Zagorsk

Trip Start Jul 25, 2008
1
7
56
Trip End Sep 18, 2008


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Russian Federation  ,
Thursday, July 31, 2008

We left Moscow to travel to Sergiyev Posad (formerly Zagorsk) to see the famous  Trinity - St Sergius Monastery founded in 1354 by St Sergius.  The cathedral of the Ho;y Trinity was erected to commemorate St Sergius' immense service to the state.  He is said to have tamed a bear and the story is painted on the entrance.  It is a working monastry and is the residence of the Patriarch of all Russia (Head of the Russian Orthadox Church) and is the religious center of the church (like the Vatican for the Russian Orthadox Church), and has long been a place of pilgrimage.  The gold and blue copulas are impressive and there were many monks and priests in the grounds.  Women had to cover their heads and we were able to stand in the back of the church and listen to a Russian Orthadox service.  The men's choir was magnificent.  We drove back into Moscow.  Everything in Moscow seems immensely huge - 8,787sq kms of urbanity enclosed within the limits of the Outer Ring Road.  Department stores and supermarkets seemed to pop up in the nearby forests and although there is a huge population in the country side, we would see only one or two people at a time walking home from work or shopping over long distances and it didn't seem crowded at all Zagorsk
Zagorsk
 .
Tonight we went to the Moscow Circus.  It is held in a building in the centre of town and it was well attended.  Outside there are statues of clowns and on entering there were live animals in the foyer.  There was a camel, leopard cub, puma cub and dogs, all of which you could have your photo taken with.  I had one taken with the leopard cub.  The show was excellent - included clowns, acrobats, jugglers etc and also animals.  Unlike modern Aussie circuses, they had lions, dogs and horses performing - something we have moved away from, but the trainers must have spent a lifetime with their animals.  There was also an act including snakes - big and small and a crocodile.  One act included a chicken doing a dance - extremely funny and the whole show was very entertaining.  It finished about 10pm and we came out and it was still light.  It didn't get dark until well after 10pm.
 
 
Slideshow Print this entry Sergiyev Posad hotels