(Source: http://hayastannews.com/news/145345.html)

Golden Ring Adventure: Private Tour to Sergiev Posad and Pereslavl Zalesskiy

Historic Russian cities, which history dates back to XII century preserve many churches and monesteries of that time. We invite you for the private trip to Sergiev Posad and Pereslavl Zalesskiy - the real treasures of Golden Ring cities.

Sergiev Posad is obviously a town that deserves a special visit. Despite incredible number of old towns in Moscow Region, Sergiev Posad is the only one of them that is always included in the famous Golden Ring excursions. The major point of attraction here is Troitse-Sergieva Lavra (The Trinity - St Sergius Lavra).

Main Places to See in Sergiev Posad

Holy Trinity Lavra
UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1993, calling it “a fine example of a working Orthodox monastery, with military features that are typical of the 15th to the 18th century.” The heart of Holy Trinity Lavra is the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Troitsky sobor), built in the 1420s and distinguished by its white-stone architecture and many-tier completion. 

Behind the Trinity Cathedral is the Vestry (Ritznitsa), which contains the monastery's rich treasury. On display are 600 years worth of donations from the rich and powerful jewel-encrusted vestments, fine tapestries, solid-gold chalices, etc. Another important church is the Cathedral of the Assumption (Uspensky sobor), modeled on the church of the same name in Moscow. It was finished in 1585, with money donated by Ivan the Terrible as penance for killing his son. Services are held here in the summer, but it is often closed at other times of the year. Outside the west door is the grave of Tsar Boris Godunov, the only tsar not buried in Moscow's Kremlin or the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Nearby is the Chapel-at-the-Well (Nadkladeznaya chasovnya), topped by a five-tier baroque bell tower, which took 30 years to build. It once had 42 bells, the largest of which weighed 65 tons.

Sergiev Posad is also known as a capital of  doll kingdom.This is the place where many dolls and toys are produced. Moreover, only in this city exists Toy Institute, where new toy types are being developed. So-called "toy of Sergius" is very popular in the country. To buy a toy beside the wall of Lavra is to make a pious act. Even St. Sergius himself was making toys to amuse children.

Pereslavl Zalessky is a small provincial town of Yaroslavl region, located on the halfway from Moscow to Yaroslavl (around 130 km), next to Pleshcheevo Lake.

The wall of the Pereslavl Kremlin is now a grassy ring around the central town. Inside, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour, founded in 1152, is one of the oldest buildings in Russia. The cathedral was not only the main church of the town but also the tomb for Pereslavl Princes. The church is built of white limestone. The cathedral wall are made of two parallel rows, outer and inner, of accurately cut and fitted stone blocks, the slots between the blocks are filled with crushed stone and lime. Wooden reinforcement bars were introduced into the walls. During archaeological excavations the floor made of majolica plates was found out under the present floor.

Not far from the Cathedral, there is a tent-roofed Church of Peter the Metropolitan, built in 1585. The building was constructed in honour of Metropolitan Peter, who had played a prominent role in strengthening of Moscow Principality during hard times of internecine war. The present brickwork church was erected in the site of the more ancient wooden church having the same name.

There are quite many monasteries in Pereslavl. On the left side of the road from Moscow to Yaroslavl there's Goritsky monastery, which was founded in the 12th century. The centerpiece is the baroque Assumption Cathedral with its beautiful carved iconostasis. Now there's the History, Architecture and Art museum on the territory of the monastery. It features an interesting collection of Russian paintings, art pieces, ancient crafts, archeological findings, old Russian hand-written books.
The city is first of all known for the lake named Pleshcheevo (earlier known as Kleshchinoe Lake). With its 9.5 km in length and coastal line of 28 km it is one of the purest and largest reservoirs of Russia. It is assumed that earlier there was a sea on this place. It accounts for the existence of “the tsar’s herring” here – the cisco fish that lives exclusively only in that lake. The fish is even represented in the emblem of Pereslavl.

The town surprises with its quite unusual museums: the Museum of Irons, the Museum of Teapots and the Museum of Steam Locomotives.