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Humanitarian Linguistic School #23, Vladimir, Russia
Teacher: Marina Trubitsina
Dear friends,
I apologise for sending this letter so late because this week and the previous one
we are having some problems with the connection as the telephone line has been
dropped. They are still looking for the place of it. But still we hope our message will
come in time.
Humanitarian Linguistic School #23, Vladimir
Grade 6
Teacher Marina Trubitsina
We are the citizens of Vladimir, an ancient Russian city, full of great monuments of architecture and history. We invite you to see our native city through our eyes. Welcome to our trip through its history.
It is a nice autumn day. The shy sun is shining through rare clouds and we have a chance to see the building of a red brick cathedral in its complete beauty. In old times Vladimir restled behind its fortress walls, and this cathedral was erected just in front of the main entrance into the most ancient part of the city. Lots of tourists come here to take photos and shoot films. In old times the city's main street started here. We are a bit disturbed by the sounds of cars and trolleys passing by, the street is just teeming with all sorts of transport and pedestrians as usual, but it is nothing in comparison with what we saw.
This cathedral is actually a small one, so many people in town call it just "a red church". This is a nickname for it. It is very famous and popular in our town because a museum of crystal glass is situated in it. When it was built it was naturally a church, a cross on the top of it still proves it. But, unfortunately to the believers and fortunately to the art-lovers, in the 1920s the building was given to the museum. the outlook of the church is very unusual for Vladimir. It is made of red bricks whereas all others are made of white limestone or are painted white.
We are at the top of a staircase near a wooden door which leads into the museum and observe the building of the Regional Drama Theatre to the left which is decorated with the huge wooden figures of folklore singers of ancient Russia - skomorokhi - and of School #1 to the right (by the way, it is interesting to mention that usually schools in Russia, especially in large cities, do not have names, they get numbers). Both buildings are remarkable for their quite different architectural styles. When we reach the first floor of the museum through a doorway we can see a large hall with an exhibition of crystal glass masterpieces made by our prominent regional masters. The works are all of different age. The first ones were made somewhat in the beginning of the 19th century. The exhibition is being completed every year by new che d'oeuvres. Crystal is sparkling in the light of the sun going through stained-glass windows high up under the roof. The roar of the traffic is not heard in here, everything is calm and the soft music which seems to come from nowhere soothes the souls of the visitors.
But if you think there is only cut-glass, you'll be mistaken. You will be delighted to see lacquer miniatures as well. They show the characters of the Russian folk and fairy tales such as Father Frost, Snowmaiden, different forest creatures, wonderful animals and unforgetable scenes of natural beauty.
Then we decided to go upstairs and found another exhibition devoted to fine sewing works. Vladimir is famous for its folk There is also a place where you can buy some wooden souveniers which Russia is so famous for all over the world. You can find here matryoska dolls of different sizes and colours. You are also offered some brochures. But the most interesting for us was to see the city square downstairs. It was very unusual looking from the top.
Frankly speaking, everything was very amusing but our boys were most interested in a toy shop which is under the cathedral. There is another souvenier shop there. We compared the prices up and down and decided that the second one had the greater choice and the lower prices.
Our visit to the museum shows us how much we appreciate our culture and how high we shouild value our history. It's a marvellous place to visit for lots of fun. We think it is not only of great pleasure, but also of rich educational importance. Hopefully you will come and see for yourself.
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