Andrei built his castle-residence at Bogolyubovo in 1158-1165, where the Nerl meets the Klyazma about ten kilometres below Vladimir: a white-stone palace joined by galleries to the church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, with the church of the Intercession on the Nerl (1165) in the water meadows below.
Andrei was murdered there by his boyars and household on the night of 29 June 1174, and the palace was plundered. In 1200 it is a residence of the grand prince, more a fortified court than a town. Bishop Ioann will retire to a monastery at Bogolyubovo in 1214 (later).
Who holds it
- Name
- Grand Prince Vsevolod III
- Title
- lord of the town
- Since
- 1176
- Born
- not applicable
- Family
- not applicable
- Confidence
- medium
Laurentian Chronicle as summarised in the standard accounts; en.wikipedia
Lord in 1200
Grand Prince Vsevolod III: a princely residence.
How things stand that morning
A princely residence of Vsevolod.
Charter
None: Rus' towns had no charters. Custom and the prince's word governed.
Communities
The court's servants and clergy.
Fairs and markets
None recorded.
Militia
None of its own.
Walls and castle
Earth ramparts with wooden walls round the palace and church; white-stone palace buildings.
Trade and crafts
A princely court and its servants.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The buildings and the murder of 1174 are well recorded; its use in 1200 is not.
Primary sources for Vladimir-Suzdal
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Chronicle of Novgorod (kept year by year; the Synodal manuscript written in the 13th and 14th centuries). Novgorod's own record, kept at St Sophia. Read online
- The Hypatian Chronicle (the Kievan Chronicle compiled about 1200 at the Vydubichi monastery; the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the 13th century). The southern record. Read online
- The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
- The birch-bark letters (11th to 15th centuries). Excavated letters and notes on birch bark, dated by the layer they lie in. Read online
- The Tale of Igor's Campaign (about 1187 to 1200 (disputed)). A poem on Igor Sviatoslavich's defeat by the Polovtsians in 1185 that addresses the princes of the day by name: Vsevolod of Vladimir, Rurik and David Rostislavich, Yaroslav of Galich, Roman of Volhynia and the Olgovichi of Chernigov, of whom Igor himself was prince from 1198. Read online
Sources and studies
- The Laurentian (Suzdal) Chronicle, PSRL vol. 1, entries for 1176-1212, cited from the researcher's knowledge of the standard accounts (not fetched in this run: ru.wikipedia, fmg.ac and the archive.org texts would not load)
- S. Franklin and J. Shepard, The Emergence of Rus 750-1200 (1996); J. Martin, Medieval Russia 980-1584 (2007); J. Fennell, The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200-1304 (1983): standard accounts, cited from the researcher's knowledge
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.