Yaroslavovo Courtyard and Torg - are among the oldest architectural complexes that have survived from the time of Ancient Russia. The property is protected by the state and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
When did
Many historical monuments are full of Veliky Novgorod. Yaroslavovo Courtyard is one of the unique structures not only of the city, but of the whole of Russia. The name of the complex was given by the name of Prince Yaroslav, who later ruled in Kiev, where he received a new title - the Wise. Historically, the trading part of the city is located on the right bank of the Volkhov River, where from time immemorial merchants have been settling in and veche gatherings have been held.
Excavation materials indicate the absence of any buildings, settlements or traces of people staying on the territory of the Courtyard until the 10th century. At the beginning of the 11th century, Prince Yaroslav set up a palace, which was not equal in Europe. Archaeological surveys conducted in the postwar years confirm that traces of a large wooden building were found in the area between St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Gate Tower, belonging to the Gostiny Dvor.
On the territory of the Yaroslavov Courtyard and the Bargain, the excavations were led by Professor A.V. Artsikhovsky, and in his opinion, the foundations found could belong to the princely chambers. Further works were preserved until better times, when archaeologists will have the best equipment, guaranteeing not only the safety of the object, but also the possibility of a detailed study.
Appointment
Having built the palace, Prince Yaroslav found himself in the center of business life in Veliky Novgorod. The first mention of the complex in the annals dates back to 1030, during which the city was an important part of the busy trade route from Scandinavia to Byzantium. Numerous marinas stretched along the merchant shore, where goods unloading gold, fabrics, spices and much more dragged from all over the world to Veliky Novgorod.
Novgorodians treated Yaroslav with respect and love. Since the prince refused to pay annual tribute to Kiev, the inhabitants twice helped him in the struggle for the Kiev throne and in the end brought him victory. Perhaps this attitude to the prince is due to his proximity to the people and constant communication on the Ancient Bargain.
Yaroslavovo Courtyard, in addition to representative and commercial purposes, also served as the place where Novgorodians gathered at the veche. The meeting venue was a small area near St. Nicholas-Dvorishchensky Cathedral. Some historians believe that not all the people living in the city gathered at the veche, but only representatives of noble families, referred to as “300 Golden Belts”. The signal for the collection was the ringing of the veche bell.
In the 15th century, Veliky Novgorod loses its independence. The Yaroslavovo Courtyard passes by right of inheritance to Prince Ivan III, who takes the veche bell to Moscow, and begins to build up the territory at its discretion. Since the 16th century, after the appearance of the Grand Duke's deputies, the Court received the second name "Sovereign".
There are several legends associated with the bell. According to one of them, in Valdai, it broke into thousands of small bells, which to this day carry the glory of the Novgorod freemen around the world. According to the second legend, the bell was installed on the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin in Moscow and alerted people about disasters. During one of the fires, he fell and crashed, after which Peter I ordered a new one to be cast from its parts.
Strategic place
Russian statehood originates from Veliky Novgorod. After some time, the Yaroslavovo Yard was grown by the Ancient Bargaining - the platform where transactions were made, brisk trade was conducted, and merchants were born. Novgorod Trade competed with the largest bazaars in Europe and Asia. A busy river path and well-trodden routes brought Novgorod merchants across the Dnieper and the Black Sea to Constantinople and Persia; long commercial trips to England, Flanders, and German markets were not uncommon. The ships of the Baltic and White Sea moored at the Bargain.
According to the surviving documents, the Novgorodians conducted civilized trade with foreign countries - contracts on deliveries and purchases, on mutually beneficial cooperation, etc. were preserved. Local merchants were in a certain sense monopolists, goods were not sold beyond the Novgorod Trade, merchants themselves were engaged in the sale of overseas goods throughout Russia.
Gostiny Dvor
Ancient Bargaining was famous not only for foreign goods and the scale of financial transactions, but also for sales of goods by local craftsmen. Novgorod crafts were varied, silver goods, highly valued in different parts of the world, were especially high-quality and highly artistic. The tanners tipped excellent boots, belts, horse harness and unique crosses woven from the finest leather strips. Potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, icon painters were famous.
Trading areas looked like streets stretching from the river, each had its own name. The central row from Volkhov ran throughout the bargaining and ended near the German court. The benches located on it were the most prestigious, the people called the central shopping street Great, and in the books they gave different names - Koristnaya, Surozhskaya, Bolshaya.
Starting from the 17th century, the old Torg is transformed into the Gostiny Dvor, and remains so until the middle of the 20th century. In 1771, the “Travel Palace” was built for Empress Catherine II and the members of the courtyard for a convenient stop, where they could comfortably rest and gain strength for a further journey through the expanses of Russia.
Hasty steps
After World War II, the architectural ensemble of Yaroslav's Yard and Bargaining was in good condition. The destruction was not critical, and much could be repaired with little effort. The unique arcade of the Gostiny Dvor was untouched by shelling and stood intact, as it was during its construction. But the city itself demanded restoration, and in 1945 the authorities decided to completely dismantle the entire historical complex.
The work started rapidly in 1947 and continued until 1953, when the Academy of Sciences intervened in the process. Through the efforts of historians, and in particular I.E. Grabar, the destruction of the ancient Russian monument was stopped. The process was not fast, and only by 1956 they were able to assess the scale of the losses.
Under state protection
The Gostiny Dvor, shopping malls located on May 1 Street were completely dismantled, and only a small part of the arcade remained intact. Ancient temples were also affected - bricks of the bell tower, aisles of the Assumption Church and the Church of St. George on the Market were spent on building materials.
After the audit, archaeological excavations began, thanks to which several layers of wooden bridges of different years were uncovered; between the St. Nicholas Cathedral and the Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa temple, a cattle bone flooring was discovered.
The preserved architectural monuments are of great cultural value and historical heritage. Today, they are all protected by the state and the international organization UNESCO. Much is known about each of the monuments, and the excavations conducted each time provide new materials for research and study.
St. Nicholas Monomakh Cathedral
The oldest attraction of Veliky Novgorod is Yaroslavovo Gorodische, where the first temple was built by Prince Mstislav, the eldest of the sons of Vladimir Monomakh. The church has survived to the present day, and is called Nikolo-Dvorishchenskaya or Nikolsky Cathedral. Its construction was carried out by a master named Peter. It is believed that he became the first Russian architect whose name was entered in the annals.
The cathedral was rebuilt several times over the centuries of its life, but the craftsmen always adhered to the old foundation, trying not to introduce unnecessary innovations into the appearance of the building. The church was built as an analogue of the temple of Sofia, the work was completed in 1113, but it was consecrated after two decades. In ancient Torg at that time it was the first building made of stone.
The temple has three equal apse, crowned with a dome of five golden chapters, which personified princely power. The cathedral was subordinate to the prince, bypassing the supremacy of the lord of Novgorod. According to chronicles, the temple burned at least twelve times and always revived. From the 13th century, a veche was gathering near its walls. In the 17th century, the square in front of the cathedral was decorated with a hexagonal bell tower, the rest of the buildings that joined the walls of St. Nicholas Cathedral belong to the 19th century.
As part of the fight against religion, the church was closed in the 30s. In a short period from 1945 to 1962, St. Nicholas Cathedral was active. After another closure, it housed the exposition of the Novgorod Museum dedicated to scientific atheism. The city planetarium was arranged in the dome. The change in the economic system served as the start of restoration work, the financing of which was provided by the New Hanseatic League.
Temple buildings
Yaroslavovo Courtyard in Novgorod carefully stores several ancient temples. The Church of the Assumption was commemorated in Novgorod warriors who died in an unsuccessful campaign in the Suzdal lands. The initiator of the laying of the temple was Prince Vsevolod, construction was completed in 1144. Novgorodians kept the memory of the dead, reviving the temple after numerous fires, and gave it a second name - "Assumption on the goat's beard." This name is associated with the neighborhood of the church with the area where goats, horses and other pets were traded.
Near the Church of the Assumption there is another church, to which unmarried young women who come to Veliky Novgorod strive to get to. The Yaroslavovo Courtyard is decorated with the Paraskeva – Pyatnitsa Church, whose architecture is significantly different from the rest of the churches. Saint Paraskeva-Friday brings good luck in business affairs. The first wooden church was built in 1156, a century later, overseas merchants erected a stone church on the site of a burnt building.
15 fire cases are described, after which it was carefully built anew. Ancient architecture was opened in the first post-war restoration. From the layering of the plaster, the masonry dating from the 13th-14th centuries was cleaned, and the dome remained on the church from the 18th century. The people of Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa have long been called the church "about one hundred and seventy corners", which is true. There is a belief that if an unmarried young lady walks around her three times in a circle, then she will certainly get married soon.
Patrons of the Syrkov
The founder of the Moscow surname of eminent merchants of the Syrkovs, Ivan Syrkov, was born and accumulated capital on the Torg (Veliky Novgorod). The Yaroslavovo Courtyard grew in 1510 with a wooden church of the Myrrh Bearing. After a major fire in 1541, a stone church was erected on the site of the burned building. In the Moscow tradition, churches were placed on stone underlays where valuables were stored, and no such cellars were built in Novgorod churches.
The first church with a large basement was the Church of the Myrrh Bearing, according to some reports, Ivan the Terrible for some time kept part of his treasury there. From two sides, wooden stairs lead to the upper floors of the building, and a porch is arranged near each. Now on the second floor is located the Children's Cultural Center.
By order of Dmitry Syrkov, in 1529, a small Prokopiy church three stories high was built on the Yaroslavl Courtyard. The first two of them are the basement and the high basement. In the architecture of the building, the influence of Moscow and Pskov architectural traditions, expressed in keeled arches that adorned the facades of the church, is felt.
Gate tower
Over the centuries of its existence, the Yaroslavovo Courtyard (Veliky Novgorod) knew many restructures. The history of the Gate Tower dates back to when Peter I ordered the laying of the Gostiny Dvor. Its builders in the 17th century were Semen Efimov and Guri Vakhromeev. The gate tower was part of a large complex. It is a three-story building, divided in the middle by two wide travel arches, the roof has a tent structure, on the left side there is a bell tower that once belonged to the already lost church.
For a long time, the Gate Tower was considered veche, but studies have refuted this steady rumor. The building housed a variety of organizations, from the orphanage to the archive, and today exhibited works of art created using the art of casting metals.
Most of the collection is represented by church utensils and religious attributes. There are donor guards, body crosses, arks, church dishes, icons, products of masters of Old Believer worship and many more at the stands. There is an observation deck in the Gate Tower, which offers a magnificent view of the Sofia side of the city.
Address
Many tourists seek to visit Veliky Novgorod. Yaroslavovo Yard, along with Detinets, are the most visited places. On the territory of the ensemble of Torg and the Courtyard, more than ten ancient architectural structures have been preserved.
On the expanses of the complex there are signs of recent history. The monument to the feat of Soviet soldiers perpetuated the history of World War II. The monument to the legendary character Sadko will also interest curious tourists. To commemorate the restoration of the Hanseatic Union of Merchants and Novgorod's membership in it, a memorial sign was installed on the territory of the complex in 2009.
The Yaroslavovo Yard (Veliky Novgorod) has the following address: Nikolskaya Street, Building 3B (trade side).