On south-west from the Golden Gate is situated the group of Churches of Our Saviour and Saint Nicholas, which is located on place of ancient courtyard of prince Andrei Bogolyubsky's. The white stone Church of Our Saviour, which he erected here in 1164 was badly damaged in the fire of 1778, and replaced by the present building at the end of the eighteenth century.
It is interesting to note that the architects tried to imitate the form of the original building, although the final result was somewhat cruder of course.
They copied the decorative arcade band of facades, division of the walls by pilaster strips, and the deeply recessed entrances. They even try to imitate on plaster seams an original white stone layings.
Excavations have shown that the present building does, in fact, stand on the ruins of the earlier one. A large number of majolica tiles have been found, which were used to cover the floor of the original building.
This researches is quite possible that the general appearance of the earlier Church was similar to that of the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl near Bogolyubovo, which was built a year later.
In place of the present eighteenth-century building one must try to picture the graceful outline of the old stone Church with its decorative arcade band, carved relief and deeply recessed portals.
Another Church was erected alongside it in the seventeenth century. It is the Church of Saint Nicholas with rows of kokoshnik gables crowning all its walls, and a magnificent window surround.
It possesses a highly original rectangular-shaped bell tower, which is decorated with blind arches and band of deeply recessed rectangular niches faced with green tiles.
The belfry is formed of arches on rectangular pillars.