Mozhaysk

Mozhaysk (Можайск) is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysk Rayon in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located 110 km to the west of Moscow, on the historic road leading to Smolensk and then to Poland. Population:

History
It was first mentioned in 1231 as an appanage of Chernigov; it was named after the Mozhay (Mozhaya) River, whose name is of Baltic origin (cf. Lithuanian mažoja 'small'). Later it was an important stronghold of the Smolensk dynasty, at one time owned by Theodore the Black. The Muscovites seized it in 1303, but in the course of the following century had serious troubles defending it against Algirdas of Lithuania. The principality was usually held by a younger brother of the ruling Grand Duke of Moscow, until the practice was dropped in 1493. In 1562, the Treaty of Mozhaysk was signed there. Town status was granted to Mozhaysk in 1708. Mozhaysk continued to defend the Western approaches to Moscow during the French invasion of Russia in 1812 and World War II (during which it was captured by the Germans on October 16, 1941 and recaptured by the Red Army on January 20, 1942). The Battle of Borodino took place 12 km from the town.

Administrative and municipal status
Within the framework of administrative divisions, Mozhaysk serves as the administrative center of Mozhaysky District. As an administrative division, it is, together with twenty-one rural localities, incorporated within Mozhaysky District as the Town of Mozhaysk. As a municipal division, the Town of Mozhaysk is incorporated within Mozhaysky Municipal District as Mozhaysk Urban Settlement.

Architecture


The first stone cathedral was built in the kremlin in the early 14th century; in 1849, it was demolished stone by stone and then reconstructed exactly as it used to be. A larger blood-red cathedral in the Gothic Revival style was completed in 1814. The church of St. Joachim and Anna preserves some parts from the early 15th century. Another important landmark is the Luzhetsky Monastery, founded in 1408 by St. Ferapont and rebuilt in brick in the 16th century. The monastery cathedral, erected during the reign of Vasily III, was formerly known for its frescoes, ascribed to Dionisius' circle.

Trivia
The fact that Mozhaysk was frequently the last major stop on the way to the capital, gave birth to the expression "to push beyond Mozhay" (загнать за Можай, zagnat' za Mozhay), which literally means "push (people, enemy) away (from Moscow) further than Mozhaysk."

Twin towns and sister cities
Mozhaysk is twinned with:
 * 🇫🇷 Château-du-Loir, France
 * 🇩🇪 Drochtersen, Germany
 * 🇧🇬 Etropole, Bulgaria
 * 🇫🇮 Lohja, Finland
 * 🇺🇦 Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
 * 🇵🇱 Ujazd, Poland
 * 🇧🇾 Vileyka, Belarus