Two of its Russian Orthodox cathedrals, a monastery, and associated buildings have been designated among the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the 1990s, a new opinion developed that the city was instead founded in 990 by Vladimir the Great, with local historians supporting the alternative foundation date and citing various chronicle sources.

[16][17] Scholars reinterpreted certain passages in the Hypatian Codex, which mentions that the region was visited by Vladimir the Great, the "father" of Russian Orthodoxy, in 990, so as to move the city foundation date to that year.

Under Dolgoruky's son, Andrey Bogolyubsky (1157–1175) (also known as Andrew the Pious), the city became the center of the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality.

[21] Scores of Russian, German, and Georgian masons worked on Vladimir's white stone cathedrals, monastery, towers, and palaces.

They are included among the White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During Andrey's reign, a royal palace in Bogolyubovo was built, as well as the world-famous Church of the Intercession on the Nerl, now considered one of the jewels of ancient Russian architecture.

A great fire destroyed thirty-two limestone buildings on the first day alone, while the grand prince's family perished in a church where they sought refuge from the flames.

The Moscow cathedral was loosely copied by the Italian architect Aristotele Fioravanti from Vladimir's original.

The Nativity Church (built from 1191 to 1196) collapsed several years later, after workmen tried to fashion more windows in its walls in an effort to brighten the interior.

The city was the center of Vladimir Province [ru], part of Moscow Governorate from its establishment by Peter the Great in 1708.

After the establishment of Soviet power, many streets were renamed in Vladimir; most of the parish churches were closed and condemned to be demolished.

On January 14, 1929, the Vladimir Governorate was abolished and the city became part of the newly formed Ivanovo Industrial Oblast.

Architecture of the Soviet period is present in structures such as building complexes and polytechnic colleges, the Torpedo Stadium (built 1952), a reinforced concrete arch bridge over the river Klyaz'ma (1960), the Hotel Vladimir (1956), the Drama Theatre (1971) and others.

[8] Vladimir is home to several electrical and chemical factories, several food processing plants and two large thermal power stations.

Since the summer of 2010 Vladimir (on the Nizhny Novgorod line) is a stopping point for the "Peregrine Falcon" high-speed train.

Modern-day Vladimir is a part of the Golden Ring of ancient Russian cities and a popular tourist destination.