History of Suzdal. XVI century.

    By the end of XV – beginning of XVI centuries Suzdal was fully under the reign of powerful Moscow. Its monasteries became the place of living for unwanted deported boyars and knyazes. The major of famous exiled people stayed in the Convent of the Intercession of the Mother of God, which received rich gifts because of it.
    After losing its political value the town became a great religious center. Suzdal bishopric Center was placed there. Stone construction was started again. The Convent of the Intercession of the Mother of God, the Monastery of our Saviour and St. Euthimius were the first which were changed from wooden to stone buildings.
    The old Nativity Monastery was overbuilt with bricks. A new stone cathedral was built in the Convent of the Deposition of the Robe of the Mother of God. Grand Prince Ivan IV the Terrible often visited the Convent of the Intercession. Suzdal’s bishop had built the church of the Annunciation in the Kremlin by his visit. Icon painters, chasers appeared that time in Suzdal.
    There were 15 towers on the Kremlin’s walls in XVI century. Those walls fenced the part, which was peculiarly called a town. There were siege yards of rich citizens – boyars, princes, а bishop.
Also there was a prison and a powder magazine inside the town. Gates were equipped with inlet gratings and leaf bridges.
    Trading quarter (so called Posad) was expending on the eastern side of the town. It had had a rampart around with log fence since XII century. There was a market place in the middle of the Posad with streets and sides streets around, where handicraftsmen and merchants were living.
    There were exuberant meadows beyond the Kamenka River – Andreev (Iliin nowadays), Bolotousov, Voron – all those meadows were in a possession of a native bishop. There was a Tannage suburb (Kozhevennaya Sloboda) between Andreev meadow and monasteries.

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