Suzdal

Suzdal (sz`dəl), city, central European Russia, NE Moscow. Its major industry is tourism. Founded c.1024 as a fortress town, it developed from the 11th to 12th cent. as an important city of the grand duchy of Vladimir-Suzdal (see Vladimir) and a political and religious center of NE Russia. In the early 13th cent. it became the capital of the Suzdal principality, but it was destroyed by the Mongols under Batu Khan in 1238 and never recovered its importance. In 1451, Suzdal passed to the grand duchy of Moscow. Landmarks include an ancient kremlin with a cathedral and a monastery, a 17th-century bell tower, and bishops' palaces from the 15th to 18th cent.

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Suzdal

Medieval principality, between the Oka River and the Upper Volga, northeastern Russia. Ruled by a branch of the Rurik dynasty during the 12th–14th centuries, it united with Rostov and in the 12th century with Vladimir. Suzdal-Vladimir achieved great political and economic importance, but in the 13th–14th centuries it disintegrated into small principalities, which ultimately were absorbed by Moscow. See also Vladimir-Suzdal school.