Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings

Novgorod is an important Russian city, surrounded by churches and monasteries 

Novgorod Kremlin

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The Novgorod Detinets, also known as the Novgorod Kremlin, is a fortified complex (detinets) in Veliky Novgorod, Russia. It stands on the left bank of the Volkhov River about two miles north of where it empties out of Lake Ilmen.

The first reference of the fortification on the site dates to 1044, with additional construction taking place in 1116. These were probably earthen embankments topped by a wooden palisade, although stone towers and walls were built in 1302. Archbishop Vasily Kalika (1330–1352) rebuilt the stone wall along the eastern side of the Detinets in 1331–1335. The rest was completed in stone only in 1400. Under the rule of Archbishop Evfimy II (1429–1458), a council hall for the nobility council and a clocktower were built in the episcopal compound in 1433 and 1436 respectively. The council hall, now called the Episcopal Chamber or the Chamber of Facets due to its elaborate Gothic vaults, is one of the easternmost examples of Brick Gothic. In 1437, part of Vasily's walls collapsed into the Volkhov River and were rebuilt by Evfimy II, too.

The fortress was rebuilt between 1484 and 1490 by Muscovite builders in the wake of Grand Prince Ivan III's conquest of the city in 1478; a third of it was paid for by the Novgorodian archbishop Gennady, a Muscovite appointee (1484–1504). It is a large oval 545 metres long and 240 metres wide with nine surviving towers (three additional towers have not survived). The tallest tower, the Kokui tower, is capped by a silver dome. - in: wikipedia

Cathedral of St. Sophia

The Cathedral of St. Sophia (the Holy Wisdom of God) in Veliky Novgorod is the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Novgorod and the mother church of the Novgorodian Eparchy.

The 38-metre-high, five-domed, stone cathedral was built by Vladimir of Novgorod between 1045 and 1050 to replace an oaken cathedral built by Bishop Joachim the Korsunian in the late tenth century (making it the oldest church building in Russia proper and, with the exception of the Arkhyz and Shoana churches, the oldest building of any kind still in use in the country).

Bells by St. Sophia's Belfry

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The cupolas are thought to have acquired their present helmet-like shape in the 1150s, when the cathedral was restored after a fire.

A white stone belltower in five bays was built by Archbishop Evfimii II (1429–1458), the greatest architectural patron to ever hold the archiepiscopal office. He also had the Palace of Facets built just northwest of the cathedral in 1433. The nearby clocktower was initially completed under his patronage as well, but fell down in the seventeenth century and was restored in 1673. - in: wikipedia

Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour

The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior is a former Russian Orthodox Church that stands on Ilyina (Elijah) Street in Veliky Novgorod just east of the Marketplace. The current building was built in 1374 and frescoed by Theophanes the Greek in 1378. Substantial portions of those frescoes still remain, including the Christ Pantocrator in the dome, a number of saints inside the south entrance, and The Old Testament Trinity in the western vestry, as well as others. The current building is now a museum, part of the Novgorod State Museum-Preserve. - in: wikipedia