Looking down on Suzdal from Ivanova Hill in the heart of the town, it's easy to forget which millennium you're in. A horse-drawn carriage climbs the steep slope to the 11th century Kremlin, whose sky-blue onion domes are spangled with gold stars. Bells chime from over the ramparts of a 16th century convent, and the golden dome of a 14th century monastery glows in the sun. Packed with belfries, white stone churches, cathedrals and cloisters, and surrounded by orchards, Suzdal, says local history buff Mikhail Golov, 32, "focuses the entire Russian history on its tiny soil." Lying 220 km northeast of Moscow, the town (pop. 12,000) is "where Russia's most ancient relics are," wrote Nobel prizewinning scientist Petr Kapitsa, "and where in fact 'the great Russian people' originated," a reference to the 12th century Vladimir-Suzdal principality that was the cradle of Russian nationhood.

Much like Russia itself, Suzdal's fortunes have risen and fallen over time. In the early years of communism, 14 of the town's 50-plus churches were torn down, while the rest were closed, along with all 19 of its cloisters. Many religious buildings were converted into prisons, stores, hostels, workshops — even a bioweapons lab. But in the late 1960s, the Soviet authorities decided to turn the town into a living museum, renovating some of the churches and cloisters. The breakup of the U.S.S.R. ushered in another long spell of official neglect, and Suzdal's architectural marvels once again came close to ruin. Now the new Russia is reappraising Suzdal, as people eager to rediscover their national roots look to it for clues about their spiritual and cultural heritage. Thirty of its churches have been re-consecrated, as have two previously closed cloisters. Museums have reopened, and the streets, though in dire need of repair, bristle with vendors. Smart private guesthouses are springing up. As a result, Suzdal is now one of the most popular stops on the "Golden Ring" tourist route — a string of 11 ancient towns in northeastern Russia that are famous for their 11th- to 17th-century architecture. The surge of visitors has lifted Suzdal above the economic morass that characterizes most small towns across the country. "While the rest of Russia lives just for the day," says Veronika Nikolayeva, who manages two private Suzdal guesthouses, "we can afford to live for two."