If we go through the Nicholas gates from ancient settlement, then cross the road to Vladimir, and proceed along the river Kamenka, we would see the delightful Church of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian beautifully situated on a bank at a sharp bend of the river.
This Church, restored in 1960 by R. S. Kuznetsov, was erected in 1725 on the site of the second oldest Monastery in Suzdal, the Monastery of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian. It was built, however, entirely in the spirit of the seventeenth century, a fact which can be seen from its attractive asymmetrical composition. The simple, cube-shaped, single-domed body of the Church is adjoined on one corner by a slender bell-tower in the form of an octagon on a square base, similar to the bell-tower of the Church of Saint Nicholas in design, but very austere and almost completely devoid of adornments.
The arches of the belfry are capped by small ogee-shaped coverings above which rises a narrow tent-shaped spire with slit windows and a minute dome. Standing next to the plain cube of the Church the bell-tower looks particularly tall and light.
This charming ensemble was completed by the addition of a chapel with a slender dome, adjoining the south wall of the Church.
The buildings were originally surrounded by a stone wall with a flight of steps in line with the centre of the bell-tower leading down to the river. The ensemble must have looked like a little town behind its stone walls. It is particularly attractive on a clear day when you can see its gleaming white reflection in the river below.