Additional Information on Suzdal

Suzdal (Суздаль) is one of the oldest towns in Russia, dating from at least the 11th century.

The origins of the town’s name, according to Adrian Room, author of Placenames of Russia and the Former Soviet Union, is unclear. The first recorded reference to the town is as Suzhdal’. The name, Room writes, “is almost certainly Slavic, and may be related to modern Russian sozdat, ‘to create,’ which originally had the specific sense of ‘to make out of clay” (from the Old Russian z’d’’, ‘clay’). If so, the meaning could be ‘(place) made out of clay,’ otherwise ‘brick-built (place).’ But the actual origin may be a personal name translating something like ‘Potter.’ The place would thus have been named for a person so called.”

The main historic sites of Suzdal are the churches and buildings of the Convent of the Intercession and Savior-Evfimy Monastery (below), which straddle the Kamenka river. Both were created as places for monastic seclusion and education, and both have served, at times, as places of exile.

Many of the dozens of churches in Suzdal, were built by rich merchants between the 17th and 19th centuries, as the  Church of the Sts. Peter and Paul at right.

Suzdal lies just 26 kilometers north of Vladimir, which is 172 kilometers east of Moscow on the road to Nizhny Novgorod (the M7).

The best, and easiest way to get to Suzdal is to take one of  the many suburban trains departing from Moscow to Vladimir (trip takes about 3 hours), then catch one of the frequent buses between Vladimir and Suzdal.

There are three nice places to stay in Suzdal. Two of them are small and offer wonderful local atmosphere. They are the Likhonsky dom (ph. 219-01 or 204-44), located in a 17th century home, and Intercession Convent (ph. 209-08), where you can stay in an izba-like log cabin (note: this is a convent, so you will have to abide by their conventions).

The final accommodation option is the Main Tourist Complex (GTK), which has all the charm of a run-down Soviet era kompleks, but does offer modern amenities and decent accommodations (ph. 215-30, fax 206-66).