oblast, Russia. It is located in the west of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is t ...

Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, the oblast's population was 1,443,693. The UNESCO World Heritage L ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, located on the

Kirzhach River The Kirzhach () is a river in Vladimir Oblast, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Klyazma. The length of the river is 133 km (83 mi). The area of its drainage basin is 1770 km² (680 sq mi).oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

, west of

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

and south of

Alexandrov Alexandrov (masculine, also written Alexandrow) or Alexandrova (feminine) may refer to: * Alexandrov (surname) (including ''Alexandrova''), a Slavic last name * Alexandrov, Vladimir Oblast, Russia * Alexandrov (inhabited locality), several inhabite ...

. Population:

Etymology

The town is named after the

Kirzhach River The Kirzhach () is a river in Vladimir Oblast, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Klyazma. The length of the river is 133 km (83 mi). The area of its drainage basin is 1770 km² (680 sq mi).Moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

or Erzya word meaning "left".

History

It was established in the 14th century as a ''

sloboda A sloboda was a type of settlement in the history of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The name is derived from the early Slavic word for 'freedom' and may be loosely translated as 'free settlement'.

'' assigned to the Annunciation Monastery. The latter was established by Saint

Sergius of Radonezh Sergius of Radonezh (; 14 May 1314 – 25 September 1392) was a Russian spiritual leader and monastic reformer. He was the founder of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius near Moscow, what is now the most venerated monastic house in Russia. He exer ...

, who lived in the area between 1354 and 1358. For most of its history, the abbey remained heavily dependent upon the

Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius () is a lavra and the most important Russian monastery, being the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, about to the northeast from Moscow ...

, which lies to the west. After the monastery was disbanded in 1764, the ''sloboda'' was granted municipal rights in 1778. Thereafter, Kirzhach, as many other towns in the vicinity, developed primarily as a

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

center.

On October 12, 2004, the settlement of Krasny Oktyabr was merged with the town.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kirzhach serves as the

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

of Kirzhach is incorporated within Kirzhachsky Municipal District as Kirzhach Urban Settlement.Law #36-OZ

Climate

City's climate is moderately continental: a warm summer, a cold winter with a moderate spring and fall. Average temperature in January is and in July. Mean annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

is . It averages 151 days per year with temperatures above . A snow cover is present for four to five months; snow starts to fall usually at the end of November or at the beginning of December. Snow melts on sun-covered places in the middle of April and in forests at the end of April.

Demographics

Architecture and landmarks

Kirzhach is famous for its great monastery—Blagoveschensky cathedral. The diminutive

katholikon A ''katholikon'' or catholicon () or ''sobor'' () refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church: * The cathedral of a diocese. * The major Church (building), church building (temple) of a monastery corresponding to a conventual ...

, erected during the reign of

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

, conforms to the early

Muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula KAl2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage y ...

type of cathedral church. It is commonly regarded as one of the last and loveliest specimens of this conservative strain. The monastery's open gallery connects the cathedral with the nearby Savior church, which has a square tower and a tent-like

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

. This church is a tomb of prominent Russian boyars- Miloslavskys. The 16th-century church was demolished during the Soviet time, but people began to rebuild it in 1990s. Today the cathedral is a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. Since 1997, the monastery possesses the relics of the Russian Saint, Roman Kirzhachsky, the student of another great Russian saint, Sergey Radonezhsky. Tourists can see two ancient St. Nikolay's churches—one was built in 1764, the other in 1846. On the local art palace's facade is a plaque that commemorates the meeting of

Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who, aboard the first successful Human spaceflight, crewed sp ...

, the world's first spaceman, with local people on 29 March 1963. On 27 March 1968, 18 km from Kirzhach (near the village of Novoselovo), Gagarin and flight instructor

Vladimir Seryogin Vladimir Sergeyevich Seryogin (; 7 July 1922 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet test pilot. Vladimir Seryogin became a volunteer of the Red Army after grammar school. His flying abilities recognized, he was directed to piloting. His performance on ...

died in a plane crash. A large memorial, museum and visitors spot have been built on the crash site. Tourists can also see the buildings of shopping malls, built in the 1850s.

References

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

* {{Use mdy dates, date=July 2011 Cities and towns in Vladimir Oblast Pokrovsky Uyezd