Sergiyev Posad is the religious center of the Moscow Region as its first monastery was founded in 1337.[10]
The monastery began as a church built by Sergius of Radonezh, made out of wood, and by 1345 was recognized as a place of religious worship.[11] Town status was granted to Sergiyev Posad in 1742.[citation needed] In the 16th and 17th centuries, the religious center continued expanding into new monastery buildings, living areas, and stone walls, which withheld a Polish Siege of 1608–1610.[12] In the 18th century, wooden monasteries were mostly destroyed and began reconstruction and settlement (roads, hotels, stable, and hospice).[13] Lavra was closed in 1919 after the Russian Revolution, like all other places of worship in the USSR.[14] The town's name, alluding to St. Sergius, has strong religious connotations. Soviet authorities changed it first to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, in memory of the revolutionary Vladimir Zagorsky.[15] Sergiyev Posad was penetrated by Germany in 1941.[citation needed] It reopened later in 1941 during WW2 and continued to serve as a religious and historical center of Russia.[citation needed]
The culture of Sergiyev Posad focuses on its religious and toymaking history, as well as classical music and art.[16] The Sergiyev Posad State History and Art Museum-Preserve contain the Lavra complex of monasteries, and the Konny Dvor museum, which consists of art and excavated artifacts.[17] In addition to the Lavra monasteries, the Chernigovsky Skete was built as a men's monastery in the 19th century, providing space for over 400 monks.[18] Today, the Skete is quiet and peaceful, with only 10 monks coming to complete its everyday functions.[19]
Chernigovsky Skete belfry
The Russian wooden toys, matryoshkas, were invented there by an artist Sergey Malyutin, and are now displayed in the Toy Museum.[20] There are over 800 exhibits from the 11-21st century, including artifacts from other countries.[21]
Because of the town’s deep-rooted focus on art and music, it has many schools for children, who are enrolled between the ages of 6–8 years old.[22]
In addition, it is home to many such as which has been mentioned in War and Peace, Yuri Gagarin Palace of Culture which is a Russian Heritage Building.
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Compare: Ring, Trudy; Watson, Noelle; Schellinger, Paul, eds. (1996). "Sergiev (Moscow, Russia)". Northern Europe: International Dictionary of Historic Places. Routledge (published 2013). ISBN9781136639517. Retrieved August 8, 2015. Lenin's successor Stalin intensified religious persecution in the Soviet Union overall, and the situation perhaps became threatening enough to warrant the town to change its name in 1930 to Zagorsk, derived from the name of the Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Zagorsky, who was assassinated by rival socialists in 1919.
Губернатор Московской области. Постановление №123-ПГ от 28 сентября 2010 г. «Об учётных данных административно-территориальных и территориальных единиц Московской области», в ред. Постановления №252-ПГ от 26 июня 2015 г. «О внесении изменения в учётные данные административно-территориальных и территориальных единиц Московской области». Опубликован: "Информационный вестник Правительства МО", №10, 30 октября 2010 г. (Governor of Moscow Oblast. Resolution #123-PG of September 28, 2010 On the Inventory Data of the Administrative-Territorial and Territorial Units of Moscow Oblast, as amended by the Resolution #252-PG of June 26, 2015 On Amending the Inventory Data of the Administrative-Territorial and Territorial Units of Moscow Oblast. ).
Московская областная Дума. Закон №60/2005-ОЗ от 28 февраля 2005 г. «О статусе и границах Сергиево-Посадского муниципального района и вновь образованных в его составе муниципальных образований», в ред. Закона №161/2011-ОЗ от 14 октября 2011 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Московской области "О статусе и границах Сергиево-Посадского муниципального района и вновь образованных в его составе муниципальных образований"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Ежедневные Новости. Подмосковье", №42, 10 марта 2005 г. (Moscow Oblast Duma. Law #60/2005-OZ of February 28, 2005 On the Status and the Borders of Sergiyevo-Posadsky Municipal District and the Newly Established Municipal Formations Comprising It, as amended by the Law #161/2011-OZ of October 14, 2011 On Amending the Law of Moscow Oblast "On the Status and the Borders of Sergiyevo-Posadsky Municipal District and the Newly Established Municipal Formations Comprising It". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
[6])
Cephalonia, Greece
Fulda, Germany
New Athos, Georgia
Rueil-Malmaison, France
Saldus, Latvia
Slonim, Belarus
Vagharshapat, Armenia
Gniezno, Poland
