The Cathedral of St. Dmitry

The Cathedral of St. Dmitry, built around 1197 during the reign of Prince Vsevolod III, is the third and last example of pre-Mongol white stone architecture to have survived in Vladimir. It is situated roughly one hundred metres to the east of the Cathedral of the Assumption and also stands on the edge of the steep bank of the river Klyazma.

The cathedral is not very large and has four pillars and one dome—a design typical of the 12th century. The Cathedral of St. Dmitry was fated to suffer numerous reconstruction’s and renovations, and was more than once damaged by fire. The greatest damage was inflicted between 1837 and 1839, when Tsar Nicholas I decided that the cathedral should be restored to its original form. As a result, it lost not only the later additions, but also the 13th-century towers and the gallery that surrounded it on three sides, severely weakening ancient structure. A century later the cathedral showed serious signs of decay, and in 1941, during one of the darkest periods of the country's history, when the Nazi invaders were advancing rapidly on Moscow, this magnificent example of Russian architecture was given a new lease of life by Alexander Stoletov, an expert in restoration work. Removing the stones one at a time, he inserted three iron girdles behind the outer walls. Now, after major restoration carried out in the 1970s the Cathedral of St. Dmitry has recovered its original glory.

The Cathedral of St. Dmitry is particularly famous for its white stone carving, which envelops the middle tier like an embroidered quilt. A closer examination of this embroidery in stone reveals that it is organised around a host of mythical ornamentation on each wall is King David seated upon his throne. In his authoritative pose and imperious gestures the builders of the cathedral no doubt saw the mighty hand of Vsevolod reaching out to Kiev in the south, Novgorod in the north and Smolensk in the west. The scene depicting The Ascension of Alexander the Great on the southern wall was also designed to express by its symbolic representation - what was at the time the progressive idea of princely might and undivided authority. On the north wall, facing the town, is a scene depicting Vsevolod seated upon his throne and receiving the reverence of his sons.

The builders ignored church architectural canons and depicted a world of animals and mythical beings. The arrangement of this decoration in rows was no doubt inspired by popular art, by embroidery and the wood carving used to decorate the peasant izbas.
The interior of the cathedral creates the impression of height and spaciousness, majesty and might. The .flowing semi-circles of the arches rise into the dome of the ceiling like waves caught at their peak. The light streaming in through the narrow windows falls upon the walls, illuminating the light blues and greens, soft browns, whites, greys and yellows of the newly cleaned fragments of frescoes painted at the time of Vsevolod III. In the western section of the cathedral is an enormous fresco the Last Judgement, in which can still be seen the pictures of the twelve apostles and the heavenly host, and the apostle Peter leading the righteous into paradise. Expert examination of the painting has revealed that it was the work of two masters, one Greek and the other Russian. The work of the Russian master is typified by softer, pastel shades. The faces of his figures do not have the tense severity that marks the work of the Greek master, whose superb technique is complemented by the poetic lyricism of his pupil.

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