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Cathedral in Russian island town of Sviyazhsk added to UNESCO World Heritage List

The Assumption Cathedral was founded as a fortress by Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 1551 to become the first Orthodox city in the Middle reaches of the Volga River

© Vasilij Aleksandrov/TASS

WARSAW, July 9. /TASS/. The Assumption Cathedral and Monastery in the island town of Sviyazhsk in Russia’s republic of Tatarstan has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, UNESCO said on its Twitter account on Sunday.

"Just inscribed as @UNESCO #WorldHeritage Site: Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk, Russian Federation," the message reads.

Just inscribed as @UNESCO #WorldHeritage Site: Historic City of Ahmadabad #India https://t.co/ztbb8RIMiZ #41whc pic.twitter.com/iRIMoQfAtK
— UNESCO (@UNESCO) 8 July 2017

With an area of 62 hectares, the island town of Sviyazhsk is located on a high hill in the estuary of the River Sviyaga, some 30 kilometers from Tatarstan’s capital city of Kazan. It was founded as a fortress by Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible in 1551 to become the first Orthodox city in the Middle reaches of the Volga River. The Assumption Cathedral was built of stone ten years later. The Cathedral boasts of having the world’s only fresco of horse-headed St. Christopher.

The 41st session of the World Heritage Committee, which is underway in Poland’s Krakow, is to consider 30 applications for entries to the World Heritage List. The session completes its work on July 12.

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