At the end of the 19th century. Moscow. Simonov Monastery Simonov Uspensky (East Street, 4), men's monastery in the south-eastern part of Moscow, on the left bank. Founded in 1370 by the student and nephew of Sergius of Radonezh, Theodore, on the lands of the boyar S.V. Khovrina (monk... ... Moscow (encyclopedia)
SIMONOV MONASTERY, male, founded around 1370 in the south-east of Moscow, moved to a new location around 1379; enjoyed the patronage of the Moscow Grand Dukes. In the 16th century Vassian Patrikeev, Maxim Grek and others lived in it. During the plague epidemic of 1771... Modern encyclopedia
- (Uspensky) male, founded ca. 1379 in the southeast of Moscow. He had the largest land holdings. Vassian Patrikeev, Maxim Grek and others lived in it. Abolished after the October Revolution. In the 1930s most buildings were destroyed. Preserved... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (Uspensky), male, in the southeast of Moscow. Founded in 1370 by the student and nephew of Sergius of Radonezh, Fedor, on the lands of S. V. Khovri na (monk Simon, hence the name of the monastery). In 1379 it was moved to its current location. Vassian Patrikeev,... ...Russian history lived in it
Simonov Monastery- SIMONOV MONASTERY, male, founded around 1370 in the south-east of Moscow, moved to a new location around 1379; enjoyed the patronage of the Moscow Grand Dukes. In the 16th century Vassian Patrikeev, Maxim Grek and others lived in it. During the plague epidemic of 1771... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (Uspensky), male, founded around 1379 in the southeast of Moscow. He had the largest land holdings. Vassian Patrikeev, Maxim Grek and others lived in it. Abolished after 1917. In the 1930s. most of the buildings were destroyed. Architectural... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary
Simonov Uspensky monastery, in Moscow, founded around 1379, 0.5 km from the old S. m. (founded in 1370). S. m. was also a fortress that protected the capital from the south, from the side of the Moscow River and the Brashevskaya road. At the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries. WITH … Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- (Simonov male stauropegial 1st class monastery) in Moscow. Founded approx. 1370 nephew and student of Rev. Sergius of Radonezh, St. Theodore, the first archbishop of Rostov, in the place where the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is now... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
Simonov Assumption Monastery, founded c. 1379 0.5 km from the old S. m. (founded in 1370). S. m. was also a fortress that protected the capital from the side of the Moscow River and the Brashevskaya road. In the end 14 start 15th centuries S. m. enjoyed the patronage... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia
Simonov Monastery- a monastery in Moscow, founded in 1379. It served as a fortress protecting the approaches to the city. Throughout the 14th and 17th centuries it was one of the most famous and influential monasteries in Russia. From among his monks came four Patriarchs: Job, Hermogenes... Orthodox encyclopedic dictionary
Books
- Moscow Simonov Monastery. , A. Tretyakov. Reproduced in the original author's spelling of the 1893 edition (publishing house "Moscow. Printing house of A. I. Snegireva")...
- Moscow, which we lost, Konstantin Petrovich Mikhailov. Today's Moscow is no longer the Third Rome. All that remains of the former City of Soroka Sorokov are faded photographs and bright memories. Today's Moscow is a disabled city, a crippled city. And although I myself...
« 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 came here to pray royal family. 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 bell ringing, 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 to 19th century It fell into disrepair, then the famous architect Konstantin Ton (the creator of the Russian-Byzantine style in Moscow architecture) erected a new one over 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 fruitful countries Russian Empire and provide 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 up 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. Back 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
Along with the pond, Tyufeleva Grove has become an equally popular place of pilgrimage. Every spring, society ladies specially went here to collect lilies of the valley, just as the heroine of their favorite story did.
Tyufeleva Grove disappeared at the beginning of the twentieth century. However, contrary to existing opinion, it was not the Bolsheviks who exterminated it, but representatives of the progressive Russian bourgeoisie. On August 2, 1916, the groundbreaking ceremony for the first automobile plant in Russia took place here. An enterprise called the Automobile Moscow Society (AMO) belonged to the trading house Kuznetsov, Ryabushinsky and K. However, the October Revolution did not allow the plans of entrepreneurs to come true. In August 1918, the still unfinished plant was nationalized, and on November 1, 1924, the first Soviet truck, the AMO-F-15, was assembled here from Italian parts.
Romantic walks around the Simonov Monastery brought two people closer together - Dmitry Venevitinov and Zinaida Volkonskaya.
V. Odoevsky introduced Dmitry to Zinaida Volkonskaya in 1825. The princess's Moscow house was well known to all connoisseurs of beauty. Its charming owner turned it into a kind of art academy. Pushkin called her “The Queen of Muses and Beauty.”
P.F. Sokolov Portrait of D.V. Venevitinov. 1827
The meeting with Volkonskaya turned Venevitinov’s life upside down - he fell in love with all the passion of a twenty-year-old poet. Alas, it was hopeless: Zinaida was 16 years older than him, and besides, she had been married for a long time, to the brother of the future Decembrist.
Z. Volkonskaya
The time has come, and Zinaida asked to break off relations, giving Dmitry a ring as a sign of eternal friendship. A simple metal ring, brought to light from the ashes during the excavations of Herculaneum... Friends said that Venevitinov never parted with the princess’s gift and promised to wear it either when walking down the aisle, or when standing on the verge of death.
To my ring
You were dug up in a dusty grave,
Herald of age-old love,
And again you are dust from the grave
You will be bequeathed, my ring.
But not love now by you
Blessed the eternal flame
And above you, in heartache,
She made a holy vow...
No! friendship in the bitter hour of farewell
Gave to weeping love
You are the key to compassion.
Oh, be my faithful talisman!
Protect me from serious wounds,
And the light and the insignificant crowd,
From the caustic thirst for false glory,
From a seductive dream
And from spiritual emptiness.
In hours of cold doubt
Revive your heart with hope,
And if you are imprisoned in sorrows,
Far from the angel of love,
It will plan a crime -
With your wondrous power you tame
Gusts of hopeless passion
And from my rebellious breast
Turn away the lead of madness.
When will I be at the hour of death
Saying goodbye to what I love here,
I won't forget you when I say goodbye:
Then I'll beg my friend,
So that he is cold from my hand
I didn’t take you off, my ring,
So that the coffin does not separate us.
And the request will not be fruitless:
He will confirm his vow to me
With the words of the fatal oath.
Centuries will fly by, and perhaps
That someone will disturb my ashes
And in it he will discover you again;
And again timid love
He will whisper to you superstitiously
Words of tormenting passions,
And again you will be her friend,
Just as it was for me, my ring is faithful.
When these poems were written, Venevitinov had only a few days left to live. At the beginning of March 1827, he danced at a ball, and then, heated, he ran across the yard to his outbuilding in a barely thrown overcoat. The cold turned out to be fatal. On March 15, Venevitinov passed away. In a moment of agony, his friend, Fyodor Khomyakov, brother of the poet Alexei Khomyakov, put the ring on the finger of the dying man.
In January 1930, the Simonov Monastery, in which Venevitinov was buried, was blown up in order to build a Palace of Culture on the vacant site. The exhumation of the poet’s remains was scheduled for July 22. “Venevitinov’s skull,” wrote M.Yu. Baranovskaya, an employee of the Historical Museum, “surprised anthropologists with its strong development. I was amazed by the musicality of the fingers. A bronze ring that belonged to the poet was taken from the ring finger of his right hand.” Venevitinov’s ring was transferred to the Literary Museum.
House of Culture ZIL
Simonov Monastery will soon turn 630 years old. The first restoration work began here only in the 50s of the 20th century. In the 80s, the restoration of the Salt Tower and the southern wall was underway, and at the same time part of the eastern wall was restored.
On May 29, 1991, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II blessed the creation of a parish in Simonovo for believers with hearing impairments. On December 31 of the same year, the deaf community of the temple in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God of the former Simonov Monastery was registered here. The monastery, which in those years lay in ruins in the very heart of the capital.
Temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
The year 1994 became a turning point for Simonov in the history of the holy monastery - the Moscow government allocated the entire complex of surviving buildings of the Simonov Monastery for free use by the Moscow Patriarchate.
In the community of the deaf and hard of hearing, it is planned to create a step-by-step system of education and training for the deaf: kindergarten- school - college. It is planned to organize a home for the elderly and infirm. For all this, personnel are now being trained at the St. Dimitrovsky School of Sisters of Mercy.
Towers and walls of the Simonov Monastery
Almost nothing remains of the former grandeur and grandiose plan, which was embodied over centuries - only three red brick towers. They have large cracks and need urgent restoration. The tent, renovated in the early 2000s, further emphasizes the neglect of the ancient walls: the tiles are new - the brick is kept on its word of honor.
The “salt” tower is the first thing that catches your eye if you walk along East Street. It is covered with ancient tiles. Since tsarist times, the tent of the “Salt” tower has not been updated. The tower is connected by a massive southern wall to the other two. All these are the remains of the most powerful outpost in the south of Moscow.
From behind the walls, dilapidated, shapeless buildings of the industrial zone and warehouses appear. But it's on the other side. And on this one there is a neat park with a children's playground and paths. On the site of a former cemetery.
I stop at another tower – “Kuznechnaya”. She is the smallest. Pentagonal. Such a small hulk. Apparently, they wanted to renovate it a couple of years ago. But the liquid scaffolding seems to soon collapse on its own. It, like the round “Salt”, was built by the architect Konstantinov in the 1640s. At this time, the monastery was actively rebuilt: the defensive structures that had been damaged during the war were strengthened. Time of Troubles.
The panorama of Moscow from the high and steep bank is still impressive. It is no coincidence that the tallest bell tower in Moscow was erected here. We can now appreciate the view from the fifth tier of the famous and lost belfry only from old photographs.
I approach the most powerful of the survivors - the Dulo tower. It was erected by the “sovereign master” Fyodor Savelyevich Kon. “Dulo” is the nickname or name of the Tatar leader. He was killed by an arrow fired from this tower.
Fyodor Savelyevich also built walls. The height of the southern wall, preserved by some miracle, in some places reaches 7 meters. But what remains is rather a quiet greeting from the past.
The Dulo tower has 16 sides. The horse built on a grand scale and to last. The ribs of the tower are decorated with blades. They give the majestic structure a harmonious appearance. This is speaking in the language of a historical reference book. And if we tell it like it is, the whole tower, despite its majesty, is slowly settling and falling apart.
The walls of the monastery held the defense more than once, exhausted the enemy and were the first to meet enemy fire. And there were enough enemies
But let us be fair and careful in our conclusions: the walls and towers of the Simonov Monastery are a real masterpiece of Russian fortification thought. They held the defense more than once, exhausted the enemy and were the first to meet enemy fire. And there were enough enemies. In 1591, the Simonov Monastery took part in repelling the attack of Khan Kazy-Girey. In the fall of 1606, the monastery prevented, and quite unsuccessfully, the advance of Ivan Bolotnikov’s troops. In 1610–1613 it was ruined – “almost to the ground” – by Polish-Lithuanian invaders and fell into disrepair. And in 1812 the monastery suffered from the French. Then the temples and sacristy were looted, and precious manuscripts were lost.
But in the 20th century, the monument, huge in design and by construction standards, was almost destroyed... by their own people.
The length of the monastery walls was 825 meters, the height was 7 meters. To summarize: in the modern architectural ensemble of the monastery, three towers have been preserved: “Dulo”, “Kuznechnaya” and “Solyana”.
Deep history in superficial strokes
And it all began in 1370. His disciple and nephew Theodore founded the Simonov Assumption Monastery. The location for the future monastery was chosen on a picturesque hill located downstream of the Moscow River. These lands were donated by boyar Stepan Vasilyevich Khovrin. When he was tonsured, he received the name Simon - hence the name of the monastery. But this is just a version.
A whole galaxy of ascetics and patriarchs emerged from the walls of the monastery: St. Kirill of Belozersky, St. Ferapont of Mozhaisk. There were also St. Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus', St. Gerontius, also a metropolitan, and Patriarch Joseph... By the way, Jonah became the first metropolitan installed in Rus' without the Patriarch of Constantinople. This happened in 1448. And of course, one cannot help but say that the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', Job, came out of the Simonov Monastery.
It is noteworthy that some inhabitants of the Simonov Monastery came here by the will of the sovereign. Around 1510, by direct royal decree, Vasily Kosoy Patrikeev (monastically Vassian) was appointed to the monastery. And of course, the famous Maxim the Greek lived here.
It was in the Simonov Monastery that St. Kirill heard the voice of the Mother of God, who ordered to go to Beloozero
First on this list, the Monk Kirill heard the voice of the Mother of God in the Simonov Monastery. And a miracle happened like this. He became the archimandrite of the Simonov Monastery, but soon left his abbotship and secluded himself in a cell. One night, while listening to the akathist, he heard the voice of the Mother of God: “Kirill, get out of here and go to Beloozero. There I have prepared a place for you where you can be saved.”
Simonov Monastery was one of the richest in Rus'. Until 1764, he owned about 12 thousand peasants. Several small monasteries and deserts were assigned to the monastery.
It is known that Patriarch Filaret in 1624 wrote a decree to Grigory Vasilyevich Zamytsky in Ostashkov: he demanded that the peasants of Rozhkovskaya Sloboda, the estate of the Simonov Monastery, be allowed to fish in Lake Seliger. The document says that this practice existed before, and the quitrent was paid to the order of the Grand Palace.
Fishing by the peasants of the Simonov Monastery in Lake Seliger for rent did not suit the Ostashkovsky (apparently, the sovereign) peasants, therefore the Simonovsky peasants were forbidden to fish in the lake. This conflict of interest happened four centuries ago.
Even in the Simonov Monastery, Peter the Great’s elder brother, Fyodor Alekseevich, had his own cell. And the famous collector of manuscripts and Russian antiquities, Count Alexei Musin-Pushkin, petitioned Catherine II in 1795 to have the Simonov Monastery reopened after its abolition due to the plague that had decimated the population. So the plague isolation ward was again turned into a monastery.
In past centuries, these landscapes and this area attracted great writers, great poets and famous artists.
In a pond that was located not far from the monastery, Nikolai Karamzin drowned his Lisa. Apollinary Vasnetsov worked here and Konstantin Ton worked here. Alexander Pushkin was also here, but this is a sad story, which will be discussed below...
High classic and luxurious baroque
The ensemble of the Simonov Monastery was finally formed by the middle of the 19th century. But already in 1685, the famous Moscow architect Osip Startsev built the famous Refectory Chamber in the monastery.
The Tikhvin Church, opened today, is that same refectory.
Initially, the architect Parfen Petrov took on the work of its construction. But the customer did not appreciate the master’s work: he did not like the motifs of ancient Moscow architecture. It came to court. Three years later, another architect, Osip Startsev, remade what Petrov had built and created the most impressive monument of the Moscow Baroque in its form and scope.
The architect gave free rein to his imagination and built a spacious observation deck. In size it was not inferior to the large quadrangle of the church. And here is what Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov wrote about this architectural solution:
“Further to the east, on three hills, between which the river meanders, there are wide masses of houses of all possible sizes and colors; a tired gaze can hardly reach the distant horizon, on which groups of several monasteries are depicted, between which Simonov is especially notable for his hanging platform, almost between heaven and earth, from where our ancestors watched the movements of the approaching Tatars.”
Another bold architectural solution has survived to this day - the stepped gable.
The northern façade was decorated with windows with intricately shaped frames. This can be seen from the photographs that have reached us. But another bold architectural solution has survived to this day - the stepped gable. Its design is in the spirit of Western European mannerism.
The above-mentioned Apollinary Vasnetsov depicted just the described part of the building on the canvas “Simonov Monastery. Clouds and golden domes." This is 1927. Barely made it.
Even in black and white, everything is fabulously beautiful. And this is what the Tikhvin Church looked like with the famous gables during the Soviet years.
And Western European mannerism, which miraculously penetrated beyond the thick fortress walls of the Simonov Monastery, has brilliant examples in Florence. Take, for example, the wonderful Laurentian Library. It was built by Michelangelo with his students Giorgio Vasari and Bartolomeo Ammanati. The echo of that wave in architecture is now frozen on the roof of the Tikhvin Church. So until the end, by the way, and not restored. In this sense, it is not far from its sister towers.
The famous bell tower of the Simonov Monastery was less fortunate. More precisely, no luck at all. And this five-tier bell tower was erected in 1839 by Konstantin Ton. They say he loved Simonov very much. The bell tower was 9 meters (and according to some sources, 12) higher than “Ivan the Great”. Designed in the Russian-Byzantine style, it became the highest in Moscow: 90 meters. Simonov Monastery has turned into a real architectural pearl.
Now one can only imagine what kind of ringing rang over the bend of the Moscow River when the monks called people to worship. By the way, the largest bell weighed more than 1000 pounds - that’s 16 tons. The atheists removed this colossus and melted it down. But even old photographs convey the grandeur of the bell tower. There's a lot to see. This, for example, is her very first photograph. It was made in 1852.
The bell tower will be blown up and dismantled into bricks. And then they will destroy the necropolis
And here is an old postcard of the Simonov Monastery. The author is the artist-engraver Louis-Pierre-Alphonse Bichebois... Louis-Pierre-Alphonse, by the way, perfectly understood and appreciated beauty and scale. Thanks to his work, we know how the Alexander Column was raised on Palace Square in St. Petersburg.
The bell tower will be blown up and dismantled into bricks. And in a year the famous monastery necropolis will be destroyed.
Buried necropolis
My soul told me long ago:
You will rush through the world like lightning!
You are given to feel everything,
But you won't enjoy life.
These are the lines of the wonderful Moscow poet Dmitry Venevitinov. He died at 21. But he managed to become a great romantic.
In 1826, Venevitinov wrote a brilliant poem in which we find the lines:
This is the hour of final suffering!
Listen: the will of a dead man
Terrible as the voice of prophecy.
Pay attention: so that this ring
They did not remove the cold hand; –
Let my sorrows die with him
And they will be buried with him.
Venevitinov’s “will” was not fulfilled. There really was a ring. More precisely, a ring from Herculaneum. It was given to the dying poet by the Slavophile Alexei Khomyakov. Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin also came to his funeral at the Simonov Monastery. After a “lightning-fast” life, Dmitry Vladimirovich’s ashes were disturbed. The terrible “will of a dead man” was violated in 1930. The ring was taken and is now kept in the Literary Museum.
The ashes of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, the author of “The Scarlet Flower,” were also disturbed. The bodies of both writers were exhumed and reburied at the Novodevichy cemetery. But Venevitinov’s relatives were less fortunate. Their graves were destroyed. Like hundreds of others. They were not moved. All the remains were mixed with earth. Class enemies - representatives of the old noble Russian families: Zagryazhskys, Olenins, Durasovs, Vadbolskys, Soimonovs, Muravyovs, Islenevs, Tatishchevs, Naryshkins, Shakhovskys, who were buried here - were not needed by the new Bolshevik “Russia”. And under the foundation of the library of the ZIL House of Culture there is the burial place of an associate of Peter the Great, the first holder of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called - Fyodor Golovin. This House of Culture was built on the foundation of the five-domed Assumption Cathedral of the Simon Monastery.
Along with the tombstones, the Assumption Cathedral and other churches disappeared forever - before the revolution, there were six churches with 22 altars in the monastery - the Watchtower, and Taininskaya.
The arrival of the deaf-blind and new life Simonov Monastery
The Simonov Monastery began to come to life in the 90s of the last century. Thanks to the enormous energy and superhuman efforts of Archpriest Andrei Goryachev, rector of the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. He began to restore both the destroyed monastery and the lost necropolis.
A major examination has already been carried out to separate human and animal remains: the bones were randomly scattered throughout the monastery and covered with earth and construction debris. After a short tour of the monastery, Father Andrei and I went down to the Musin-Pushkin tomb. Valentin Platonovich, a relative of the same Alexei Ivanovich Musin-Pushkin, who persuaded Catherine II to open the Simonov Monastery. Valentin Platonovich built two two-story chapels of the temple.
Another tombstone with the surname “Tolokonnikov” caught my eye. Made of black granite. It, like hundreds of others, lay underground for 60 years. And right opposite the entrance to the Tikhvin Church there are several more gravestones. Apparently, so that the memory does not fade.
People with disabilities come here to worship services: some cannot hear, and some cannot see and hear at the same time
I came to the Simonov Monastery to talk with Father Andrei Goryachev about the deaf-blind community. People with disabilities have been coming here for services for more than 20 years: some cannot hear, while others cannot see and hear at the same time. And there is a very strong community here.
After the interview, Father Andrei gave a short tour of the temple. It will appear later. First I wanted to introduce readers to this amazing place, where the walls, towers and temple that have miraculously survived to this day are ready to tell many stories. I would like to listen to them.
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.
Story
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.
Simonov 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 fortress structure, erected, according to scientists, by Fyodor Kon, date back to the 30s, and the three towers - to the 40s of the 17th century. Special attention attracted by 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.
The ancient Simonov Monastery was founded in 1370 with the blessing of St. Sergius of Radonezh by his disciple and nephew - St. Fedor, a native of Radonezh, who took monastic vows at the Intercession Khotkov Monastery.
Moscow, Vostochnaya street, building 4, Avtozavodskaya metro station.
The monastery received 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, on the high road to Moscow, and Fyodor, trying to find greater solitude, chose another place for the monastery, not far from the old one. In 1379 the monastery was moved to its current location.
The Monk Sergius of Radonezh considered the Simonov Monastery to be a “branch” of his Trinity Monastery and always stayed here during his visits to Moscow. From the walls of the Simonov Monastery came a whole galaxy of outstanding ascetics and church leaders: St. Kirill Belozersky (1337 - 1427), St. Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow (died in 1461), Patriarch Joseph (died in 1652), Metropolitan Gerontius, Archbishop John of Rostov, the famous figure of non-covetousness, Monk Vassian, in the world, Prince Vasily Ivanovich Kosoy-Patrikeev. The Monk Maxim the Greek lived and worked in the monastery. 
Moscow, Vostochnaya street, building 4
Avtozavodskaya metro station
Simonov Monastery is located next to the refectory at the southern wall of the monastery.
Facade from the north side
Architect: Startsev Osip
This is the only surviving church of the monastery. 
The main altar of the temple is consecrated in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. Chapels: in the name of St. Sergius; mchch. Valentin, Paraskeva, St. Basil's; St. Athanasius of Alexandria; mts. Glyceria; prpp. Xenophon and Mary (see history of the monastery). This refectory temple was built in 1677 (architects: Parfen Petrov, then Osip Startsev) by Tsar Feodor Alekseevich on the foundations of an ancient building of 1485 and was originally consecrated in the name of St. Sergius of Radonezh. In 1840 the temple was rebuilt and renamed Tikhvinsky.
In 1923, a museum was established in part of 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 
Temple in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
The towers and walls of the monastery were built in the 16th century. It is believed that they were erected by the “sovereign master” Fyodor Savelyevich Kon, the builder of the Smolensk Kremlin. Fortified under Boris Godunov, the monastery repelled the raid of the Crimean Khan Kazy-Girey in 1591. New walls of the monastery and part of the towers 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 meters, the height was 7 meters. 
"Forge tower" "Salt" round tower" Fence walls (1640s.
Simonov Monastery was one of the guard monasteries that performed a protective function on the southern borders of Moscow. It was the most fortified of all the monasteries. More than once the walls of the monastery withstood the onslaught of enemy troops marching on Moscow, and during the Great Troubles it was practically wiped off the face of the earth. Of the surviving towers, the corner tower “Dulo”, crowned with a high tent with a two-tiered watchtower, especially stands out. 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. 
Forge Tower
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 tall tent was completed over the next 40 years. The tower has a single-tier observation post, unlike other towers, where it is two-tiered. 
The salt tower is round, with a hipped top topped with a 2-tier watchtower (for the purpose of patrolling for the approach of the enemy) and a weather vane. Built in 1640, when the defensive structures of the monastery, damaged during the Time of Troubles, were rebuilt. And having lost its military significance, it was turned into a salt barn. 
Many key events are associated with the Simonov Monastery Russian history.
The legendary heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, saints Alexander Peresvet and Andrei (Rodion) Oslyabya, were buried on the site of the old monastery. From the walls of the Simonov Monastery came a whole galaxy of outstanding ascetics and church leaders: St. Kirill Belozersky, St. Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, Patriarch Joseph, Metropolitan Gerontius, Archbishop of Rostov John. In the 16th century, the famous figure of non-covetousness, Monk Vassian (in the world - Prince Vasily Ivanovich Kosoy-Patrikeev) and the theologian Reverend Maxim the Greek lived and worked in the monastery.
The monastery was especially loved by Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (the elder brother of Peter I), who had his own cell here for solitude.
Simeon Bekbulatovich, son of Dmitry Donskoy Konstantin Dmitrievich (monastically Cassian), princes Mstislavsky, Temkin-Rostovsky, Suleshev, boyars Golovins and Buturlins were buried in the monastery cathedral.
On the territory of the Simonov Monastery there was an extensive necropolis, where the poet D. V. Venevitinov (1805-1827), the writer S. T. Aksakov (1791-1859), the composer A. A. Alyabyev (1787-1851), a famous bibliophile and collector A.P. Bakhrushin (1853-1904), uncle of A.S. Pushkin - N.L. Pushkin, associate of Peter I Fyodor Golovin, as well as numerous representatives of old Russian noble families - Zagryazhskys, Olenins, Durasovs, Vadbolskys, Soimonovs, Muravyovs, Islenyevs, Tatishchevs, Naryshkins, Shakhovskys. In the 1930s, the necropolis was destroyed.
Only a small part of the buildings of the Simonov Monastery has survived to this day. Only the southern wall with three towers has survived from the monastery: the corner “Dulo” (four battle tiers, a stone tent, a two-tier observation tower), the pentagonal “Forge” and the round “Salt”. Also preserved are the “new” refectory with the Church of the Holy Spirit (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 outbuildings - “malt” or “dried”. 
"Sushilo" outbuilding - "malting" or "sushilo"
Year of construction: Between 1379 and 1677
(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. 
Old refectory of the Simonov Monastery
name of the 20th century. Kelarsky building - name of the 19th century
Bread Chamber - name of the 18th century
(XV-XVIII centuries)
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 Moscow in general.
In 1612, with its treasures and all the contributions of the princes and kings of Simonov, the monastery became the prey of the Lithuanians and Poles. The unfortunate event of 1612 was repeated 200 years later, in 1812: a detachment of Napoleon’s army, having smashed the western Holy Gate, broke into the monastery and plundered it. The cathedral church, porch and towers were occupied by horses, and the abbot's and brethren's cells were occupied by soldiers and officers of the French army. 
Dulo Tower
"Dulo" (corner, southwestern tower) 
Of the towers, the corner tower “Dulo”, crowned with a high tent with a two-tier watchtower, especially stood out.
In 1832, a decision was made to build a new bell tower of the Simonov Monastery. The funds for construction were provided by the merchant Ivan Ignatiev. The initial project in the style of classicism was drawn up by the famous architect N. E. Tyurin. The bell tower was founded in 1835, but then its design was changed, and it was erected in the “Russian” style according to the design of K. A. Ton. Construction was completed in 1839. In its silhouette and location - near the monastery fence - the bell tower repeated the bell tower of the Novodevichy Convent. Its height was more than 90 meters. The huge five-tiered bell tower of the Simonov Monastery visually closed the perspective of the bend of the Moscow River and was visible for many miles around. 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 in the name of the Assumption was built in the monastery Holy Mother of God. 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 carved gilded iconostasis was made, in which there was
The main relic of the monastery is the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, of which St. Sergius of Radonezh blessed Dmitry Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo. A golden cross sprinkled with diamonds and emeralds was also kept here - a gift from Princess Maria Alekseevna.
Simeon Bekbulatovich, a baptized Kasimov prince, who, at the whim of Ivan the Terrible, was crowned “Tsar and Grand Duke of All Rus'” in 1574 and overthrown two years later, was buried in the monastery cathedral.
Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
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 fragments of the previous building in 1485. During the construction of the new building, Parfen Petrov, probably already an elderly man and building in the traditions of the first half of the 17th century, used details of early Moscow architecture that the monastic 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 Startsev, who built a lot in Moscow and Kyiv. Along with Yakov Bukhvostov, he is the most outstanding architect of the late 17th century. The names of Startsev and Bukhvostov often appear side by side in documents of that time: they were a kind of “friends-competitors” who worked in the Moscow Baroque style, but had a pronounced individuality.
The new refectory of the Simonov Monastery became one of the most significant buildings of the late 17th century. 
The temple in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God of the former Simonov Monastery is located next to the refectory near the southern wall of the monastery.
Year of construction: 1685. 1840 - chapels were added.
Architect: Startsev Osip
Architectural style - Naryshkin Baroque
This is the only surviving temple of the monastery
Dulo and Sushilo Tower 
"Salt" round tower and "Sushilo" 
Treasury cells (XVII century) 
Old refectory. Blacksmith tower. Treasury cells.
Monastery garden 
The Treasury building (1620s-1630s) at the Water Gate - which were instead of the current iron ones.
On the territory of the Simonov Monastery there was an extensive necropolis, where the poet D. V. Venevitinov (1805 - 1827), the writer S. T. Aksakov (1791 - 1859), his son Konstantin Sergeevich Aksakov (1817-1860), composer A. A were buried Alyabyev (1787 - 1851), famous bibliophile and collector A.P. Bakhrushin (1853 -1904), uncle of A.S. Pushkin - Nikolai Lvovich Pushkin, as well as numerous representatives of old Russian noble families - Zagryazhskys, Olenins, Durasovs, Vadbolskys. , Soimonovs, Muravyovs, Islenevs, Tatishchevs, Naryshkins, Shakhovskys.
Empire tombstone of the grave of Princess Trubetskoy in the necropolis of the Simonov Monastery
Tomb of the Volkonsky princes in the Simonov Monastery 
In the early 1930s, all the main buildings of the Simonov Monastery were destroyed. The Assumption Cathedral, the bell tower, the gate churches, the Watchtower and the Taininskaya towers were destroyed, and 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 with the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit and the outbuilding - the “malting” or “drying room”.
DK ZIL is located on the site of the necropolis 
the largest and final architectural monument of Soviet constructivism by the Vesnin brothers. Located in Moscow, Avtozavodskaya metro station on Vostochnaya street, 4.
Construction 1930-1937.
built on the territory of the necropolis of the Simonov Monastery, which was destroyed by the Bolsheviks in the 1930s.
1. Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God
Other buildings of the monastery (preserved and destroyed):
2. Sushilo (XVI-XVII centuries)
3. Treasury cells (XVII century)
4. Monastery building
5. Old refectory (XV-XVIII centuries)
6. Enclosure walls (1640s)
7. Salt Tower (1640s)
8. Forge tower (1640s)
9. Dulo Tower (XVI century)
10. Walls and towers of the monastery fence, destroyed in the 1930s.
11. Assumption Cathedral, destroyed in 1930
12. Bell tower, destroyed in 1930
13. Hospital cells with the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Alexander Svirsky), destroyed in 1930.
14. Eastern gate with the Church of the Sign, destroyed in 1930.
15. Western gate with the Church of the Origin of the Honest Trees, destroyed in 1930.
Other buildings:
16. ZIL Palace of Culture, built in the 1930s. on the site of the destroyed part of the monastery
p.s. In principle, it is possible to recreate the monastery. We will soon lose the Forge Tower, two cracks almost to the foundation, and the Salt Tower, the same cracks. The western part of the wall is also in very terrible condition, and between the monastery and the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Stary Simonovo they started construction or a parking lot or something else directly to the right of the road to the temple. 
