Uglich

September 24, 2006

We again sailed through the night. We sailed down the Volga River towards Moscow. I had awoken while passing through a lock and sat up for a while admiring the clear sky and bright stars. I was shocked when I woke up, fog had set which gave an eerie view of Uglich as we approached it.

Uglich was founded in 1148. It sits on the banks of the Volga river. The kremlin (fortress) was built by Ivan the Terrible. Within the walls are several building including the Cathedral of Resurrection, the Palace of Tsarvich Dimitry and the Church of Dimitry on the blood.

Ivan used the kremlin not only as a base for his campaigns but as a place to exile his seventh wife, Maria Nagaya. Upon Ivan’s death, his nine-year old son Dimitry joined his mother in Uglich, only to be murdered by Boris Godunov as part of his campaign to seize the crown. The Church of Dimitry on the Blood is built on top of the location where the murder took place.

The Church of Resurrection was the most elaborately decorated of the two, beautiful frescos on the walls with one wall filled with iconic art. A service was being conducted with a small choir of 5 people who sang most beautifully with perfect harmony. There was a small boy who was lighting candles that seemed to be having way to much fun doing so, his smiled from ear to ear as he lit each candle. Some of the pictures of the icon did not come out that well but I included them anyways because the show how the entire church is a piece of art. Many of the people in the group opted to sit down and listen to the music as opposed to following our tour guide into the other rooms.

The Church of Dimitry on the blood was much smaller in comparison to the first church but similar with frescoes on all the walls and one wall containing the iconic art.