It is important that the main part of the ensemble is built according to a single plan — a rare phenomenon in Russia at that time.

Most of the extant buildings of the Kremlin were built much later than the cathedral, mainly during the reign of Metropolitan Jonas Sysoevitch [ru] (1652–1690), who had a significant influence on the formation of the artistic appearance of these structures.

Later, in 1688, the master Flor Terentyev cast a large bell of 2000 poods, named "Sysoy", in the memory of the father of Metropolitan Jonas.

Around 1670, the Church of the Resurrection with two flanking fortress towers on its Northern facade was constructed close to the Judicial Office building.

The appearance of the Church of the Resurrection is also striking by the contrasting combination of the harsh, almost unadorned top of the temple with the lower part, which is abundantly decorated with various brick patterns, multicolored tiles, and a large picturesque kiot.

Its slender volume, crowned with a gilded head on a drum of complicated shape, dominates the surrounding buildings.

All the best of the experience gained during the years of construction of the metropolitan residence, found a brilliant embodiment in this wonderful monument.

At the end of the 17th century, the large Stable Yard was built for the Metropolitan residence, which included residential and domestic sections as well as stalls for the horses.

[4] And the ensemble as a whole, according to the plan of Metropolitan Jonas,[5] was supposed to remind the "pure river of life" which proceeded out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev.

At approximately the same time most of the Kremlin towers acquired elaborately shaped Baroque spires instead of the earlier tent-shaped ones.

In 1910, the State Duma legislated the all-Russian status of the Museum, deciding to release money from the Treasury for its maintenance.

[9] Since 1960, Rostov Kremlin became one of the key attractions of the tourist route through the ancient Russian cities of Central Russia "Golden ring"[10] In the late 1990s, the garden was reconstructed.

In the Northern part of the garden, a Bosket marks the plan of the cell building of the Grigoriev monastery that existed here in ancient times.

The Rostov Kremlin ensemble consists of the following architectural elements: [citation needed] The present building was preceded by three churches.

The first was built "of oak timbers" in 991, only after three years after the adoption of the Christianity in Kiev, it was the oldest Orthodox church of North-East Russia.

Whereas the general composition of the cathedral follows the traditions of medieval Russian architecture, its decorative treatment clearly expresses features of late Venetian Gothic.

Facedes of the belfry were divided by pilaster strips and horizontal bands, and topped by ogee-shaped zakomars and pointed kokoshniks.

With its two towers, the gateway Church provided a magnificent main entrance to the Metropolitan's Court, a kind of Holy Gate.

The rectangular ground plan of the main body, covered by a transverse vault, is adjoined on the east by a sanctuary with a triple apse, and on the south, west and north by galleries.

This unfolds on the walls from the top to the bottom, finishing at the northern edge of the solium with the composition of "The Resurrection of Christ", a direct reference to the church dedication.

The interior is well lit by numerous windows and the wall painting in golden ochre, bright blues, greens and pinks makes an unusually festive impression.

Another unusual feature is that the sanctuary together with the adjacent solium and choir places was raised four steps above the level of the floor in the main body of the church.

These features were probably designed to lend a special significance to the liturgical rites taking place in the church and led by the Metropolitan Jonas, in other words, the divine service of the arch prelate.

The painting in the galleries of the Church of the Resurrection is devoted to subjects from the Old Testament and Revelations, with special emphasis on John the Divine's vision of the heavenly city, the celestial Jerusalem.

The lower storey contained a bakery and other domestic facilities, and the upper one the Church of our Saviour separated by a vestibule from a large refectory with serving chambers adjoining the north facade which were demolished in 1778.

The most striking details of the decor, namely, the band of blind arcading, the apsidal frieze of five-pointed niches and the kokoshniks by the guttering, were borrowed from the nearby Assumption Cathedral.

As with the earlier Rostov kremlin churches, the decor on the upper part of the facades consists exclusively of elements borrowed from the Assunption Cathedral.

The cube with its multi-pitched roof is divided up evenly by pilaster stripes united at the top by ogee-shaped kokoshniks, with a charming ruff of pointed wooden slats above them.

[citation needed] The fresco painters did not simply correlate the three cycles, but moulded them visually into an invisible semantic and artistic whole, giving similar iconographic features to scenes they wished to compare.

So this original method appears to have been used to express the idea of the similarity between the feats of the Venerable Abraham and those of St. John the divine, and to compare both of them to Christ.