Monastery on the car factory. Temples of my city. Simonov Monastery. Ancient tombstones that were used as a curbstone in Soviet times

The address of the Simonov Monastery: Moscow, Vostochnaya st., 4.
Getting to the Simonov Monastery is easy. Metro Avtozavodskaya (last car from the center). Then you go along Masterkova Street, after crossing with Leninskaya Sloboda Street, you also go straight ahead along Vostochnaya Street. And ahead on the left you see the Salt Tower of the Simonov Monastery.
The monastery was founded in 1370 south of Moscow on the lands of the boyar Stepan Vasilyevich Khovrin. Becoming a monk, Stepan Vasilyevich received the name Simon, hence the name of the monastery.
The monastery was one of the most revered in Russia. But in 1920 he was abolished. And in 1930, some of the buildings were completely blown up. And in their place they erected a recreation center ZIL. And in the other part they arranged some kind of production.
The history of the monastery is rich. Yes, everything is simple: type in any search engine "Simonov Monastery" - and hundreds of links open with an abundance of historical facts. There's enough for ten gears.
I want to talk about something else. Here, it would seem - well, what is there to see? Few of the buildings have survived. One church is the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. Of the walls - only the southern one, a fragment of the western one and a small part of the eastern one. Three towers.
Restoration? Well, so ... it’s neither shaky, nor rolls ... THEY CAN BE OFFENDED ABOUT ANY WAY ...
And still.
Not a single monastery evoked such emotions in me as Simonov did. I'll try to explain.
You know, the monks were not meek lambs, and along with church books and a rosary, they just as skillfully held a sword in their hands when it came to the freedom of the country. And monasteries were by no means always quiet cloisters, but more often powerful fortresses.
And in the Simonov Monastery... It has it... The spirit of the people, the spirit of recalcitrant and unconquered Russia... He, this spirit is in every brick, it flows from every crack in the walls of the monastery towers...
And it’s not for nothing that the monks Oslyabya and Peresvet are buried in the Simonov Monastery ... Yes, yes, the same heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo ...
Let us clarify, however, that their burial is located not far from the current one ... in Stary Simonovo, this is on Vostochnaya Street, 6, on the territory of the Dynamo plant, in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and you can freely go to it ...
So… you are standing in the middle of seemingly destroyed buildings…
And you understand that, by and large, this is not the main thing ... important, but not the main thing ...
The spirit... that's as long as it is...
After all, there is the Simonov Monastery ...
And they besieged it, and destroyed it, and robbed it, and blew it up ...
A - it's worth it! The Simonov Monastery stands!
Do you remember Pushkin's lines? " Here is the Russian spirit, here it smells of Russia ... ":
The Simonov Monastery stands!
As a symbol of Russia.
And will stand.
From now on and forever.

Contacts of the Simonov Monastery:

115280, Moscow, st. Vostochnaya, 4.

Mysteries of the Simonov Monastery on Avtozavodskaya April 29th, 2011

Taking part in the April community work day on Avtozavodskaya in the ZIL recreation center park, I noticed strange boulders and stones sticking out at the base of the outer wall of one of the three brick towers of the Simonov Monastery. Historians date the towers and the remains of the southern fortress wall to the 17th-18th centuries. I wondered why the foundations of only one of the three brick towers were laid with huge boulders? Two towers rest on hewn rectangular blocks of small size, and there are no boulders under them (photo No. 1).

Huge dark gray boulders make a strange impression. They stand out strongly against the background of red bricks and white limestone blocks laid at the base of the tower (photo #2, #3, #12, #14).

Looking closely, you can see that boulders of different sizes are fragments or fragments of something whole, namely a monolithic stone. Moreover, it was not an easy stone, but a grandiose, most likely, sculptural composition, carved from a single rock. On some fragments of a mysterious stone sculpture, split into many parts, there are obvious traces of both manual and technical processing - drilled holes, grooves, polished figured parts and even a distinct trace of a saw cut, as if the ancient sculptor worked as a “grinder” (photo No. 7, #9, #10, #17)

The first version that comes to mind after getting acquainted with the mysterious boulders under the tower of the Simonov Monastery is fragments of a sculpture of some pagan deity. Now it is impossible to understand what this work looked like, and what it was like. Most of its fragments are embedded inside, at the very base of the tower, and only a few large and small parts are visible from the outside.

Apparently, in pagan times, this sculpture played an important role in medieval rituals, people revered and worshiped it. It is possible that the pagans made sacrifices to this mysterious stone. Otherwise, why split such a huge composition into pieces, and even wall it into the walls of a Christian monastery? Most likely, this was an indicative action for the pagans. They needed to be persuaded not to worship pagan gods, but to accept the Christian faith. By splitting the pagan shrine and immuring its parts into the base of the tower of the Simonov Monastery, thus the pagans were taught a lesson!

It is possible that the mysterious sculpture could have been destroyed long before the walls and towers of the monastery were erected in the 17th-18th centuries. These fragments could have been on the territory of the monastic monastery even earlier. It is not possible to install this. The question is, how did the ancient sculptor carve a mysterious composition from a monolithic rock? Did he really have at hand in those distant times modern technical means that made it possible to saw stone and drill deep holes in it?

Before dwelling in detail on individual, the most remarkable boulders under the tower of the Simonov Monastery, I would like to make a short digression into history.

Palace of Culture AMO "Plant named after I.A. Likhachev" (ZIL) - one of the largest cultural and leisure centers of Moscow, an architectural monument of the 30s of the twentieth century, designed by the architects Vesnin brothers. Few people now know that the ZIL Palace of Culture was erected on the site of the Simonov Monastery, which was blown up in 1930. Its founder is considered to be St. Fedor, a disciple and nephew of St. Sergius of Radonezh. In 1370, with the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh, Saint Theodore founded a monastic monastery, which existed for almost six centuries.

Details on the history of the Simonov Monastery can be found at the links http://tserkov.eparhia.ru/numbers/history/?ID=1375 or http://russian-church.ru/viewpage.php?cat=moscow&page=340

I will give only a fragment of the material "Simonov Monastery - a glorious and tragic page in Russian history" on the website "Russian Churches", which describes how the ancient historical monument was destroyed in the barbaric way in the Soviet years.

“...According to the Ogonyok magazine, “the commission of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee recognized that half of the ancient structures of the former monastery could be preserved as a historical monument, but that the cathedral and walls should be demolished.” In January 1930, five of the six monastery churches, two towers with adjoining buildings, as well as all the walls of the monastery, except for the south one, were blown up. According to the project, it was assumed that the entire territory of the Simonov Monastery would be turned into a park, and the cultural complex was to consist of three separate buildings - a cinema club, a theater for 4,000 seats and a sports building. However, only the club of the automobile plant was built. I.A. Likhachev ... "

And one more episode: “... The explosion thundered on the night of January 21, exactly on the sixth anniversary of the death of V. I. Lenin. Five out of six churches flew into the air, including the Assumption Cathedral, the bell tower, the gate churches, as well as the Watchtower and Taynitskaya towers with buildings adjacent to them. On working subbotniks, all the walls of the monastery, except for the south one, were dismantled, and all the graves on the territory of the monastery were wiped off the face of the earth. On the site of the ruins of the "fortress of church obscurantism", as the magazine Ogonyok wrote, in 1932-1937 the ZIL Palace of Culture rose ... "

The monastic monastery got it not only during the years of Soviet power. For six centuries, the Simonov Monastery more than once took upon itself the onslaught of enemy troops, was subjected to Tatar raids, and during the Time of Troubles it was devastated and almost completely destroyed. In 1771, under Catherine II, the monastery was abolished and, on the occasion of the plague epidemic spreading at that time, turned into a quarantine zone. In 1812, during the Patriotic War, the monastery was destroyed and burned by the French. In this regard, it is not possible to get to the bottom of who exactly could split the pagan sculpture into pieces - the Tatars, the French or the monks themselves. It is also impossible to determine the age of the fragments. They may be hundreds or thousands of years old. Modern methods of research and dating, unfortunately, are not able to determine the age of the processed stone only from the traces of its processing.

The most mysterious stone at the base of the outer wall of the southern tower of the Simonov Monastery is an irregularly shaped block. He was the first to attract my attention, and after studying him, I began to examine other stones, discovering the similarity of the breed and processing methods (photos No. 7, No. 7-1, No. 7-2, No. 8, No. 9, No. 10).

On the left side of the stone, you can see a drilled hole, a furrow and a fragment of a sculptural image, which resembles a chopped off tail of a mermaid, are clearly visible above it. Moreover, a cleavage line is clearly visible on the stone, which indicates the missing part of the sculptural composition. Where she went is unknown!

On the upper part of the same stone, a deep furrow is also clearly visible, in the form of a horseshoe, and to the left of it there is a deep trace of a saw cut, reminiscent of a trace from a “grinder” (photo No. 8, No. 9, No. 10). How can this be explained? Moreover, the trace of the saw cut is far from fresh, most likely, it was left at the time of making the sculpture. But when was it?

Under the base of the southern tower, you can see several more strange stones with holes and cuts (photos No. 3, No. 4, No. 11).

My attention was also drawn to a stone with a large hole in the side. I tried to dig it out a bit and clean it from the ground, as a result I found several more holes on the stone, and a crescent-shaped cut appeared on the upper side (photos No. 15, No. 16 and No. 17).

This stone clearly had some technical function, and an iron ring could be mounted in its small holes, then this device could be an ancient anchor, sinker or ballast.

If a superficial acquaintance with the boulders and stones at the base of the outer wall of the southern tower of the Simonov Monastery led to such a number of finds, then what results can serious research and archaeological excavations in the area of ​​walls and towers that have miraculously survived to our time lead to? I am sure that there will be enough finds and many important evidence of a distant era will be revealed to the eyes of researchers. It is likely that archaeologists will then be able to find and put together parts of a mysterious sculptural composition and discover how it was made by “modern” technical means.

The results of a walk 2 weeks ago.

Simonov Monastery- male stauropegial monastery, founded in 1370 by a disciple and nephew of St. Rev. Sergius of Radonezh - St. Fedor on the lands donated by the boyar Stepan Vasilyevich Khovrin (the monastic name is monk Simon - from which the name of the monastery comes).
In 1379 the monastery was moved to its current location; in the same place (in Stary Simonov) the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin has been preserved (there will be a separate post about it).
1.

A whole galaxy of outstanding ascetics and church leaders emerged from the walls of the Simonov Monastery: St. Kirill Belozersky (1337-1427), St. Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow (? -1461), Patriarch Joseph (? -1652), Metropolitan Gerontius, Archbishop John of Rostov. In the 16th century, the theologian St. Maxim Grek.

In former times, the monastery was one of the most famous and revered in Russia: a huge number of people and rich material contributions flocked here. The monastery was especially loved by Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (the elder brother of Peter I), who had his own cell here for solitude.

In 1771, the monastery was abolished by Catherine II and, on the occasion of the plague epidemic that had spread at that time, it was turned into a plague isolation ward. Only in 1795 was it restored to its original quality by the petition of Count Alexei Musin-Pushkin.
After the advent of Soviet power in 1920, the monastery was abolished. In 1923, a museum was established in the monastery, which existed until 1930. The director of the museum, Vasily Ivanovich Troitsky (1868 - 1944), established relations with the church community: he allowed services in one of the temples of the monastery in exchange for the provision of watchmen and janitors at the expense of the community.

In January 1930, a government commission recognized that some of the ancient structures on the territory of the monastery could be preserved as historical monuments, but the cathedral and walls should be demolished. The explosion thundered on the night of January 21, exactly on the sixth anniversary of the death of V. I. Lenin. Five out of six churches flew into the air, including the Assumption Cathedral, the bell tower, the gate churches, as well as the Watchtower and Taynitskaya towers with buildings adjacent to them. All the walls of the monastery, except for the south one, were dismantled, and all the graves on the territory of the monastery were wiped off the face of the earth. On the site of the ruins of the "fortress of church obscurantism", as the magazine Ogonyok wrote, in 1932-1937 the Palace of Culture of the Moscow Automobile Plant (DK ZIL) rose.
2.

Partially extant new walls of the monastery and some of the towers that can still be seen today 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 m, height - 7 m. Of the surviving towers, the corner tower "Dulo", crowned with a high tent with a two-tier watchtower, stands out especially.
3.

4.

The other two surviving towers - the five-sided Blacksmith's Tower and the round Salt Tower - were built in the 1640s, when the monastery's defensive structures, which had suffered during the Time of Troubles, were being rebuilt.
5.1979

6.

7.

Simeon Bekbulatovich, the baptized prince of Kasimov, was buried in the monastery cathedral. Blinded in 1595 by the machinations of Boris Godunov, in 1606 he was tonsured on Solovki and died in the Simonov Monastery under the name of hermit Stefan. The son of Dmitry Donskoy Konstantin Dmitrievich (monastic Cassian), the princes Mstislavsky, Temkin-Rostovsky, Suleshev, boyars Golovin and Buturlin were also buried here.

On the territory of the Simonov Monastery there was a vast necropolis where the poet D. V. Venevitinov, writer S. T. Aksakov, his son K. S. Aksakov, composer A. A. Alyabyev, famous bibliophile and collector A. P. Bakhrushin were buried, uncle of A. S. Pushkin - N. L. Pushkin, as well as numerous representatives of ancient Russian noble families.

In the 1930s, the necropolis was completely destroyed by the Bolsheviks. The remains of the poet D. V. Venevitinov and the writers S. T. and K. S. Aksakov were transferred from his devastated cemetery to Novodevichy. The workers who opened the graves were struck by the fact that from the left side of the chest of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov, in the region of the heart, a huge birch root grew, covering the entire Aksakov family grave.

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 a previous building built in 1485. During the construction of the new building, Parfen Petrov, a master who built in the traditions of the first half of the 17th century, used details of ancient Moscow architecture that were not to the liking of the monastic authorities. They initiated a lawsuit against the master, and three years later the refectory was rebuilt in a bright, individual Moscow baroque style. This time, the work was supervised by the famous Moscow master Osip Startsev, an outstanding architect of the late 17th century who built a lot in Moscow and Kyiv.
The new refectory of the Simonov Monastery became one of the most significant buildings of the late 17th century. The magnificently decorated building was brightly painted "in chess" - a painting style that imitates faceted stonework.
8.1910s

9. 1979

10.state of the art

11. View of the altars of the Tikhvin Church from the east, 1979.

12.state of the art

13.window decor

14. entrance to the temple

Today there is a community for the deaf and dumb in the church, there is a service with sign language translation.

15. old buildings on the territory of the monastery

16. malting

Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God - blown up in 1930. Now here DK "ZiL"
- c. Merciful Savior - blown up in 1930.
- c. Nicholas the Wonderworker - blown up in 1930.
- c. John Patriarch of Tsaregradsky - blown up in 1930.
- c. Rev. Alexander Svirsky - blown up in 1930.

Bibliography
-P.G. Palamarchuk "Forty Magpies", Volume I

The Simonov Monastery used to be one of the largest monasteries in the capital, and today it is the residence of the Patriarch. On its territory there is a society of hearing-impaired Christians - the only one in the world, so pilgrims who have hearing problems are often sent here.
Initially, the monastery, founded in the second half of the 14th century, was located in a different place, but at the end of the century it was moved. Interestingly, on the territory of the old Simonov Monastery, the remains of Andrei Olyabi and Alexander Peresvet, heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, were found, which are still preserved in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin.
As for the Simonov Monastery, the history of the monastery was rich in events: Sergius of Radonezh always stayed here during his visits to the capital, Peter the Great's brother Fyodor Alekseevich had his own cell; it is believed that the main character of the story "Poor Lisa" by the sentimentalist Nikolai Karamzin drowned herself in the pond near this monastery. There were also black pages in its history: in the 18th century the monastery was turned into a plague isolator, and in the thirties of the 20th century it was closed, demolishing five of the six churches on the territory, destroying the necropolis, dismantling the walls and watchtowers.

Today, the monastery houses several shrines, including a list icons of the Tikhvin Mother of God, icon "Healing of the deaf-blind-mute". Although part of the territory of the monastery is built up, some buildings have survived: a refectory, to which the Church of the Holy Spirit is attached, a fraternal building, an “old” refectory, Malt Dezhnya (a utility building in which food was stored, malt was dried), a craftsman's chamber; also in the Simonov Monastery, three towers located on the southern wall survived - Forge, Dulo and Salt.

Where is the abode

The Simonov Monastery is located in the Danilovsky district of the capital at the address: Vostochnaya street, building 4.
The monastery's phone number (you can also contact the society of hearing-impaired Christians at the same number): 67-52-195. Code - 495.

How to get to the Simonov Monastery in Moscow

1. To visit this monastery, it is most convenient to use underground: having reached the Avtozavodskaya station, get off the last car (start counting from the center).
2. Then move along Masterkova Street towards East, heading to the tower of the monastery.
3. The journey will take about five to ten minutes.
4. You can also get here on your own. by road.

Visiting the monastery

Since today the monastery is not operating, you can visit its territory Anytime. If you want to not only admire the preserved remains of the architectural complex of the monastery, but also learn more about its history, get acquainted with the shrines, visit monastery library which operates in the territory. It is open every day except Friday.

• during weekdays– from 15.00 to 19.00;
• on the weekend– from 10.00 to 19.00;
• on Sundays Orthodox conversations are held here, the beginning of which is at 15.00.

Important! Going to this monastery, remember that all pilgrims and tourists should observe a certain form of clothing: women need to cover their heads, wear skirts or dresses that cover their knees, do not expose their shoulders; men are not allowed to be on the territory in shorts, with a bare torso, in hats.

Schedule of Divine Services in the Simonov Monastery

At the moment, services are not held in all the churches of the monastery, but only in the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. Keep this in mind when planning to visit the monastery on a pilgrimage.

Important! Divine services in the temple are conducted both with words and gestures, which allows even the deaf or people with hearing problems to attend them. Also in the temple there are carved icons for the deaf-blind.

Photo of the monastery

• The best preserved monastery towers.
• The remains of the architectural ensemble are adjacent to modern buildings.
  
• It is possible to imagine the general view of the Simonov Monastery today only from its old images.
  
• The restored refectory of the monastery attracts the attention of visitors.
  
• Not all buildings have received a "second youth".
  
• The malting plant is one of the few surviving buildings of the monastery.
  
• The Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, located on the territory of the Staro-Simonov Monastery in Moscow, has retained its appearance.
  
• The remains of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo are kept in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin.
  
• Between the buildings that belong to the ensemble of the monastery, residential buildings also rise.
  

Simonov Monastery - video

The Simonov Monastery, which used to be one of the richest and most beautiful monasteries in Moscow, is gradually being revived by the efforts of the deaf community. Although the temples and the necropolis, where the family tombs of many nobles were, have not yet been restored, the territory of the former monastery no longer looks like an abandoned wasteland, and a prayer sounds again in the temple of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God.

Simonov Monastery, 1st class, stauropegial, in Moscow, on the edge of the city, on the banks of the Moskva River, against Derbenevskaya embankment. Founded by a disciple of St. Sergius Fedor. In 1788 the monastery was abolished; restored in 1795; in 1812 it was ravaged by the French. Using almost from the very foundation the advantage of stauropegia and being enriched with contributions, precious gifts from princes, tsars, boyars and citizens, the Simonov Monastery was considered from time immemorial to be one of the first Russian monasteries. It reached its highest prosperity in the last century. Composed by hieroschemamonk Victor, the famous melody, which delighted Emperor Nicholas I, delivers high spiritual pleasure to every lover of church singing. The main cathedral in the name of the Assumption of the Mother of God survived from the time of the foundation of the monastery. Built in the Byzantine style, it was restored and consecrated in 1896; in the lower tier of the iconostasis there are icons remarkable in their antiquity: the Assumption of the Mother of God, the Life-Giving Trinity and the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God; it also houses the Simonovskaya Kazan icon of the Mother of God, in a chapel built in honor of Her, which previously belonged to St. Tikhon of Voronezh and became famous in 1832 for the miraculous healing of a seriously ill woman. In 1839 the monastery was decorated with a majestic bell tower.

Near the Simonovskaya monastery, a pond dug by St. Sergius, lined with birch trees and surrounded by a rampart, has been preserved. On the day of Midnight, a procession from the Simonov Monastery is made here. On the site of the original foundation of the monastery in the parish Church of the Nativity, the monks brothers Peresvet and Oslabya ​​rest; a tent of black oak is built over their tomb; in its present form, this tomb was built in 1870.

From the book by S.V. Bulgakov "Russian monasteries in 1913"

The Simonov Monastery was founded in 1370 by the nephew (according to other sources, a student) of St. Sergius, Theodore (later to become Bishop of Rostov), ​​led. book. Dimitri Ivanovich. The name of the monastery was given by the name of Simon, in the world of the boyar Khovrin, who donated land to the monastery. The monastery was founded on the site where the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Stary Simonov is now located, an ancient one-domed church in which the warrior monks Peresvet and Oslyabya are buried. In 1379, the monastery was moved to a new location, located not far from the former one, at the same time the Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God was founded, one of the oldest buildings in Moscow that survived until the 20th century. The church was consecrated in 1405. In different years, st. Kirill Belozersky, St. Job and schmch. Hermogenes, Patriarchs of All Russia. Many events of Russian history are connected with the Simonov Monastery.

In 1771, the monastery was abolished and, in view of the outbreak of the plague, turned into a plague quarantine, but in 1795, at the request of Count Musin-Pushkin, it was restored again. By the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery was one of the richest and most glorious Russian monasteries. On its territory, surrounded by twelve towers, there were 6 churches with 11 thrones and a huge bell tower (architect K.A. Ton).

Since 1923, a museum has been housed in a part of the monastery. His guidebook was published and restoration work was planned in 1927. The last temple of the monastery was closed in May 1929. On the night of January 21, 1930, on the 6th anniversary of V.I. Lenin, the cathedral of the Simonov Monastery and the walls around it were blown up. In 1932-1937. on the site of most of the monastery by architects L.A., V.A. and A.A. The Vesnins built the Palace of Culture of the Automobile Plant. I.A. Likhachev.

By 1990, buildings remained in the monastery: fortress walls (three spans); Salt tower (corner, southeast); Blacksmith tower (five-sided, on the south wall); "Dulo" (corner, south-western tower); "Water" gates (1/2 of the 17th century); "Kelari building" (or "Old" refectory, 1485, XVII century, XVIII century); "New" refectory (1677-1683, architects P. Potapov, O. Startsev); "Sushilo" (malting plant, 16th century, 2/2 of the 17th century); Treasury cells (1/3 of the 17th century). One closed temple with 5 altars has been preserved, while five other temples with 6 altars have been destroyed.

In 1923, a museum was set up in the monastery, which occupied the Tikhvin church with a refectory. Since 1931, the cinema club has been located in the refectory. It was restored from 1955 to 1966. and from 1982 to 1990. The community of the deaf and hard of hearing of the Tikhvin Church was registered in 1991 and performed prayers on the territory of the Simonov Monastery. In 1995, the remains of the monastery ensemble were transferred to the Church.

Source: http://www.ortho-rus.ru/cgi-bin/or_file.cgi?5_1581

Palace of Culture ZIL, built in the 1930s. on the site of the destroyed part of the monastery - the largest and final architectural monument of Soviet constructivism, the work of the Vesnin brothers. Located in Moscow on Vostochnaya Street, 4. Construction 1930-1937. It was built on the territory of the necropolis of the Simonov Monastery, in the 1930s. destroyed by the Bolsheviks. Numerous representatives of ancient Russian noble families were buried at this place, including the Vadbolskys, Golovins, Durasovs, Zagryazhskys, Islenievs, Muravyovs, Naryshkins, Olenins, Soymonovs, Tatishchevs, Shakhovskoy and many others. The graves were not preserved, as they were demolished on working subbotniks. In order to contribute to the oblivion of the history of Russia, the ZIL Palace of Culture was built by the Bolsheviks on the site of the necropolis of the Simonov Monastery.

Dryer (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 chamber 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.

Treasury cells (XVII century). Treasury building (1620-1630s) at the Water Gate - which were instead of the current iron ones. Simonov monastery, Vostochnaya street 4, p.7

Old refectory chamber (XV-XVIII centuries). The old refectory is the name of the 20th century, the Kelar building is the name of the 19th century, the Bread Chamber is the name of the 18th century. In 1485, the Kelar building was built - a two-story building near the southern section of the wall, which was an old refectory. It is one of the oldest buildings not only of the monastery itself, but of Moscow in general.

Walls of the fence (1640s). Partially extant new walls of the monastery and some of the towers that can still be seen today 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 m, height - 7 m. Of the surviving towers, the corner tower "Dulo", crowned with a high tent with a two-tier watchtower, stands out. The other two surviving towers - the five-sided Blacksmith's Tower and the round Salt Tower - were built in the 1640s, when the defensive structures of the monastery, which had suffered during the Time of Troubles, were being rebuilt. The monastery towers Storozhevaya and Taynitskaya have been lost.

Blacksmith tower (1640s). 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 wall of the monastery, the only surviving one. This is the smallest tower of the monastery and was built in the 1640s, and its tall tent was completed over the next 40 years. The tower has a single-tiered observation post, unlike other towers, where it is two-tiered.

Churches of the Simonov Monastery: St. Alexander Svirsky 1700, Honest Trees 1593 - above the western gates; Nicholas the Wonderworker - over the eastern and in the name of John, Patriarch of Constantinople, and Alexander Nevsky - in the second tier of the five-tiered bell tower built by Ton in 1839.

Based on materials from http://oldboy.icnet.ru/SITE_2103/MY_SITE/Monast/SIM_MON_MOS/SUSH.htm

The ancient Simonov Monastery was founded in 1730 with the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh (Bartholomew) (between 1314-1322 - 1392) by his disciple and nephew, the Monk Theodore (Ivan) (c. 1340-1394), a native of Radonezh, who was tonsured at the Pokrovsky Khotkov Monastery. At the head of the Simonov Monastery, the Monk Theodore became famous as a spiritual mentor, he was the personal confessor of Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. In 1338 the Monk Theodore became Archbishop of Rostov. He died on November 28, 1394 and was buried in the Dormition Cathedral of Rostov the Great.

The monastery got its name after the monk Simon, in the world boyar Stefan Vasilyevich Khovrin, who donated 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 somewhat lower along the Moscow River, near the high road to Moscow, and Fyodor, seeking to find solitude, chose another place for the monastery, not far from the old one. In 1379 the monastery was moved to its current location. Only the parish church of the Nativity in Stary Simonov remained in the old place, under the bell tower of which in the second half of the 18th century the graves of the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo Alexander Peresvet (d. 1380) and Rodion Oslyabi (d. 1380 or after 1389) were discovered. Surviving terrible destruction, for a long time serving as a compression station of the Dynamo plant, now this church is again functioning.

St. Sergius of Radonezh considered the Simonov Monastery a "branch" of his Trinity monastery and always stayed there when he came to the golden-domed one. A whole galaxy of outstanding ascetics and church leaders emerged from the walls of the Simonov Monastery: St. Kirill Belozersky (Kozma), St. Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow, Patriarch Joseph (Vladimir), Metropolitan Gerontius, Archbishop John of Rostov (d. 1525), Vassian, a famous figure of non-acquisitiveness, Prince Vasily Ivanovich Kosoy-Patrikeev in the world. Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich Romanov (1661-1682) was especially fond of visiting the Simonov Monastery; cells were arranged here for him. In 1771, under Catherine II (1729-1796), the monastery was abolished and, on the occasion of the plague epidemic spreading at that time, turned into a plague quarantine. In 1795, at the request of Count Vasily Vasilyevich Musin-Pushkin, the monastery was restored.

The towers and walls of the monastery were built in the 16th century. They were erected by the "sovereign master" Fyodor Savelyevich Kon, an outstanding Russian architect - the builder of the Smolensk Kremlin. Fortified under Boris Fyodorovich Godunov, the monastery repulsed the raid of the Crimean Tatars Kazy Giray. The new walls of the monastery and part of the towers were built in 1630, while parts of the old fortress were included in the new fortress. The circumference of the monastery walls was 825 m, the height was about 7 m. Of the surviving towers, the corner tower "Dulo" stands out, crowned with a high tent with a two-tier watchtower. Two other surviving towers - the five-sided Blacksmith and the round Salt - were built in the 1640s, when the defensive structures of the monastery, which suffered during the Time of Troubles, were being rebuilt. Three gates led to the monastery: eastern, western and northern. In memory of repulsing the attack of the Crimeans in 1591, the gate church of the All-Merciful Savior was built. Above the eastern gate in 1834, the gate church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.

In 1832, a decision was made to build a new belfry for the Simonov Monastery. The funds for the construction were given by the merchant Ivan Ignatiev. The initial project in the style of classicism was made by the architect N.E. Tyurin. The bell tower was founded in 1835, but then its project was changed, it was erected in the Russian style according to the project of K.A. tone. Construction was completed in 1839. In its appearance and location, the bell tower repeated the bell tower of the Novodevichy Convent. Its height was more than 90 m. The largest of the bells hanging on the bell tower weighed 1000 pounds. Clocks were installed on the fourth tier.

Back in 1405, a stone cathedral church was built in the monastery in the name of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1476, the dome of the cathedral was badly damaged by a lightning strike. At the end of the 15th century, the temple was rebuilt by one of the students of Fioravanti, modeled on 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 gilded carved iconostasis was made, in which the main shrine of the monastery was located - the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God, with which Sergius of Radonezh blessed Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo. A golden cross studded with diamonds and emeralds was also kept here - a gift from Princess Maria Alekseevna. The son of Dmitry Donskoy Konstantin Dmitrievich Uglitsky, the princes Mstislavsky, Tyomkin-Rostovsky, Suleshov, the boyars Golovin and Buturlin were buried in the monastery cathedral.

The refectory of the Simonov Monastery was built in 1680 at the expense of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich by an artel of masons led by Parfyon Petrov. It included parts of the previous building in 1485. During the construction of the new building, Parfen Petrov used details of early Moscow architecture that the monastic authorities did not like. They brought 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 Dmitrievich Startsev, who built a lot in Moscow and Kyiv. Along with Yakov Grigoryevich Bukhvostov, he is the deputy outstanding architect of the 17th century. The names of Startsev and Bukhvostov often stand side by side in the documents of that time: they were a kind of "friends-rivals" who worked in the style of the Moscow Baroque, but had a pronounced originality. The new refectory of the Simonov Monastery became one of the most significant buildings of the late 17th century. The lavishly decorated building was brightly painted "chess" - a style of painting similar to faceted stonework. The Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit at the refectory was built in 1700 at the expense of Princess Maria Alekseevna, sister of Peter I Alekseevich. In the 19th century, two aisles were added to it.

On the territory of the Simonov Monastery there was a vast cemetery where the poet Dmitry Vladimirovich Venevitinov, the writer Sergey Timofeevich Aksakov, his son Konstantin Sergeyevich Aksakov, the composer Alexander Alexandrovich Alyabyev, the famous bibliophile and collector merchant Alexei Petrovich Bakhrushin, Nikolai Lvovich Pushkin, as well as numerous representatives of ancient Russian noble families - Zagryazhsky, Olenin, Durasov, Vadbolsky, Soimonov, Muravyov, Islenyev, Tatishchev, Naryshkin, Shakhovsky.

In the early 1930s, all the main buildings of the Simonov Monastery were destroyed. The Assumption Cathedral, the bell tower, the gate churches were destroyed. Watchtower and Taininskaya towers, all the graves on the territory of the monastery were destroyed. Only the southern wall with towers, the refectory church with the Church of the Descent of the Holy Spirit and the outbuildings - "malting" or "drying" - survived from the monastery. The "palace of culture" ZIL was built on a sacred place for a Russian person.

From the book by A.Yu. Nizovsky "The most famous monasteries and temples of Russia". 2000. Veche.