Bogolyubova was the second stop on our tour. The town was founded circa 1155 by Andrey Bogolyubsky (his name translates to lover of God). It lies about 6 miles east of Vladimir which was the capital of Rus at the time. The fortifications of the town were destroyed by the Mongols. The current population is about 4,500.
There are two sites that we visited. The Holy Bogolyubova Monastery and the Church of the Intersession on the Nerl (River).
The monastery was founded in 1155. After the 1917 revolution it was devastated. The bells were cut down and the icons and sacred items were looted or burned. Many monks died martyr's deaths. The buildings were used by a school, hospital, post office, police station, canning factory and warehouses. Most of the buildings were returned to the church in 1991 and are still being renovated. The compound is very beautiful.
The Church of the Intersession on the Nerl is built on the banks of the Nerl River. It is said that the Prince was heading to Suzdal in a wagon train. The horses carrying the Theotokos Icon stopped and refused to move. After praying the Prince went to his tent and had a vision of the Virgin Mary holding a scroll and directed him to build a church and monastery on the site. He also had an icon commissioned which is now known as the Bogolubskaya Icon and is at the Vladimir Suzdal Museam. The church itself can be reached by a rather long, but calming, walk about a mile long. It sits high on the bank so that it has been able to withstand flooding of the rivers. It only has services during special church holidays due to the difficulty in getting there.