The book contains 310 color and black-and-white photographs taken by the author during some 40 visits to Vologda from 1995 to 2012. In view of the many changes in the city's historic central districts during this period, it should be noted that each caption concludes with the precise date of the photograph.
The volume's introductory text--in Russian with a complete English version at the end of the book--surveys the architectural history of this ancient center of culture and trade in the Russian North. The text includes endnotes with research sources, a selection of color photographs by the author, as well as engravings and antique maps.
The main part of the book consists of 304 color and black-and-white photographs. The first section is devoted to the great Cathedral of the Divine Sophia, built in the late 16th century and containing a full complement of frescoes painted by masters from Yaroslavl' in the late 17th century, as well as a monumental iconostasis. Of special interest are frescoes of the Last Judgment on the west wall and frescoes in the apsidal part of the cathedral.
The book's second section provides a visual survey of the Archbishop's Court (often referred to as the Kremlin), adjacent to the Sophia Cathedral. Also included in this section are churches in the immediate vicinity, such as those on the marketplace.
The third photographic contains 80 photographs of the town's monasteries and parish churches, beginning with the northern districts of Vologda and concluding with the area "Across the River" (Zarech'e). Among the major monuments in this section is the Church of the Decapitation of John the Baptist in Roshchen'e, with its glorious interior of early 18th-century frescoes in the Yaroslavl' style.
The fourth section contains 29 photographs of the Savior-Prilutskii Monastery on the Vologda River just to the north of town. This monastery contains the oldest surviving monument in Vologda--the Cathedral of the Procession of the Precious Wood of the Life-giving Cross of the Savior.
The fifth section presents a visual catalog of Vologda's houses, as recorded over many years by the author. The 75 photographs in this section include a number of wooden houses that no longer exist.
The sixth section contains 43 photographs of Vologda's administrative, commercial and institutional buildings, from the early 19th century to the late 20th.
The final section is devoted to the charming 19th-century estate of the Brianchaninovs at Pokrovskoe, to the south of Vologda. Included in these 17 photographs are two taken by the author in March 1998 that show the derelict condition of the buildings before restoration.
Hardcover, 330 pages. 310 photographs by the author (128 color plates and 182 B/W photographs), engravings, maps.
ISBN 978-5-94607-166-6
Size: 210 х 270 mmа
