Metropolitan’s Palace - One of the Oldest Buildings
The Metropolitan’s Palace is the grand residence of the Metropolitan in Yaroslavl, one of the oldest stone structures of civil architecture. It is curious that the purpose of some rooms of the Palace remained unexplained over centuries. Today the Palace houses a museum with a rare collection of ancient Russian icons.
The Metropolitan’s Palace at the end of the XVII century was invented by Metropolitan Iona Sysoyevich, the man who created the Rostov Kremlin. According to his plan, a large two-story house with patterned architraves, fresco-painted refectory and a richly decorated study appeared in Yaroslavl. The first floor was occupied by utility rooms, and the second floor comprised chambers for feasts and receptions, as well as the private rooms of the metropolitan. Some of the walls were made especially powerful by Sysoyevich: they were two-meter thick, with enclosed staircases and transitions. Historians still try to figure out the purpose of some rooms and secret passages. The Palace was resided not only by the metropolitan: the Empress Catherine II used to be here twice. The Palace lost its elegant appearance long before the Soviet era. In 1831 it was reconstructed for some reason: the third floor was added, both porches were destroyed and the facade decor was removed. But in Soviet days the building was restored and handed over to the museum-preserve. Today, about two thousand icons are stored here, of which no more than a hundred are on a permanent exposition.
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