Kirzhach

For other uses of "Kirzhach", see Kirzhach (disambiguation).
Kirzhach (English)
Киржач (Russian)
-  Town[1]  -

Panoramic view of Kirzhach

Location of Vladimir Oblast in Russia
Kirzhach
Location of Kirzhach in Vladimir Oblast
Coordinates: 56°09′N 38°52′E / 56.150°N 38.867°ECoordinates: 56°09′N 38°52′E / 56.150°N 38.867°E
Coat of arms
Flag
Administrative status (as of September 2013)
Country Russia
Federal subject Vladimir Oblast[1]
Administrative district Kirzhachsky District[1]
Administrative center of Kirzhachsky District[2]
Municipal status (as of August 2009)
Municipal district Kirzhachsky Municipal District[3]
Urban settlement Kirzhach Urban Settlement[3]
Administrative center of Kirzhachsky Municipal District,[3] Kirzhach Urban Settlement[3]
Statistics
Population (2010 Census) 29,965 inhabitants[4]
Time zone MSK (UTC+03:00)[5]
Founded 14th century
Town status since 1778
Official website
Kirzhach on WikiCommons

Kirzhach (Russian: Киржа́ч) is a town and the administrative center of Kirzhachsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Kirzhach River in the west of the oblast, 125 kilometers (78 mi) west of Vladimir and 29 kilometers (18 mi) south of Alexandrov. Population: 29,965(2010 Census).[4]

Etymology

The town is named after the Kirzhach River. The root of the name (kirzh) corresponds to a Moksha or Erzya word meaning "left".

History

It was established in the 14th century as a sloboda assigned to the Annunciation Monastery. The latter was established by Saint Sergius of Radonezh, who lived in the area between 1354 and 1358. For most of its history, the abbey remained heavily dependent upon the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, which lies 48 kilometers (30 mi) to the west. After the monastery was disbanded in 1764, the sloboda was granted municipal rights in 1778. Thereafter, Kirzhach, as many other towns in the vicinity, developed primarily as a textile center.

Annunciation Monastery in 2011
1781 coat of arms of Kirzhach

On October 12, 2004, the settlement of Krasny Oktyabr was merged with the town.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Kirzhach serves as the administrative center of Kirzhachsky District,[2] to which it is directly subordinated.[1] As a municipal division, the town of Kirzhach is incorporated within Kirzhachsky Municipal District as Kirzhach Urban Settlement.[3]

Climate

City's climate is moderately continental: a warm summer, a cold winter with a moderate spring and fall. Average temperature in January is −10.6 °C (12.9 °F) and +18.2 °C (64.8 °F) in July. Mean annual precipitation is 584 millimeters (23.0 in). It averages 151 days per year with temperatures above 0 °C (32 °F). A snow cover is present for four to five months; snow starts to fall usually at the end of November or in the beginning of December. Snow melts on sun covered places in the middle of April and in forests at the end of April.

Demographics

Historical population of Kirzhach
1897 1939 1959 1989[6] 2002[7] 2010[4]
4,799 11,600 18,100 25,431 22,704 29,965

Architecture and Sights

Kirzhach is famous for its great monastery- Blagoveschensky cathedral.The diminutive katholikon, erected during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, conforms to the early Muscovite type of cathedral church. It is commonly regarded as one of the last and loveliest specimens of this conservative strain.The monastery has a very interesting structure- it is an open gallery. This gallery connects the cathedral with the nearby Savior church, which has a square tower and a tent-like belfry. This church is a tomb of prominent Russian boyars-Miloslavskys. The 16th-century church was demolished during the Soviet time, but people began to rebuild and reconstruct it again in 1990s. Today the cathedral is a women monastery. Since 1997, the monastery possesses the relics of the Russian Saint, Roman Kirzhachsky, the student of another great Russian Saint, Sergey Radonezhsky. Tourists can see two ancient St. Nikolay's churches. One was built in 1764, another one in 1846. On the facade of the local art palace everybody can find a memorial plaque, telling about the meeting of Yuri Gagarin, the first world spacemen, with local people in March 29, 1963. In 18 km from Kirzhach (near the village of Novoselovo) there is a place of death of Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Seryogin. Also, tourists can observe the buildings of old shopping malls, built in 1850s.

References

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Resolution #433
  2. 2.0 2.1 Государственный комитет Российской Федерации по статистике. Комитет Российской Федерации по стандартизации, метрологии и сертификации. №ОК 019-95 1 января 1997 г. «Общероссийский классификатор объектов административно-территориального деления. Код 17 230», в ред. изменения №243/2014 от 18 апреля 2014 г.. (State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation. Committee of the Russian Federation on Standardization, Metrology, and Certification. #OK 019-95 January 1, 1997 Russian Classification of Objects of Administrative Division . Code 17 230, as amended by the Amendment #243/2014 of April 18, 2014. ).
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Law #36-OZ
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  5. Правительство Российской Федерации. Федеральный закон №107-ФЗ от 3 июня 2011 г. «Об исчислении времени», в ред. Федерального закона №248-ФЗ от 21 июля 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон "Об исчислении времени"». Вступил в силу по истечении шестидесяти дней после дня официального опубликования (6 августа 2011 г.). Опубликован: "Российская газета", №120, 6 июня 2011 г. (Government of the Russian Federation. Federal Law #107-FZ of June 31, 2011 On Calculating Time, as amended by the Federal Law #248-FZ of July 21, 2014 On Amending Federal Law "On Calculating Time". Effective as of after sixty days following the day of the official publication.).
  6. Demoscope Weekly (1989). "Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров" [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года[All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  7. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.

Sources