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View west from the eastern walls. The large,
5 - domed cathedral is Uspenski (Assumption) . An original cathedral here was
founded in 1101 by Vladimir Monomakh but it was destroyed during the Polish
occupation in the 17th century. When the Russians recaptured the city in 1677,
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich provided the funds and architects to build a
magnificent memorial to the Russian defense in 1609-11. It is double the sizee
of the Uspenski cathedral in Moscow. The new cathedral was not consecrated
until 1740. It is 229 feet high and 58 by 39 yards in plan. The large pink
church standing nearer to us is the Transfiguration (Preobrazhenski) Cathedral
of the former Spaso-Avramiev Monasterey founded in the 13th century. This
Cathedral was built in 1753. Note also the large open areas and number of
trees. There are surprisingly few buildings inside the ancient walls, by far
most people live and work in the modern areas outside the walls and on both
sides of the Dnieper.
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