History of Russia. Monument to Yaroslav the Wise (Yaroslavl)

Before you start studying the topic "Monument to Yaroslav the Wise (Russia, Yaroslavl)," you need to get a little acquainted with the history of life of this great Russian ruler.

The memory of Yaroslav the Wise in the Orthodox Church is celebrated on March 4 on the day of his death. After baptism, he received the name George, his years of life are dated somewhere from 978th or 989th to 1054 years. He was the second son of the apostle of Kiev Prince Vladimir from Rogneda's wife - the Princess of Polotsk.

His father even during his life nine-year Yaroslav planted a reign in Rostov. There is a tradition that when the prince baptized the Volga, local pagans released a supposedly holy bear to him, but the brave Yaroslav did not lose his head and killed the beast with an ax. After the death of Vysheslav, his own brother, he began to rule Novgorod, and then refused to pay tribute to his father in Kiev. And then Vladimir zasobiralsya campaign against Yaroslav, but soon fell ill and died.

The ruler of the Russian land

In 1035, during internecine wars, Jaroslav took over the whole of Rus and began to improve it. He began to settle the boundary steppes and build new cities. Among them: Yuriev (modern Tartu), Yaroslavl, Yuryev (modern White Church), Korsun, Trepol, Torchesk and others.

He had ten children, three of his daughters became queens: Anna - Queen of France, Elizabeth - Norway, Anastasia - Hungary. He extradited them for foreigners to strengthen ties and relations with other countries.

Today you can see a magnificent monument to Yaroslav the Wise in Yaroslavl. The description of it will be presented below. But not only in this city is his memory honored. The statues of Yaroslav the Wise are adorned with many cities (Kiev, Novgorod, Kharkov, etc.). The Kiev monument is presented in the photo below.

Monument to Yaroslav the Wise (Yaroslavl)

On December 8, 2005, with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy II, the name of the pious prince was added to the months of the ROC.

How did the monument to Yaroslav the Wise appear? Yaroslavl was preparing for this moment for a long time. It should be noted that the Grand Duke's monument was fixed in the center of the city on the Epiphany Square. He faces the people entering Moscow from the Moscow direction, as if he meets guests, this moment also symbolizes close ties with the capital.

The place for the monument was chosen long enough, and options were considered at Strelka in the place where the river Kotorosl flows into the Volga or Medveditsky ravine, where according to legend the prince fought with a pagan bear. As a result, the choice fell on the central Epiphany Square.

Sculptor O. Komov created a monument to Yaroslav the Wise. Yaroslavl was ready for its opening on October 23, 1993. Even the then Russian President Boris Yeltsin participated in the celebration.

The Epiphany Area

It was not for nothing that this square was chosen, this is a central place, very crowded and has always been a place of visiting the string of wedding corteges. Very strange, but really no one before thought of building a monument to Yaroslav the Wise? Yaroslavl old-timers, however, remember another stone monument of the pyramidal form, arranged in a ravine, which, on the orders of Nicholas I, was dismantled - it was considered not relevant. Then, at the beginning of the XX century, they began to collect money for a new monument, but they were spent for the anniversary of the Romanovs' house.

Wise ruler

The wise king received his nickname thanks to books: he was the first prince to comprehend the letter, read independently, studied foreign languages. He created the first library in Russia, books in which were brought from Europe and Byzantium, where they were carefully copied and stored.

Yaroslav the Wise stands on a pedestal with a lowered sword in one hand, which means his peace-loving policy, and with a small layout of the future city in the other hand. This decision is due to the fact that the Grand Duke was the creator, the builder and, if necessary, the defender and not only of the city of Yaroslavl, but of all Rus.

A very beautiful bas-relief decorated with a monument to Yaroslav the Wise. Yaroslavl remembers the story of the bear, so the creators - the sculptor O. Komov and the architects A. Bobovich and N. Komov - decided to include this legend in the city's coat of arms.

Yaroslav himself on the monument is depicted according to the icon painting canon, with a well-groomed beard, as in Christ, in complete peace and quiet.

According to the more ancient Varangian canons, the Grand Duke was portrayed with short hair or shaved head, (where only a fleece of hair that symbolized nobility) was left, a Scandinavian face with a small beard and long mustache.