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Church of Sergey of Radonezh and Chasozvonya (Clock-Ringer)

The gateway church of Sergey of Radonezh, designed by the order of archbishop Iona on the Vladychny Dvor in 1463, expresses the idea of peace, intimacy and spiritual unification with Moscow. For this reason Iona dedicated his home church to a Muscovite saint and chose the hagiography of Sergey of Radonezh as the chief subject of the wall painting. The destiny of the frescos is somewhat unusual. Before World War II they had been removed from the wall and stored in the museum. Today these miniature compositions, obviously created under the influence of iconography, have been returned to their original places.

Next to the church rises a tall, almost forty-meter high pillar-like clock tower. The Chasozvonya, surmounted with kokoshniki and a small cupola, seems to tilt slightly, evoking associations with the Tower of Pisa. The main purpose of the Chasozvonya is reflected in its ancient name of the Storozhnya (Guard tower): its top platform was used for guarding the roads (in case of unexpected enemy attacks) and watching for fires (an important task since most of the old town buildings were made of wood). From the West the Chasozvonya is connected with constructions of the 17th century such as the Doukhovny (Spiritual) and the Sudny (Court) offices, and the Likhudov building. All of them have high wooden porches and richly decorated facades.