Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Gorodets (Russian: Городе́ц) is a town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Volga River 53 km north of Nizhny Novgorod. Population: 32,442 (2002 census); 34,000 (1970).
Gorodets was founded in the 1170s as a large fortress on the Volga River. It was a starting point for numerous campaigns of Vladimir-Suzdal against Volga Bulgaria. In 1216, George II of Vladimir was dethroned by his brother and exiled here. In 1239, the town was burnt to the ground by Batu Khan's army. Folk tradition identifies Gorodets with Little Kitezh, a legendary town destroyed by the Mongols.
In 1263, Alexander Nevsky died in Gorodets on his way back to Novgorod from the Golden Horde. His son Andrew III made the town his chief residence. A famous medieval icon-painter, Prokhor, was born there.
In the mid-14th century, the town was overshadowed by the neighbouring Nizhny Novgorod but continued as the third largest town of Nizhegorod Principality until 1408, when Edigu razed it to the ground.
For two following centuries the town was known as Gorodets Pustoy (i.e., "Gorodets the Empty"). Some chronicles state that its entire population moved slightly downstream and resettled at Salt-on-Gorodets. By the 19th century, Gorodets was revived as a prosperous village settled by Old Believer merchants and reputed for its decorative handicrafts, such as wood carving and painting.
The chief historic monuments of Gorodets—the Trinity Cathedral (1644), St. Nicholas Church (1672), and Feodorovsky Monastery, associated with the famous icon of the same name—were destroyed by the Communists. The oldest surviving structure is a rather plain church (1707–1712), where the town's best known ruler, Andrew III, was interred in 1304.
