Cathedral Square

Cathedral Square took shape beside the grand-princely and episcopal courts; the city's cathedral stood between them, and the square received its name from it. The present Assumption Cathedral appeared later than the former church, but it still occupies the middle of the square. Nothing remains of the prince's chambers, but behind the cathedral stands the house church of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word: a passage once led from the chambers to its choir loft.

In the spring of fourteen forty-three, the eighteen-year-old Grand Prince Vasily II lost Moscow. His uncle, Yuri Dmitrievich, Prince of Galich, was seeking the same throne: after the previous prince's death, it had still not been definitively decided who inherited first—a son or the senior male in the family. Yuri defeated his nephew on the Klyazma River, occupied Moscow, and seized the grand-princely treasury and the possessions of Vasily's boyars.

He left the defeated Vasily with Kolomna. The calculation seemed sound: the nephew received an honorable appanage but found himself far from the Moscow throne. Vasily settled here, at the grand-princely court by Cathedral Square.

Kolomna was considered the second-ranking city of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and Moscow boyars and serving men began moving here after Vasily. They were the prince's advisers, administrators, and mounted warriors. Service gave them grants, income from land, and a place at court; moving to the deposed ruler could deprive them of all this. The chronicler explained their choice briefly: they “were not accustomed to serving the princes of Galich.”

Yuri retained Moscow and the treasury, but the departure of the boyars deprived him of experienced administrators and a military retinue. A grand-princely court was taking shape again around Vasily in Kolomna. As early as July, Yuri returned the Moscow throne to his nephew and, by treaty, acknowledged himself as Vasily's “younger brother”—that is, he ceded seniority within the family to him.

The civil conflict did not end there. Yuri occupied Moscow once more but died in fourteen forty-four. Vasily was later blinded by his opponents, which is why he received the epithet the Blind; however, he regained the throne and held it until his death.

The court where Vasily received those who came to him has disappeared. Of the palace complex, the house church of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word behind the Assumption Cathedral has survived; a passage once led directly from the prince's chambers to its choir loft. On the other side stood the court of the Bishop of Kolomna, and between the two courts stood the city's cathedral. The square received its name from it. The present Assumption Cathedral was built later on the site of the former one, but the layout has remained the same: the prince's chambers are gone, while the cathedral still occupies the middle of the square.