Archiereus Yard: An Attempt of Reconstruction

Abstract

The archiereus cathedra in Tver appeared in the 2nd half of the 13th century in the period of the Tver Grand Principality foundation. Its' creation was a result of strong and very farsighted actions of the first Tver prince Yaroslav Yaroslavitch who was at the same time the Grand Prince of Vladimir in the middle 1260- es - early 1270-es. At that time, the creation of the Archiereus residence was started in Tver kremlin. All constructions were probably originally wooden. Stone buildings appeared in the Archiereus Yard evidently in the 15th century practically simultaneously or a bit later of the stone constructions of the Prince's Yard. New stone buildings facades of which were decorated with tiles similar to those that ornamented the St. Boris and Gleb cathedral of 1558-1561 in Staritza were built in the 16th century in the territory of the archiereus complex.

The ensemble of the Archiereus Yard reached its' fullest flower in the 2nd half - the late 17th century when most of the complex's constructions were erected of stone. The Archiereus Yard existed without large changes until the fire of 1736 which cardinally modified the late medieval ensemble's destiny. The result was that a part of the stone buildings was demolished while a new archiereus palace was erected at the place free of constructions. Later on, some of its parts were included in the building of the now existing Emperor's Travelling Palace of Catherine the 2nd.

The complicated architectural history of the Archiereus Yard in Tver Kremlin has been studied by archaeologists for almost three decades. The significant material collected during these years together with other sources allows defining in a whole the borders as well as the character of the building of the city residence of Tver archiereus, where among the constructions of the complex were the stone buildings of the 15th - 17th centuries.