Khotkovo (Moscow region): the main attractions

On the sixteenth of July this year. From Khotkovo, a small town near Moscow, began the procession to Sergiev Posad, which was headed by Patriarch Cyril. This procession was the beginning of festivities in honor of the 700th anniversary of St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Why was Khotkovo chosen?

The city of Khotkovo, Moscow Region, was not chosen by chance. In the St. Nicholas Cathedral, which is located on the territory of the Intercession Monastery (the oldest monastic monastery in Russia), the relics of the parents of St. Sergius of Radonezh - the Reverend Cyril and Mary - are buried. They took here the monastic vows and ended their earthly existence here. Their holy relics rest in this monastery since 1337.

Pokrovsky Women's Monastery

If not many know Khotkovo, then most Orthodox believers are familiar with the Pokrovsky Monastery. But the address of its location is Khotkovo, Moscow Region. Today is not known the exact date of when the monastery was founded. It is considered the first annalistic mention of him. And this is the year 1308.

From a small monastery consisting of a church and several wooden buildings, over the course of the years, to the middle of the 19th century, the Pokrovsky Monastery turned not only into a significant monastic abode with numerous novices, but also into a large architectural ensemble.

During the Soviet era the monastery was closed. Many of its buildings were severely damaged, as they were used for other purposes.

Monastery today

In 1992, the monastery began its new revival, because it was handed over again to the Orthodox Church. Restored and the construction of the monastery.

The most ancient restored object on the territory of the monastery are the Holy Gates with the Baptist Church. It was built in 1799. Another of the oldest surviving buildings of the Khotkov Monastery is the Intercession Cathedral.

With his architecture, he represents a sample of the five-domed church that were erected in the era of classicism. Today it is the main decoration of the monastery. In 2011 the cathedral was redrawn, a new dome was erected above it.

Now, in addition to the cathedral in honor of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the monastery operates the St. Nicholas Cathedral, the Gateway Church of St. Mitrophan of Voronezh, the three-part Holy Gate with the Church of the Nativity of the Forerunner built over them and many other buildings. In the monastery there are nuns and novices. There are children's shelter, Sunday school, icon painting and sewing workshops, and there is a subsidiary farm.

Pilgrims who go to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra always visit the monastery in Khotkovo (Moscow region) to worship the relics of Cyril and Mary.

Either the village or the village

Until 1917, such a settlement, as Khotkovo (Moscow region), did not exist at all. In Morozovskaya and Mitinskaya volosts in those days, many small villages and hamlets were scattered. However, after the revolution, Khotkovo began to expand. There even a Soviet of Workers' Deputies was established, because there were many factories and factories in the vicinity. The land was nationalized and most of it was transferred to the peasants.

Soon Khotkovo became the center of a rural municipality, an urban-type settlement, where a copper-smelting plant, weaving mills, and artels worked. The city of district subordination of Khotkovo became in 1949.

Khotkovo, Moscow region: attractions

No doubt, the main attraction of the city is the Pokrovsky Khotkov Monastery, on the territory of which, by the way, the museum operates.

The Orthodox Church and visitors are also attracted by the Church of St. Alexis the Man of God, or, as it is also called, the Gorbunov Church. It was built in the village of Gorbunovo, which eventually became part of the city. The stone church, which has survived to this day, was built by architect Ivan Safonov. It was consecrated in 1863.

The local history museum of the city of Khotkovo, Moscow region, is also of interest.

Not far from the city is the museum-estate "Abramtsevo", which for some time was the property of the Russian writer Sergei Aksakov. The estate was visited by I.S. Turgenev, N.V. Gogol and other creative people of that time. When she moved to the wealthy industrialist Savva Mamontov, the artistic life in it did not stop. After all, this man was also a philanthropist, an art lover. An Abramtsevo art circle was created in which famous artists, musicians, and poets gathered.

Visiting Khotkovo (Moscow region), a photo for memory should be made from the village of Radonezh, where he spent his childhood Sergius of Radonezh, who is the founder of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Attention is attracted there by the Transfiguration Church, a kind of cross in front of it, a very interesting monument to Sergius of Radonezh, established in 1989, ramparts and a source of holy water, where the fonts are built.

For information, the Transfiguration Church is a courtyard of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

Khotkovo, Moscow region: how to reach

This city of regional subordination is located 60 kilometers from Moscow in the Sergiev Posad district (11 kilometers from Sergiev Posad). The river on which it stands is called the Page, which refers to the Klyazma basin. The population of the city is more than 20 thousand people. Among the enterprises in Khotkovo the most known and significant are OJSC Elektroizolit and the Central Scientific Research Institute of Special Machine Building.

In Khotkovo there is a railway station, so it can be reached by the Moscow-Yaroslavl line.

By car, you need to go along the Yaroslavl highway. The trip promises to be interesting.