The Pskov Kremlin is on the high hill at the place where the Pskova joins the Velikaya river. And the main temple of Pskov – the Trinity Cathedral – is atop the rock at the heart of the Kremlin. It is clearly seen from any place and is mirrored in the water of both rivers.
Beginning from 957 on the same place there were successively built 4 cathedrals. Each of them had the name of St. Trinity. The first wooden cathedral was erected by the order of Princess Olga, who came to Pskov in 957 and donated a lot of money for its construction. The cathedral was built rather fast, but it was burnt in the 12 century. The second stone cathedral was built in the reign of Prince Vsevolod in 1137-38. The Lithuanian prince Dovmont was baptized in this cathedral.
In 1365 the vault of the cathedral collapsed and it was decided to dismantle the cathedral. A new and much bigger cathedral was laid down on its place. The third Trinity Cathedral lasted to 1609. This time the building of the cathedral was destroyed by the explosion of the powder magazine during the strong fire at the Pskov Kremlin. And the fourth Trinity Cathedral was built in 1699. It survived to our days. The fourth cathedral was much bigger and higher than its predecessors. Its height is 78 meters.
Since the Trinity Cathedral was the main building of the Pskov republic, in front of which the Veche was held, it had the building of Seni. This special two-floor building added to the cathedral on the side of the Veche Square was designed for the meetings of the State Council of Pskov. It also housed the Chancellery, the Archives (Lar`) and the Treasury.
In the cathedral properly there were kept the relics of the Pskov saints Vsevolod-Gabriel and Dovmont-Timothy. They are considered the main patrons of the city. The burial vault of the Pskov princes are in the podklet of the Trinity Cathedral. They include: Yuriy Vitovtovich (son of the Lithuanian prince Vytautas), prince Eustatius, Daniel Aleksandrovich of Rostov, Yaroslav Vasilyevich Striga-Obolenskiy. However, the inscriptions on the tombs of the Trinity Cathedral were effaced, so it is impossible to define who was buried and where.
Together with the princes the Blessed Nicholas (Salos) of Pskov was also buried. He dared to accuse Ivan the Terrible of his crimes when he and his oprichniks came to Pskov after the defeat of Novgorod the Great in 1570. After the talk with Salos Ivan the Terrible didn’t want to ruin Pskov and for this reason the blessed is much venerated there.
