These two artis­tic cen­tres in cen­tral Rus­sia hold an impor­tant place in the country‘s archi­tec­tur­al his­to­ry. There are a num­ber of mag­nif­i­cent 12th- and 13th-cen­­tu­ry pub­lic and reli­gious build­ings, above all the mas­ter­pieces of the Col­le­giate Church of St Demetrios and the Cathe­dral of the Assump­tion of the Vir­gin.