Sergiyev Posad

City that is the administrative center of Sergiyevo-Posadsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: 111,179 (2010 Census).
Sergiyev Posad is the religious center of the Moscow Region as its first monastery was founded in 1337. The monastery began as a church built by Sergius of Radonezh, made out of wood, and by 1345 was recognized as a place of religious worship. Town status was granted to Sergiyev Posad in 1742. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the religious center continued expanding into new monastery buildings, living areas, and stone walls, which withheld a Polish Siege of 1608–1610. In the 18th century, wooden monasteries were mostly destroyed and began reconstruction and settlement (roads, hotels, stable, and hospice). Lavra was closed in 1919 after the Russian Revolution, like all other places of worship in the USSR. The town's name, alluding to St. Sergius, has strong religious connotations. Soviet authorities changed it first to just Sergiyev in 1919, and then to Zagorsk in 1930, in memory of the revolutionary Vladimir Zagorsky. Sergiyev Posad was penetrated by Germany in 1941. It reopened later in 1941 during WW2 and continued to serve as a religious and historical center of Russia. The original name was restored in 1991.

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