Английский язык. Александрова Г.А. - 47 стр.

ed running away terrified by the courage of Prince Dovmont and the peo-
ple of Pskov.» And there rose new monastery fortifications, and the Rozh-
destvo Bogoroditsy (Birth of the Virgin) Cathedral went up within them in
1310. Construction of new monastery buildings went on despite continu-
ous invasions of the enemies, restoring works taking place after each in-
road. Out-houses surrounded the newly decorated Rozhdestvensky Ca-
thedral next to which Refectory Hall with a Nicola church attached to it
appeared in 1518.
       The following one hundred years were a dark period in the history
of the Snetogorsky Monastery. The Moscow state had been ravaged dur-
ing the «vague time», and taking the opportunity king Gustav-Adolf of
Sweden directed his troops onto Russia, but he could only make it as far as
Pskov.
       Construction of the monastery was completed in the 17 th century
by building the main Saint Gate and giving a finish look to the walls and
towers, and the bell-tower of the original Ascension Cathedral went high
up into the air next to the Rozhdestvensky Cathedral. The Ascension Ca-
thedral, the only one of the Snetogorsky monuments, did not survive till
our days: it was completely destroyed during the Great Patriotic war.
       Today the unique architecture monument looks the way it used to in
the days of old due to the restoration works that were carried on here for a
number of years.
       Architects of the old Pskov had a good feeling of landscape. Simple
strictness of the walls, towers and palaces pencilled against the dull sky in
winter or clouded by green leaves in summer makes an ensemble with a
beautiful scenery of the nearby villages, fields, and Pskov itself.
       Built in a wide curve of the Velikaya river, the Snetogorsky Monas-
tery seems to come up from a limerock making an integral part of it. Un-
polished limestone’s the local material, were used by builders.
       The Rozhdestvensky Cathedral is one of the most ancient monu-
ments of the Russian architecture. After the intention of the clients it was
to have repeated the shape and lines of an 11 th century cathedral in the
Spaso-Mirozhsky Monastery, the most worshipped holy thing in Pskov.
But the architect of the old days found different proportions and ornament
for his creation.
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