|
« Beyond Taganka the city ended. Between the Krutitsky barracks and the Simonov Monastery lay vast cabbage fields. There were also powder magazines here. The monastery itself rose beautifully... on the banks of the Moscow River. Now only half of the original building remains of it, although Moscow could be proud of the architecture of this monastery no less than the French and Germans are proud of their castles."
Historian M.N. Tikhomirov Vostochnaya Street, 4... the official address in the directories of the oldest monastery in Moscow - Simonovsky. It is located near the Avtozavodskaya metro station. The Simonov Monastery was founded in 1379 by the nephew and disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh, Abbot Theodore. Its construction was blessed by Metropolitan Alexy of Moscow and All Rus' and St. Sergius of Radonezh. The new monastery was located a few kilometers from the Kremlin on the high bank of the Moscow River on land donated to the monastery by the boyar Stepan Vasilyevich Khovra (Khovrin), who later became a monk in this monastery under the name of the monk Simonon. Nearby was the busy Kolomenskaya road. From the west, the site was limited by the steep left bank above the bend of the Moscow River. The area was the most beautiful. For a quarter of a century, the monastery's buildings were made of wood. Vladimir Grigorievich Khovrin builds the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary in the Simonov Monastery. This temple, one of the largest in Moscow at that time, still stands on a massive white-stone basement and is very decorated in Italian style (a student of Aristotle himself, Fioravanti, took part in its reconstruction at the end of the 15th century). Its construction was completed in 1405. Seeing this majestic structure, contemporaries said: “Such a blunder has never happened in Moscow.” It is known that in the 19th century an icon of the Lord Pantocrator, which belonged to Sergius of Radonezh, was kept in the temple. According to legend, Sergius blessed Dmitry Donskoy with this icon for the Battle of Kulikovo. After perestroika at the end of the 15th century, the Assumption Cathedral became five-domed. Assumption Cathedral of the Simonov Monastery 1379-1404. (reconstruction by P.N. Maksimov based on the results of field studies in 1930) In addition to the monastery’s Assumption Cathedral, Vladimir Grigorievich “made a brick fence near the monastery.” This was the first stone monastery fence in Moscow architecture, built from a material that was then new in Moscow - brick. Its production has just been established by the same Aristotle Fioravanti not far from Simonov, in the village of Kalitnikov. In the 16th century, unknown architects erected new fortress walls with powerful towers around the Simonov Monastery (some historians suggest the authorship of the famous Russian architect Fyodor Kon, builder of the walls of the White City of Moscow, the Smolensk Kremlin and the walls of the Borovsko-Pafnutev Monastery). Each of the fortress towers had its own name - Dulo, Kuznechnaya, Salt, Watchtower and Taininskaya, which faced the water. Dulo Tower. 1640s View from the bell tower to the Moscow River. In the foreground are the Dulo and Sushilo towers. Photography from the beginning of the 20th century. From the moment of its creation, the Simonov Monastery was located on the most dangerous southern borders of Moscow. Therefore, its walls were made not just monastery, but fortress walls. In 1571, Khan Davlet-Girey looked at the burning Moscow from the tower of the monastery. The capital then burned out in three hours, and about two hundred thousand Muscovites died in the fire. In 1591, during the invasion of the Tatar Khan Kazy-Girey, the monastery, together with the Novospassky and Danilov monasteries, successfully resisted the Crimean army. In 1606, Tsar Vasily Shuisky sent archers to the monastery, who, together with the monks, repelled the troops of Ivan Bolotnikov. Finally, in 1611, during a severe fire in Moscow, caused by the Poles, many residents of the capital took refuge behind the monastery walls. The Royal Doors from the Simonov Monastery.
Detail. Tree. Moscow. End of the 17th century Throughout history, the monastery was the most visited in Moscow; members of the royal family came here to pray. Everyone considered it their duty to take part in the construction and decoration of the monastery, once one of the richest in Russia. The monastery bell tower was also famous throughout Moscow. Thus, in the Nikon Chronicle there is a special article “On Bells”, which talks about the strong and wonderful ringing of bells, which, according to some, came from the cathedral bells of the Kremlin, and according to others, from the bells of the Simonov Monastery. There is also a famous legend that on the eve of the assault on Kazan, young Ivan the Terrible clearly heard the ringing of Simon's bells, foreshadowing victory. Therefore, Muscovites felt respect for the Simonov bell tower itself. And when it fell into disrepair by the 19th century, the famous architect Konstantin Ton (the creator of the Russian-Byzantine style in Moscow architecture) erected a new one above the northern gate of the monastery in 1839. Its cross became the highest point in Moscow (99.6 meters). On the second tier of the bell tower there were the churches of John, Patriarch of Constantinople, and St. Alexander Nevsky, on the third - a belfry with bells (the largest of them weighed 16 tons), on the fourth - a clock, on the fifth - an exit to the head of the bell tower. This majestic structure was built at the expense of the Moscow merchant Ivan Ignatiev. Simonov Monastery in the 17th century. Reconstruction by R.A. Katsnelson There was a time when Simonovo was known as a favorite place for country walks among Muscovites. Not far from it there was a marvelous pond, according to the chronicles, dug by the brethren with the participation of Sergius of Radonezh himself. It was called that way - Sergiev Pond. During Soviet times, it was filled up, and today the administrative building of the Dynamo plant is located on this site. A little more about the pond below. The plague epidemic that began in 1771 led to the closure of the monastery and its transformation into a “plague quarantine.” In 1788, by decree of Catherine II, a hospital was organized in the monastery - there was a Russian-Turkish war. Refectory of the Simonov Monastery. 1685
Photo from the History of Russian Art by I. Grabar A major role in the restoration of the Simonov Monastery was played by the Chief Prosecutor of Moscow A. I. Musin-Pushkin. At his request, the empress canceled her decree and restored the monastery's rights. The Musin-Pushkin family is buried in the family crypt of the necropolis of the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God of the monastery. The first, in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God, was buried the contributor and builder of this church, Grigory Stepanovich Khovru. Subsequently, the cathedral became the tomb of the metropolitans Varlaam, the son of the Moscow prince Dmitry Ioannovich (Donskoy) - Prince Konstantin of Pskov, the princes Mstislavsky, Suleshev, Tyomkin, the boyars Golovin and Butyrlin. Until now, in the ground, under the local Children's Park, rest: the first holder of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, comrade-in-arms of Peter I, Fyodor Golovin; the head of the Seven Boyars, who refused the Russian throne three times, Fyodor Mikhailovich Mstislavsky; princes Urusov, Buturlin, Tatishchev, Naryshkin, Meshchersky, Muravyov, Bakhrushin. Until 1924, there were tombstones here on the graves of the Russian writer S.T. Aksakov and his early deceased friend A.S. Pushkin poet D.V. Venevitinov (on his tombstone there was a black epitaph: “How he knew life, how little he lived”). Tombstone over the graves of the Venevitinovs The monastery was closed for the second time already in 1923. Its last abbot Antonin (in the world Alexander Petrovich Chubarov) was exiled to Solovki, where he died in 1925. Now Abbot Anthony has been canonized among the Russian New Martyrs... A. M. Vasnetsov. Clouds and golden domes. View of the Simonov Monastery in Moscow. 1920 Only a few buildings have survived from the once powerful fortress:
- Fortress walls (three spindles);
- Salt tower (corner, southeast);
- Blacksmith tower (pentahedral, on the southern wall);
- "Dulo" (corner, southwestern tower);
- “Water” gate (1/2 of the 17th century);
- “Kelarsky building” (or “Old” refectory, 1485, XVII century, XVIII century);
- “New” refectory (1677-1683, architects P. Potapov, O. Startsev);
- “Sushilo” (malt room, 16th century, 2/2 17th century);
- Treasury cells (1/3 of the 17th century).
- One closed temple with 5 thrones was preserved, but five other temples with 6 thrones were destroyed. Modern photographs of the state of the monastery Well, now some lyrics. This monastery is also famous for its romantic stories... Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin immortalized the Simonov Monastery: “... the most pleasant place for me is the place where the gloomy, Gothic towers of the Simonov Monastery rise. Standing on this mountain, you see on the right side almost the whole of Moscow, this terrible mass of houses and churches, which appears to the eye in the form of a majestic amphitheater: a magnificent picture, especially when the sun shines on it, when its evening rays glow on countless golden domes, on countless crosses ascending to the sky! Below are lush, densely green flowering meadows, and behind them, along the yellow sands, flows a bright river, agitated by the light oars of fishing boats or rustling under the helm of heavy plows that sail from the most fertile countries of the Russian Empire and supply greedy Moscow with bread. On the other side of the river one can see an oak grove, near which numerous herds graze; there young shepherds, sitting under the shade of trees, sing simple, sad songs and thus shorten the summer days, so uniform for them. Further away, in the dense greenery of ancient elms, the golden-domed Danilov Monastery shines; even further, almost at the edge of the horizon, the Sparrow Hills are blue. On the left side you can see vast fields covered with grain, forests, three or four villages and in the distance the village of Kolomenskoye with its high palace.” "Lizin Pond" In his story “Poor Liza,” Karamzin very reliably described the surroundings of the Tyufel Grove. He settled Lisa and her elderly mother near the walls of the nearby Simonov Monastery. A pond near the monastery walls in the southern suburbs of Moscow suddenly became the most famous pond, a place of mass pilgrimage for readers for many years. The pond was called Saint, or Sergius, because, according to monastic tradition, it was dug by Sergius of Radonezh himself, the founder and first abbot of the Trinity Monastery on the Yaroslavl Road, which became the famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The Simonov monks bred some special fish in the pond - size and taste - and treated it to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich when he, on his way to Kolomenskoye, stopped to rest in the chambers of the local abbot... A story was published about an unfortunate girl, a simple peasant woman, who ended her life not at all in a Christian way - with an ungodly suicide, and the Muscovites - with all their piety - immediately renamed the Holy Pond to Lizin Pond, and soon only the old inhabitants of the Simonov Monastery remembered the former name. Numerous trees surrounding him were covered and cut with inscriptions of compassion for the unfortunate beauty. For example, like this: In these streams, poor Liza passed away her days,
If you are sensitive, passer-by, sigh! However, according to contemporaries, more ironic messages appeared here from time to time: Erast’s bride died here in the pond,
Get warm, girls, there's plenty of room for you here. In the twenties of the last century, the pond became very shallow, overgrown, and became like a swamp. In the early thirties, during the construction of a stadium for workers of the Dynamo plant, the pond was filled in and trees were planted in this place. Now the administrative building of the Dynamo plant rises above the former Liza Pond. At the beginning of the 20th century, a pond named after her, and even the Lizino railway station, appeared on maps. View of Tyufelev Grove and Simonov Monastery December 15th, 2010 One of the Moscow monasteries that suffered the most from Soviet power can safely be called the ancient Simonov (Uspensky) Monastery. It was a monastery founded in 1370 with the blessing of St. Sergius of Radonezh by his student and nephew - Reverend Feodor, who was the personal confessor of Dmitry Donskoy. The monastery has stood on its current location since 1379.
The monastery received its name from the name of the monk Simon, in the world of boyar Stepan Vasilyevich Khovrin, who donated land for the monastery ten miles from the Kremlin. The circumference of the monastery walls was 825 m, height - 7 m.
The Simonov Monastery was also a fortress that protected the capital from the south, from the Moscow River. According to the chronicler, the Simonov Monastery repeatedly served as “Moscow’s shield against its enemies.” Just like the Petrov Monastery, it was repeatedly subjected to Tatar raids, and in the Time of Troubles (1598 - 1613) it was ravaged and destroyed almost to the ground.
In the 17th century, the Simonov Monastery flourished and enjoyed the patronage of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (1661 - 1682), the elder brother of Peter I, who had his own cell here for solitude.
In 1771, the monastery was abolished by Catherine II and turned into a plague insulator. What the holy monastery did to deserve such a fate, I don’t know. Only in 1795 was it restored to its original capacity at the request of Count Alexei Musin-Pushkin and operated until the Revolution. In 1920, the monks were dispersed, the monastery was abolished for the second time. But its walls and temples stood for another 10 years.
The Simonov Monastery was not as lucky as the Petrov (Vysoko-Petrovsky) Monastery. Despite the fact that a museum was established there in 1923, in January 1930 a government commission decided to demolish most of the monastery buildings. The explosion occurred on the night of January 21, exactly on the sixth anniversary of the death of V.I. Lenin. Five of the six churches were blown up, including the Assumption Cathedral, the bell tower, the gate churches, as well as the Watchtower and Tainitskaya towers with their adjacent buildings. During the working subbotniks, all the walls of the monastery were dismantled, except for the southern one, and all the graves on the territory of the monastery were wiped off the face of the earth. After all, within the walls of the Simonov Monastery there was an extensive necropolis. Many noble Moscow families found peace here - the Durasovs, Soimonovs, Muravyovs, Tatishchevs, Naryshkins, Shakhovskys, etc. Only a few remains were transferred to the Novodevichy Cemetery: the composer Alyabva (“My Nightingale, Nightingale”), the writer Aksakov (“The Scarlet Flower”) , poet of the 19th century Venevitinov. Most of the graves were dug up, and workshops and the ZIL Palace of Culture were built practically on the bones.
After the monastery was returned to the church during construction work in the 1990s. some remains were found and reburied.
Little remains of the once richest and most grandiose monastery.
Now on the territory of the Simonov Monastery you can see the corner tower “Dulo”, built in the 1630s-1640s, topped with a high tent with a two-tier watchtower;
pentagonal “Forge” tower
and round “Salt”.
Through the loophole of a preserved fragment of the monastery wall.
Also preserved are the “new” refectory (1677–83; architects I. Potapov and O. Startsev), the brethren’s building of the 17th century, the “old” refectory (1485, 17th century), the craftsman’s chamber and an outbuilding - the “malt room” or "dried".
Currently, on the territory of the former monastery there is one church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (1667), which was transferred along with the entire complex to a community consisting of deaf and mutes. The service is led by a hearing-impaired priest, assisted by an interpreter from the language of the deaf-mute.
And this is what the Simonov Monastery looked like as depicted by A.M. Vasnetsov.
We've been here twice. In summer, of course, the territory of the former monastery looks more attractive than in winter. Some work to restore the buildings is underway, but it is felt that the community does not have enough funds for a grandiose restoration.
These funny ceramic figurines decorating the monastery courtyard were probably made in the artel located here.
Only our own photographs were used - shooting dates 04/26/2010 and 03/21/15 M. "Avtozavodskaya"
Address: East Street, 6. Simonov Monastery was founded in 1370 by the Monk Theodore, a disciple of Sergius of Radonezh. It received its name from the name of the monk Simon (in the world of the boyar Khovrin), on whose lands it was built.
In 1380, in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the remains of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, monks Peresvet and Oslyabi, were buried.
The Simonov Monastery played a vital role in the defense of the southern approaches to Moscow. Perhaps none of the guardian monasteries had such powerful fortifications. He repeatedly had to withstand attacks, first by the Tatar hordes, and then by the Polish-Lithuanian invaders.
In the 16th century Maxim the Greek lived and wrote his works here. The architectural ensemble of the monastery was impressive. Suffice it to say that there were 6 churches in the Simonov Monastery. The main attractions of the monastery were the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, built in 1389-1405, and a five-tier bell tower more than 94 m high, built in 1839 according to the design of the architect K.A. Ton. The territory of the monastery was surrounded by a wall with five towers.
There was a large necropolis in the Simonov Monastery. S.V. Khovrin and many Khovrin-Golovins, the son of Dmitry Donskoy Konstantin (1430), were buried in the cathedral.
The cemetery was located near the eastern fence, behind the Assumption Cathedral and the Tikhvin Church. The following were buried there: writer S.T. Aksakov (1859) with his family, composer A.A. Alyabyev (1851) with his family, poet D.V. Venevitinov (1827) with his relatives (related to A.S. Pushkin), A.S. Pushkin’s uncle N.L. Pushkin (1821), collector A.P. Bakhrushin (1904) and many other outstanding figures of our history and culture.
The Simonov Monastery was closed in 1923, the vacated monastery premises were given over to housing for workers of the Simonovskaya Sloboda. The Simonov Monastery was gradually destroyed. The last church was closed in May 1929. The monuments in the monastery cemetery remained until November 1928, then the necropolis was demolished and a park was laid out in its place.
In 1930, the walls of the monastery, as well as five of its six churches, were blown up. In subsequent years, the Palace of Culture of the ZIL plant was built on its territory.
From the fortifications of the monastery, only three southern towers remained, connected by the remainder of the wall. Among the survivors is the corner tower "Dulo", built in the 16th century. famous architect Fyodor Kon, builder of the fortifications of the Moscow White City. The Church of the Tikhvin Mother of God, built in 1677, the refectory of the monastery, built in 1680, as well as a number of outbuildings survived, although they were badly damaged.
Currently, the Church of the Tikhvin Mother of God has been handed over to believers. An Orthodox community of the deaf and hard of hearing was formed here.
The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (“in Stary Simonovo”) has also been preserved, which in the 1930s ended up on the territory of the Dynamo plant and was used as production premises. Currently, the church, the current building of which was built in 1509, has been restored and returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, the graves of Peresvet and Oslyabi have been restored. in Stary Simonovo
Website of the Church of the Nativity
The current stone Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Stary Simonovo was built in 1510. There is a legend that the temple was built by Aleviz the New, but it is not confirmed by chronicle data.
In the 18th century The burials of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo were discovered near the church.
In 1785-1787, instead of wooden ones, a stone refectory and bell tower were built, in 1849-1855. they were rebuilt. There are two chapels in the refectory: St. Nicholas and St. Sergius.
In 1870, a cast-iron tombstone of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, Alexander Peresvet and Andrei (Rodion) Oslyabi, was installed in the Sergievsky chapel.
In 1928 the church was closed.
In 1932, the bell tower was demolished, and the cast-iron tombstone of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo was scrapped. Subsequently, during the expansion of the Dynamo plant, the church ended up on the territory of the enterprise. Access to the temple was closed. The church building housed the compressor workshop of the Dynamo plant - a powerful motor was dug into the floor of the church, which, when working, shook the walls. As a result, the church was on the verge of destruction.
In 1989, the church was handed over to believers.
In 2006, the bell tower was restored, on which the Peresvet bell (2200 kg) was placed, accepted as a gift from the governor of the Bryansk region, the homeland of the monastic heroes Peresvet and Oslyaby. In the 20th century they were canonized. Factory "Dynamo" named after Kirov (Leninskaya Sloboda St., 26)
The Moscow Dynamo plant named after S.M. Kirov was one of the largest electrical machine-building enterprises in the USSR. He produced electric motors and equipment for electric urban transport, crane-lifting devices, excavators, rolling mills, sea vessels, etc. Some of the products were exported abroad.
The plant was founded in 1897 on the basis of a Belgian joint-stock company and was the Russian division of the American company Westinghouse. At first it was called the “Central Electric Society in Moscow”. He produced electrical equipment using a semi-handicraft method according to foreign technical documentation.
By 1932, the plant produced the first traction motors for electric locomotives in the USSR, and on November 6, the first Soviet-designed electric locomotive, “Vladimir Lenin” (VL19), was built.
During the Great Patriotic War, he produced weapons and repaired tanks. The main technological processes were mechanized and automated: there were more than 100 conveyor and production lines with a total length of over 3.5 km.
Since 2009, the plant does not exist. Production has ceased, the premises are dismantled for scrap or rented out. Mostly car repair shops are located here. Some of the equipment was moved to sites in other cities. Simonov Monastery, view from the Moscow River  
 Salt tower. Built in the 1640s, when the monastery fence, destroyed during the Time of Troubles, was rebuilt. The octagonal tent of the tower with rumored windows rests on an intermediate octagon cut by arches. The tent ends with a two-tier observation tower.
|
 Forge tower.
|
 Dulo Tower. Built in the 16th century. famous architect Fyodor Kon, builder of the fortifications of the Moscow White City.
|
 Old Refectory Chamber. Built in 1485. One of the oldest buildings in Moscow.
|
 The refectory building with the Tikhvin Church was built by Parfen Petrov in 1680. However, the master’s work style did not satisfy the customer, and three years later the refectory was rebuilt under the leadership of the famous architect Osip Startsev. The lower part of the structure has a much more ancient history: fragments of a building from the late 15th century were discovered in the basement of the temple. The building, built by Osip Startsev, has the shape of the “Moscow Baroque”. The western facade of the refectory, decorated with a figured stepped pediment, looks especially picturesque. In the middle of the 19th century. Two chapels were added to the church, and then, in 1840, the temple was reconsecrated in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God.
|
 Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
|
 Drying or Solodezhnya. It was intended for storing food supplies and drying malt and grain. The building was built simultaneously with the refectory by the architect Parfen Potapov and was originally surrounded by a gallery on pillars. On the second and third floors there are large pillarless halls.
|
 The stone is on the site where the monastery's holy well was.
|
 Remains of old burials and the entrance to the church.
|
|
salt tower
|
 Fragment of the monastery wall
|
 Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
|
 Recesses in the monastery walls
|
Decoration of window frames of the Tikhvin Church icon of the Mother of God
|
Gate of the Simonov Monastery
|
|
Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
|
|
 Forge Tower
|
 Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
|
Stained glass windows in the windows of the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
|
 Stones at the base of the Dulo tower
|
|
 Ancient tombstones that were used as curbstones in Soviet times
|
Poems condemning the desecration of ancestors' graves
|
|
Vostochnaya st., 6. Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Stary Simonovo
|
 Vostochnaya st., 6. Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Stary Simonovo.
|
 Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
|
 Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
|
 Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
|
 |
 Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bell tower
|
Recreated tombstone of Peresvet and Oslyabi. Sculptor V.M. Klykov, 1988
|
|
 Instead of the destroyed bell tower, a small stone belfry was erected in 1991, and the restoration of the bell tower was completed only in 2006.
|
 Church building
|
 |
 |
|
|
Simonov Monastery, 1st class, stauropegial, in Moscow, on the edge of the city, on the banks of the Moscow River, opposite Derbenevskaya embankment. Founded by the disciple of St. Sergius Feodor. In 1788 the monastery was abolished; restored in 1795; in 1812 it was devastated by the French. Enjoying almost from the very foundation the advantage of stauropegy and having been enriched by contributions and precious gifts from princes, tsars, boyars and citizens, the Simonov Monastery was considered from time immemorial one of the first Russian monasteries. It achieved its greatest prosperity in the last century. The famous melody composed by Hieroschemamonk Victor, which delighted Emperor Nicholas I, brings high spiritual pleasure to every lover of church singing. The main cathedral in the name of the Dormition of the Mother of God has survived from the founding of the monastery. Built in the Byzantine style, it was restored and consecrated in 1896; in the lower tier of the iconostasis there are icons remarkable in their antiquity: the Dormition of the Mother of God, the Life-Giving Trinity and the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God; It also houses the Simonovskaya Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, in a chapel built in Her honor, which formerly belonged to Saint Tikhon of Voronezh and became famous in 1832 for the miraculous healing of a seriously ill woman. In 1839, the monastery was decorated with a majestic bell tower.
Near the Simonov Monastery, a pond dug by the Monk Sergius, lined with birch trees and surrounded by a rampart, has been preserved. On the day of the Midsummer, a procession from the Simonov Monastery takes place here. On the site of the original foundation of the monastery, in the parish Church of the Nativity, the monks brothers Peresvet and Ooslabya rest; over their tomb there is a tent made of black oak; In its present form, this tomb was built in 1870.
From the book by S.V. Bulgakov “Russian monasteries in 1913”
Simonov Monastery was founded in 1370 by the nephew (according to other sources, student) of St. Sergius, Theodore (who later became Bishop of Rostov), led. book Dimitri Ivanovich. The monastery got its name from Simon, a boyar named Khovrin, who donated land to the monastery. The monastery was founded on the site where the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Stary Simonovo is now located, an ancient one-domed temple in which the warrior monks Peresvet and Oslyabya are buried. In 1379, the monastery was moved to a new location, located not far from the previous one, at the same time the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God was founded, one of the oldest buildings in Moscow that survived into the twentieth century. The church was consecrated in 1405. In different years, St. Kirill Belozersky, St. Job and sschmch. Hermogenes, All-Russian Patriarchs. Many events in Russian history are connected with the Simonov Monastery.
In 1771, the monastery was abolished and, due to the outbreak of the plague, turned into a plague quarantine, but in 1795, at the request of Count Musin-Pushkin, it was restored again. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the monastery was one of the richest and most famous Russian monasteries. On its territory, surrounded by twelve towers, there were 6 churches with 11 altars and a huge bell tower (architect K.A. Ton).
Since 1923, part of the monastery housed a museum. His guidebook was published and restoration work was planned in 1927. The last church of the monastery was closed in May 1929. On the night of January 21, 1930, on the 6th anniversary of the death of V.I. Lenin, the Simonov Monastery Cathedral and the walls around it were blown up. In 1932-1937 on the site of most of the monastery by architects L.A., V.A. and A.A. The Vesnins built the Palace of Culture of the Automobile Plant named after. I.A. Likhacheva.
By 1990, the following buildings were preserved in the monastery: fortress walls (three spindles); Salt Tower (corner, southeast); Blacksmith tower (pentahedral, on the south wall); "Dulo" (corner, southwestern tower); "Water" gate (1/2 of the 17th century); "Kelarsky building" (or "Old" refectory, 1485, XVII century, XVIII century); “New” refectory (1677-1683, architects P. Potapov, O. Startsev); "Sushilo" (malt, 16th century, 2/2 17th century); Treasury cells (1/3 of the 17th century). One closed temple with 5 thrones was preserved, while five other temples with 6 thrones were destroyed.
In 1923, a museum was established in the monastery, occupying the Tikhvin Church with a refectory. Since 1931, there was a film club in the refectory. It was restored from 1955 to 1966. and from 1982 to 1990. The community of the deaf and hard of hearing of the Tikhvin Church was registered in 1991 and held prayer services on the territory of the Simonov Monastery. In 1995, the remains of the monastery ensemble were transferred to the Church.
Source: http://www.ortho-rus.ru/cgi-bin/or_file.cgi?5_1581
Palace of Culture ZIL, built in the 1930s. on the site of the destroyed part of the monastery is the largest and final architectural monument of Soviet constructivism by the Vesnin brothers. Located in Moscow on Vostochnaya Street, 4. Construction 1930-1937. Built on the territory of the necropolis of the Simonov Monastery in the 1930s. destroyed by the Bolsheviks. Numerous representatives of ancient Russian noble families were buried at this place, including the Vadbolskys, Golovins, Durasovs, Zagryazhskys, Islenevs, Muravyovs, Naryshkins, Olenins, Soimonovs, Tatishchevs, Shakhovskys and many others. The burials were not preserved because they were demolished during working clean-up days. To promote the oblivion of Russian history, the Bolsheviks built the ZIL Palace of Culture on the site of the Simonov Monastery necropolis.
Drying (XVI-XVII centuries). According to surviving documents, it was intended for storing food supplies and drying malt and grain. The building was built simultaneously with the refectory by the architect Parfen Potapov (according to other sources, Parfen Petrov) and was originally surrounded by a gallery on pillars. The first floor of the building is occupied by two identical chambers; on the second and third floors there are large pillarless halls.
Treasury cells (XVII century). The Treasury Corps (1620-1630s) at the Water Gate - which were instead of the current iron ones. Simonov Monastery, Vostochnaya street 4, bldg. 7
Old refectory (XV-XVIII centuries). The Old Refectory - the name of the 20th century, the Cellar Building - the name of the 19th century, the Bread Chamber - the name of the 18th century. In 1485, the “kelarsky” building was built - a two-story building near the southern section of the wall, which was the old refectory. It is one of the oldest buildings not only of the monastery itself, but also of Moscow in general.
Enclosure walls (1640s). The new walls of the monastery, which have partially survived to this day, and some of the towers, which can still be seen today, were built in 1630, while the new fortress included fragments of the old fortress built by Fyodor Kon. The circumference of the monastery walls was 825 m, the height was 7 m. Of the surviving towers, the corner tower “Dulo”, topped with a high tent with a two-tier watchtower, stands out especially. The other two surviving towers - the pentagonal "Kuznechnaya" and the round "Salt" - were built in the 1640s, when the monastery's defensive structures, damaged during the Time of Troubles, were being rebuilt. The Watchtower and Tainitskaya monastery towers have been lost.
Blacksmith Tower (1640s). One of the three towers of the Simonov Monastery that have survived to this day. The tower has a pentagonal shape and is located on the southern only surviving wall of the monastery. This smallest tower of the monastery was erected in the 1640s, and its high tent was completed over the next 40 years. The tower has a single-tier observation post, unlike other towers, where it is two-tiered.
Churches of the Simonov Monastery: St. Alexander of Svirsky 1700, Honest Trees 1593 - above the western gate; Nicholas the Wonderworker - above the eastern ones and in the name of John, Patriarch of Constantinople, and Alexander Nevsky - in the second tier of the five-tier bell tower, built by Ton in 1839.
Based on materials from http://oldboy.icnet.ru/SITE_2103/MY_SITE/Monast/SIM_MON_MOS/SUSH.htm
The ancient Simonov Monastery was founded in 1730 with the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh (Bartholomew) (between 1314-1322 - 1392) by his student and nephew - the Monk Fedor (Ivan) (c. 1340-1394), a native of Radonezh, who took monastic vows at the Intercession Khotkov Monastery. At the head of the Simonov Monastery, the Monk Fyodor became famous as a spiritual mentor; he was the personal confessor of Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. In 1338, Saint Fedor became Archbishop of Rostov. He died on November 28, 1394 and was buried in the Assumption Cathedral of Rostov the Great.
The monastery got its name from the name of the monk Simon, in the world of the boyar Stefan Vasilyevich Khovrin, who donated the land for the monastery. On these lands - south of Moscow, ten miles from the Kremlin - the monastery was founded. Initially, the Simonov Monastery was located slightly lower along the Moscow River, near the high road to Moscow, and Fyodor, trying to find solitude, chose another place for the monastery, not far from the old one. In 1379 the monastery was moved to its current location. Only the parish church of the Nativity in Stary Simonovo remained in the old place, under the bell tower of which in the second half of the 18th century the graves of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo Alexander Peresvet (d. 1380) and Rodion Oslyabi (d. 1380 or after 1389) were discovered. Having survived terrible destruction and for a long time served as a compression station at the Dynamo plant, this church is now operational again.
The Monk Sergius of Radonezh considered the Simonov Monastery to be a “branch” of his Trinity Monastery and always stayed there when he came to the golden-domed one. From the walls of the Simonov Monastery came a whole galaxy of outstanding ascetics and church leaders: St. Kirill Belozersky (Kozma), St. Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, Patriarch Joseph (Vladimir), Metropolitan Gerontius, Archbishop John of Rostov (d. 1525), the famous figure of non-covetousness Vassian, in the world Prince Vasily Ivanovich Kosoy-Patrikeev. Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov (1661-1682) especially loved to visit the Simonov Monastery; cells were built here for him. In 1771, under Catherine II (1729-1796), the monastery was abolished and, due to the spreading plague epidemic at that time, turned into a plague quarantine. In 1795, at the request of Count Vasily Vasilyevich Musin-Pushkin, the monastery was restored.
The towers and walls of the monastery were built in the 16th century. They were erected by the “sovereign master” Fyodor Savelyevich Kon, an outstanding Russian architect and builder of the Smolensk Kremlin. Fortified under Boris Fedorovich Godunov, the monastery repelled the raid of the Crimean Tatars of Kazy-Girey. New walls of the monastery and part of the towers were built in 1630, while parts of the old fortress were included in the new fortress. The circumference of the monastery walls was 825 m, the height was about 7 m. Of the surviving towers, the corner tower “Dulo”, topped with a high tent with a two-tier watchtower, stands out. The other two surviving towers, the pentagonal Kuznechnaya and the round Solevaya, were built in the 1640s, when the monastery’s defensive structures, damaged during the Time of Troubles, were being rebuilt. Three gates led to the monastery: eastern, western and northern. In memory of repelling the attack of the Crimeans in 1591, the gate church of the All-Merciful Savior was built. In 1834, the Gate Church of St. was erected above the eastern gate. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
In 1832, a decision was made to build a new bell tower of the Simonov Monastery. The funds for the construction were provided by the merchant Ivan Ignatiev. The initial project in the style of classicism was drawn up by the architect N.E. Tyurin. The bell tower was founded in 1835, but then its design was changed; it was erected in the Russian style according to the design of K.A. Tones. Construction was completed in 1839. In its appearance and location, the bell tower repeated the bell tower of the Novodevichy Convent. Its height was more than 90 m. The largest bell hanging on the bell tower weighed 1000 pounds. A clock was installed on the fourth tier.
Back in 1405, a stone cathedral church was built in the monastery in the name of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1476, the dome of the cathedral was severely damaged by a lightning strike. At the end of the 15th century, the temple was rebuilt by one of Fioravanti’s students according to the model of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. At the end of the 17th century, the cathedral was painted by an artel of Moscow royal masters. At the same time, a gilded carved iconostasis was made, in which the main shrine of the monastery was located - the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, with which Sergius of Radonezh blessed Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo. A golden cross studded with diamonds and emeralds was also kept here - a gift from Princess Maria Alekseevna. The son of Dmitry Donskoy, Konstantin Dmitrievich Uglitsky, the princes Mstislavsky, Tyomkin-Rostovsky, Suleshov, and the boyars Golovins and Buturlins are buried in the monastery cathedral.
The refectory of the Simonov Monastery was built in 1680 at the expense of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich by an artel of masons led by Parfen Petrov. It included parts of the previous building in 1485. When constructing the new building, Parfen Petrov used details of early Moscow architecture that the monastery authorities did not like. They filed a lawsuit against the master, and three years later the refectory was rebuilt. This time the work was supervised by the famous Moscow master Osip Dmitrievich Startsev, who built a lot in Moscow and Kyiv. Along with Yakov Grigorievich Bukhvostov, he is the second outstanding architect of the 17th century. The names of Startsev and Bukhvostov often appear side by side in documents of that time: they were a kind of “friends-rivals” who worked in the Moscow Baroque style, but had a pronounced originality. The new refectory of the Simonov Monastery became one of the most significant buildings of the late 17th century. The lavishly decorated building was brightly painted "checkerboard" - a painting style similar to faceted stonework. The Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit at the refectory was built in 1700 at the expense of Princess Maria Alekseevna, sister of Peter I Alekseevich. In the 19th century, two chapels were added to it.
On the territory of the Simonov Monastery there was a large cemetery where the poet Dmitry Vladimirovich Venevitinov, the writer Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, his son Konstantin Sergeevich Aksakov, the composer Alexander Alexandrovich Alyabyev, the famous bibliophile and collector merchant Alexei Petrovich Bakhrushin, Nikolai Lvovich Pushkin, as well as numerous representatives of ancient history were buried. Russian noble families - Zagryazhskys, Olenins, Durasovs, Vadbolskys, Soimonovs, Muravyovs, Islenevs, Tatishchevs, Naryshkins, Shakhovskys.
In the early 1930s, all the main buildings of the Simonov Monastery were destroyed. The Assumption Cathedral, bell tower, and gate churches were destroyed. Watchtowers and Taininskaya towers, all the graves on the territory of the monastery were destroyed. All that remained of the monastery were the southern wall with towers, the refectory church with the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, and an outbuilding - the “malting room” or “drying house”. On a place sacred to Russian people, the ZIL “palace of culture” was built.
From the book by A.Yu. Nizovsky "The most famous monasteries and churches of Russia." 2000. Veche.
Simonov Monastery was founded in the second half of the 14th century and was considered one of the most significant and rich in the Moscow region. Now it is located within Moscow, in the Southern Administrative District of the capital.
Wealthy people donated substantial amounts of money to the monastery, and crowned heads visited it. Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich was even assigned a cell in which he loved to retire from worldly affairs. On the territory of the monastery there was also a necropolis, where eminent figures of art and Russian culture, as well as representatives of revered noble families, found eternal peace.
What is the story about?
The monastery was founded by the Monk Feodor, who was the nephew and devoted disciple of His Holiness Sergius of Radonezh. Construction work began in the 14th century on lands that were donated for a good cause by the Moscow boyar Khovrin. During his monastic tonsure he was named Simon. The name of the monastery came from this name.
During its complex, centuries-old history, the monastery was not only the spiritual cradle of Orthodoxy, but also an important outpost providing protection on the approaches to the southern borders of Moscow. It was well fortified, and more than once its walls became a barrier holding back enemy hordes. However, during the Time of Troubles, the richest Simonov monastery suffered barbaric destruction and devastation.
By decree of Her Majesty Catherine II in 1771, the monastery was abolished. This time coincided with the outbreak of a plague epidemic that swept through Moscow and killed hundreds of its inhabitants. The monastery premises became a refuge for isolated patients. Only a little more than two decades later, thanks to the petition of A. Musin-Pushkin, the monastery again regained its church status and began to live its former life.
In the 20s, during the Soviet period, the Simonov Monastery again had to go through liquidation. For 7 years, museum exhibitions were located here, and even church services were allowed to be held in one of the churches.
But in the 30s, by decision of a government commission, the monastery walls, five churches, a bell tower and other buildings were demolished. More than two thirds of the entire architectural ensemble was lost irretrievably.
What can you see in the monastery today
Everything returns to normal. In the 90s of the last century, the monastery returned to the fold of the church and began to be revived. Partial restoration work was undertaken on some buildings.
Unfortunately, only a small part of the ancient buildings has survived to this day: fragments of the southern fortress wall with several surviving towers, refectory buildings: an old and later building with a church, a fraternal building and a number of outbuildings.
The surviving monastery walls, which included part of the older structure of the fortress, erected, according to scientists, by Fyodor Kon, date back to the 30s, and the three towers - to the 40s of the 17th century. Particularly noteworthy is the corner tower called “Dulo”. Its top is crowned with a tent structure with a two-tiered sentinel superstructure. The “salt” vase resembles the “Dulo” in its architectural design, but is much more modest in size and decor. The smallest tower is “Kuznechnaya”, it is located in the spindle, that is, in the preserved wall, has a pentagonal shape and is also equipped with a small observation point in one tier.
The structure of the refectory is designed in the Moscow Baroque style and is decorated with paintings imitating faceted stonework. The main facade is completed with a stepped gable, characteristic of Western European architecture. Adjacent to the refectory is a small church. The outbuildings and cellar building are now used as workshops.
The Simonov Monastery is of spiritual, architectural and historical value, attracting numerous believers and curious tourists.
