Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir (sometimes translated
Assumption Cathedral) used to be a mother church of medieval
Russia in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is part of the
World Heritage Site entitled
White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal.
The cathedral was commissioned by
Andrew the Pious in his capital
Vladimir and
dedicated to the
Dormition of the
Theotokos (
Virgin Mary), whom he promoted as the
patron saint of his lands. Originally erected in 1158-1160, the 6-pillared 5-domed
cathedral was expanded in 1185-1189 to reflect the augmented prestige of
Vladimir. Embracing the area of 1178 sq. meters, it remained the largest of Russian churches for the following 300 or 400 years.
Andrew the Pious,
Vsevolod the Big Nest, and other rulers of
Vladimir-Suzdal were interred in the
crypt of this church. Unlike many other churches, the cathedral survived the great devastation and fire of Vladimir in 1239, when the
Mongol hordes of
Batu Khan took hold of the capital.
The exterior walls of the church are covered with elaborate carvings. The interior was painted in the 12th century and then repainted by the great
Andrei Rublev and
Daniil Chernyi in 1408. The Dormition Cathedral served as a model for
Aristotele Fioravanti when he designed the
eponymous cathedral in the
Moscow Kremlin in 1475-1479. A lofty
belltower, combining genuinely Russian, Gothic, and
Neoclassical influences, was erected nearby in 1810.