Serpukhov

Serpukhov (Russian: Се́рпухов) is an old town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, which is situated at the confluence of the Oka and the Nara Rivers. It is located 99 km (60 miles) south from Moscow on the Moscow—Simferopol highway. The Moscow—Tula railway passes through the town. Population: 131,097 (2002 Census).

The town of Serpukhov was established in 1339 to protect the Southern approaches to Moscow. Two years later it was made a seat of the powerful princedom ruled by a cousin and close associate of Dmitry Donskoy, Vladimir of Serpukhov. The princedom continued until 1456, when the last prince escaped to Lithuania.

The town frequently fell prey to the hordes of Toqtamysh, Crimean Tatars, and other steppe conquerors. It was necessary to protect it with a stone citadel, or kremlin, which was completed by 1556. The citadel commands a steep hill where the small Serpeyka river enters the Nara River. However during the 19th century, parts of the citadel were demolished by the town's inhabitants, who used its limestone for their private residences. Even now the vast majority of basements in nearby houses are built from this material.

In the kremlin, the chief monument is the Trinity cathedral, built in 1696 in Moscow baroque style. The Vysotskiy monastery (its name being derived from the Russian word for heights) features a cathedral and refectory dating from the late 16th century. Another important cloister is called Vladychny, with the Presentation cathedral and a tent-like St. George's church, both erected during Boris Godunov's reign. The latter monastery is named after the honorary title of Russian bishops, as it was founded by the holy metropolitan Alexis in 1360.

In modern times Serpukhov has become a local industrial center with textile, mechanical engineering, furniture and paper-producing industries. The SeAZ factory produces the Lada Oka microcar since the 1980s. Stanislaw Lesniewski, leader of the Polish school of logic, was born in Serpukhov in 1886.