Mozhaysk
Mozhaysk
Можайск | |
---|---|
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Coordinates: 55°31′N 36°02′E / 55.517°N 36.033°E | |
Country | Russia |
Federal subject | Moscow Oblast[1] |
Administrative district | Mozhaysky District[1] |
Town | Mozhaysk[1] |
First mentioned | 1231 |
Town status since | 1708 |
Elevation | 210 m (690 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 31,363 |
• Capital of | Mozhaysky District,[1] Town of Mozhaysk[1] |
• Municipal district | Mozhaysky Municipal District[3] |
• Urban settlement | Mozhaysk Urban Settlement[3] |
• Capital of | Mozhaysk Municipal District,[3] Mozhaysk Urban Settlement[3] |
Time zone | UTC+3 (MSK ![]() |
Postal code(s)[5] | 143200–143204, 143210 |
Dialing code(s) | +7 49638 |
OKTMO ID | 46633101001 |
Website | gpmozhaysk |
Mozhaysk[6] (Russian: Можа́йск, IPA: [mɐˈʐajsk]) is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located 110 kilometers (68 mi) to the west of Moscow, on the historic road leading to Smolensk and then to Poland. Population: 31,363 (2010 Census);[2] 31,459 (2002 Census);[7] 30,735 (1989 Soviet census).[8]
History
First mentioned in 1231 as an appanage of Chernigov;[citation needed] A theory says Mozhaysk took its name from the Mozhay (Mozhaya) River, whose name could be of Baltic origin (compare Lithuanian mažoja "small"[9] - in contrast to the larger Moskva River nearby). Later Mozhaysk became an important stronghold of the Smolensk dynasty, in the 13th century ruled by Duke (later Saint) Theodore the Black. Muscovites seized Mozhaysk in 1303, but in the course of the following century had serious troubles defending it against Algirdas (Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377). A younger brother of the ruling Grand Duke of Moscow usually held the Principality of Mozhaysk - until the practice was dropped in 1493. In 1562 Denmark and Russia signed the Treaty of Mozhaysk there during the Livonian War of 1558–1583. In 1708 the administration of Peter the Great granted town status to Mozhaysk.[citation needed]
Mozhaysk played a role in defending the Western approaches to Moscow in the 19th and 20th centuries. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812 the Battle of Borodino took place 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) from the town. In World War II the German Wehrmacht took Mozhaysk on October 16, 1941; the Soviet Red Army re-captured it on January 20, 1942.
Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Mozhaysk serves as the administrative center of Mozhaysky District.[1] As an administrative division, it is, together with twenty-one rural localities, incorporated within Mozhaysky District as the Town of Mozhaysk.[1] As a municipal division, the Town of Mozhaysk is incorporated within Mozhaysky Municipal District as Mozhaysk Urban Settlement.[3]
Architecture
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Mozhaisk11.jpg/220px-Mozhaisk11.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Nikolka_Mozh.jpg/180px-Nikolka_Mozh.jpg)
The first stone cathedral was built in the kremlin in the early 14th century and named Nikolskiy (then Staro-Nikolsky) Cathedral. It very much resembled the Dormition Cathedral in Zvenigorod. At that time the wooden statue of Saint Nicholas of Mozhaysk was carved by an unknown master and placed into the cathedral. Later the statue was moved to the Church Over-the-gates.
The first fortified Detinets existed in the Mozhaysk as early as in the 12th century. After the great fire of 1541 it was completely rebuilt by an order of Ivan the Terrible. Only in the early 17th century the stone fortress was constructed, replaced with the Kremlin made of bricks in 1624-1626.
The Cathedral of St. Nicholas in the Gothic Revival style, designed by Aleksei Bakarev (Matvei Kazakov's student), started in 1802, but the building was ransacked by the retreating French troops in 1812. Only in 1814 the cathedral was completed and consecrated.[10] The church of St. Joachim and Anna preserves some parts from the early 15th century. Another important landmark is the Luzhetsky Monastery, founded in 1408 by St. Ferapont and rebuilt in brick in the 16th century. The monastery cathedral, erected during the reign of Vasily III, was formerly known for its frescoes, ascribed to Dionisius' circle.
Trivia
The fact that Mozhaysk was frequently the last major stop on the way to the capital, gave birth to the expression "to push beyond Mozhay" (загнать за Можай, zagnat' za Mozhay), which literally means "push (people, enemy) away (from Moscow) further than Mozhaysk."[11]
Twin towns and sister cities
Mozhaysk is twinned with:
Château-du-Loir, France
Drochtersen, Germany
Etropole, Bulgaria
Lohja, Finland
Pereiaslav, Ukraine
Ujazd, Poland
Vileyka, Belarus
References
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Resolution #123-PG
- ^ a b Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
- ^ a b c d e Law #95/2005-OZ
- ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). June 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
- ^ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
- ^ Alternative transliterations include Mozhaisk, Mozhajsk, Mozhaĭsk, and Možajsk.
- ^ Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
- ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
- ^ Е. М. Поспелов. "Географические названия мира". Москва, 1998. Стр. 272
- ^ Brumfield , W. (June 9, 2017). "The Mozhaisk St. Nicholas Cathedral: From Prokudin-Gorsky to the present". Russia Beyond the Headlines. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- ^ Geocaching.su. Загнать за Можай (in Russian)
Sources
- Губернатор Московской области. Постановление №123-ПГ от 28 сентября 2010 г. «Об учётных данных административно-территориальных и территориальных единиц Московской области», в ред. Постановления №252-ПГ от 26 июня 2015 г. «О внесении изменения в учётные данные административно-территориальных и территориальных единиц Московской области». Опубликован: "Информационный вестник Правительства МО", №10, 30 октября 2010 г. (Governor of Moscow Oblast. Resolution #123-PG of September 28, 2010 On the Inventory Data of the Administrative-Territorial and Territorial Units of Moscow Oblast, as amended by the Resolution #252-PG of June 26, 2015 On Amending the Inventory Data of the Administrative-Territorial and Territorial Units of Moscow Oblast. ).
- Московская областная Дума. Закон №95/2005-ОЗ от 30 марта 2005 г. «О статусе и границах Можайского муниципального района и вновь образованных в его составе муниципальных образований», в ред. Закона №128/2011-ОЗ от 15 июля 2011 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Московской области "О статусе и границах Можайского муниципального района и вновь образованных в его составе муниципальных образований"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Ежедневные Новости. Подмосковье", №59, 2 апреля 2005 г. (Moscow Oblast Duma. Law #95/2005-OZ of March 30, 2005 On the Status and the Borders of Mozhaysky Municipal District and the Newly Established Municipal Formations Comprising It, as amended by the Law #128/2011-OZ of July 15, 2011 On Amending the Law of Moscow Oblast "On the Status and the Borders of Mozhaysky Municipal District and the Newly Established Municipal Formations Comprising It". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
External links
- Official website of Mozhaysk (in Russian)
- Unofficial website of Mozhaysk (in Russian)