Golden Gate of Vladimir

This white-stone gate in the city of Vladimir is a rare surviving example of medieval Russian defensive and triumphal architecture, built in the twelfth century as the main ceremonial entrance to the capital of a powerful principality. Crowned by a small gate church with a golden dome, it once formed part of the city's ramparts. Modelled in part on the great gates of Kyiv and Constantinople, it symbolised the era's wealth. Now housing a small military museum, it forms part of the region's protected White Monuments.