Mozhaysk
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Mozhaysk (Russian: Можа́йск, IPA: [mɘ'ʐaɪsk]) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, 110 km to the west from the Russian capital, on the historic road leading to Smolensk and then to Poland. Population: 31,459 (2002 Census).
The town was first mentioned in 1231 as an appanage of Chernigov. Later it was an important stronghold of the Smolensk dynasty, one time owned by Feodor the Black. The Muscovites seized it in 1303, but in the course of the following century had serious troubles defending it against Algirdas of Lithuania. The principality was usually held by a younger brother of the ruling Grand Duke of Moscow, until the practice was dropped in 1493. Mozhaysk continued to defend the Western approaches to Moscow during Napoleon's invasion of Russia and the Great Patriotic War. The great Battle of Borodino took place twelve kilometers from the city.
The first stone cathedral was built in the kremlin in the early 14th century; in 1849 it was demolished stone by stone and then reconstructed exactly as it used to be. A larger blood-red cathedral in the Gothic Revival style was completed in 1814. The church of St. Joachim and Anna preserves some parts from the early 15th century. Another important landmark is the Luzhetsky monastery, founded in 1408 by Saint Ferapont and rebuilt in brick in the 16th century. The monastery cathedral, erected during the reign of Basil III, was formerly known for its frescoes, ascribed to Dionisy's circle.
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