Today marks the end of an another era in Suzdal. Following a lengthy
ceremony at the Pakrovka Monastary which was attended by the Bishop from
Vladimir as well along with a large entrage of local and church officials, the
favorite place to stay in Suzdal for expat’s over the years, the Pakrovka
Monastary is now officially back under the control of the Church. Bowing to
unrelenting pressure from the Church, the Soviet era “Tour Center” has finally
ceded control. The tourist cabins that so many of you stayed in inside
Pakrovka’s walls will now be used for a orphanage.
It was 12 years ago when my wife Nastia and I found our heaven on earth,
Suzdal. Suzdal’s layout and panorama ‘s are virtually unchanged since early
tsarist times. The combination of it’s medieval buildings and fortresses and
the almost total absence of Soviet Era architecture make it a very unique town
in Russia. With land in the center now selling for 1,000,000 rubles a sotok,
and million plus dollar houses going up all over town, it’s only a matter of
time before Suzdal becomes the Bath, England or Carmel, Calif. of Russia.
It’s still a wonderful place to visit – come during the week if you can – bring
bikes to ride on the town’s endless paths and into the countryside. Right now
they are filming a major motion picture here about Ivan the Terrible – the sets
they built give the riverside a surreal look. Lots of places to stay here,
the boutique hotel Surakov on the river around the corner from Pakrovka is my
choice Patriarchy Dom Tours offers tours and individual houses to rent.
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