Sergiev Posad (Zagorsk)

The city was founded in the 14-th century and within the walls of an ancient Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery (Lavra), founded in the first half of the 1340s, and later became one of the richest Russian monasteries. The world-famous architectural ensemble of the Monastery includes more than fifty buildings constructed by Moscow, Pskov, Yaroslavl craftsmen. It is a jewel of early Russian architecture. In 1993 it was inscribed on the UNESCO List of the World Cultural Heritage. Now the Museum collection comprises more than 120.000 items. Among its greatest treasures is the white stone Trinity Cathedral, built in 1423. Its interior is crowned by icons painted by Old Masters, Andrei Rublev and Daniel Chorny. The Monastery houses the museum of Applied Arts, which displays ancient embroidery, gold and silver tableware, palace furniture, and tapestries dating from the 17-th to 20-th centuries. The city's Museum of Folk Toys attracts many visitors. Its finely-crafted Russian folk toys - both ancient and modern - were all made by hand in such cities as Voronezh, Ryazan, and Smolensk. Monastery documents, composed in the 17th century, have been preserved intact to the present day. The Inventory Book of 1641 and Donation Books of 1639 and 1673 give valuable information about the works of art and their creators.