It is not difficult to answer the question of what is a kid. The central, most fortified part of the city in ancient Russia, later called the Kremlin.
Meaning of the word detinets
Having appeared in chronicles since 1097, this word has been widely used for several centuries. In 1317, when the description of the construction in Tver was first noted the new name of the city center - the Kremlin, which quickly became fashionable, the use and understanding of what the kid was, began to disappear from everyday life and disappeared altogether.
Defense value
The ancient Russian state, located on the path "from the Varangians to the Greeks", had an attractive territory for many external invaders. Internal disagreements were also resolved exclusively by military methods. In the communities of that period, the presence of warriors and the defenses of the settlement were indeed survival issues.
The most inaccessible place for the enemy, located on top of a hill, surrounded by moats and wooden jails - this is a detinet. That such a structure could for a long time hold the defense, hiding the population of the city behind the walls, is beyond doubt.
Boys from childhood were taught the basics of military affairs, gun ownership, regardless of the occupation in the future. To defend the settlement, and later the city, stood up all over the world.
Civil assignment
The northern neighbors called the Russian lands "Gardariki", that is, a country with many fortified cities, with a center in Veliky Novgorod.
And there really were many cities. Fragmented into specific principalities, Russia did not know a single control, being constantly in a state of internecine wars. The princes and their many descendants, having received the reign of the land, built their own cities for living and fortified cities to protect their inheritance.
First of all, the detinets were built. The determination of its location was dictated by natural conditions. A high place and a river are the basic requirements for its appearance. Being a stronghold of princely power, it was inhabited, first of all, by noble and wealthy citizens. Princes, boyars and clergy erected their chambers and palaces here, they were served by a large servants.
But the city was open to both artisans and merchants who came here in search of work and protection. Trade was mainly on the river. The farmers settled on the outskirts or outside the city wall, closer to their allotments.
The city grew around, occupying the entire area of the fortress, and then going beyond it. The center of city life, in all its manifestations, became a child. What is so important was the location of power and wealth, it is not surprising. With its streets and shopping areas, it was a city in the city.
The spiritual meaning of the kid
The church in detinets was built simultaneously with the walls. With God's help, the townspeople both built their city and defended it. As the settlement grew, many other churches were built around the detinets, but the main city church remained the one that was inside the fortress walls.
Next to him settled the higher clergy of the city; they spared no money on decorating such temples. It was here that there was the highest bell tower, which simultaneously served as a watch tower. And here they went to a prayer service in anticipation of an attack by the enemy.
Novgorod detinets
The Kremlin in Veliky Novgorod is the oldest Kremlin in Russia to visit today. He saved not only the walls, towers and buildings, which are the most valuable monuments, but also his original name.
Chronicles say that in 1044 on the Volkhov River, Prince Vladimir Yaroslavovich (the son of Yaroslav the Wise) began to build a child. What such a construction will stand in one place for almost a thousand years, no one could imagine.
A year later, construction began on the main Novgorod Cathedral - St. Sophia Church, which was consecrated seven years later. The stone church, painted half a century after construction, has preserved a small part of the frescoes to this day. The main part of the painting is the year before last. Today it is the Cathedral Church of the Novgorod Metropolis.
The wooden child burned and was restored again, but years and troubles spared him. Today we can see stone walls 8-15 meters high; 9 of 12 towers; The Vladyka (Faceted) Chamber of the 15th century; other ancient monuments.
The central place on the Kremlin square is occupied by the monument of the millennium of Russia, erected in 1862.
Buildings on the territory since 1865 have been occupied by the Novgorod Museum-Reserve, many exhibits and exhibitions of which are open to the public. Today, there are a regional scientific library, a music school, and a philharmonic society. Citizens are sure that the best place in Novgorod is their child, that such a neighborhood with city cultural institutions contributes to the preservation of historical value and makes it simultaneously accessible to people.
