The Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity (Trinity Cathedral) in Gus-Zhelezny

Driving along the Ryazan-Kasimov road to the village of Gus-Zhelezny (220 km from Moscow), we admire the amazingly beautiful cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity. However, the temple itself, as well as the history of the village, is primarily associated with the name of Andrei Rodionovich Batashev, and with his once-located estate-fortress "Eagle's Nest", as well as legends about the countless treasures hidden by him somewhere in the dungeons of his possessions ... The Cathedral of the Life-Giving Trinity (Trinity Cathedral) in Gus-Zhelezny in the Ryazan Region was built in a pseudo-Gothic style rare for Russia with elements of Baroque and Classicism. The owner of the local factories, Andrei Rodionovich Batashev, was the customer of the temple at the end of the 18th century, but he did not even live to build the temple. The merchant suddenly died on December 19, 1799. Only in 1802 did the construction of the temple begin, and it was completed after a long break only in 1868. The author (architect) of the cathedral project is unknown. The Vladimir State Archive has documents stating that the church was built by a "famous architect", but his name is not indicated. According to the findings of local historians, it could be Vasily Bazhenov. The name of the village "Gus-Zhelezny" comes from: on the one hand, from the Gus river (on which Gus-Khrustalny also stands), on the other hand, from the ironworks existing here. In 1758, the Gusevsky plant was built here. It was founded by the Batashev brothers. Here, the elder brother Andrei Rodionovich built a grandiose-scale manor-fortress, later called the "Eagle's Nest". Andrei Rodionovich Batashev was one of the most talented engineers, in many ways ahead of his time. He is credited with many discoveries in the field of metallurgy. The dam created under his leadership was considered a real miracle. The largest experts from all over the world came to study it. He achieved everything himself. The whole huge fortune was earned practically from scratch (the Batashev family did not receive the nobility until 1783). The factories of the Batashevs produced the ninth of all Russian iron. Metal from Goose-Iron was famous throughout the empire. By the way, the famous horses on the triumphal arch in Moscow are made here. It should be noted that Andrei Rodionovich Batashev was a very cruel man with great ambitions. Batashevsky robbers robbed merchant carts and carriages of large officials passing by. In the famous “terrible garden” located on his estate, Batashev tortured and killed workers and servants for the slightest fault.