"Mozhaisk and Borodino" Borodino Travelogue by Lalique

<b>Mozhaisk is 100km away from Moscow following Minskoe autoroute (Minsk bound (Belarus) highway), it takes about 1,5 hrs by car to get there.
It was founded on Moskva river head in the beginning of XIII century. Up to XIV century Mozhaisk belogned to Smolensk principality and later was annexed to Moscow region. For many centuries the city served as main fortified outpost for Moscow principality at its West borders.

In XIV-XV centuries Mozhaisk was the center of apanage principality and even printed its own coins. In XIV the city was survived throught the peak of its flourishing, it was one of the main religious centers in Moscow Rus due to a specially esteemd icon of St. Nikolas.

In 1618 it happened to be in the center of Polish-Lithuanian intervention and about 1,5 thousands Kazaks were fighting against Polish King Vladislav.

In the late 1620-s the Kremlin (of stone) was build in Mozhaisk alike Moscow Kitai-gorod with 2 gates and 6 towers. It existed till the end of XVIII century and then was demolished, but was commemorted in the city emblem which was approved in 1781.
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