Great Novgorod

The city of Novgorod is situated in the North-West of Russia, on the bank of the Volkhov river close to the Ilmen lake. It has a population of 255,000 and is 200 km away from St. Petersburg and 530 km from Moscow.

Novgorod was founded in the middle of the 9th century. In the old times it was dubbed as "His majesty the Great Novgorod" or "Father of the Russian cities". Being located at the cross-roads of the ancient trade routes Novgorod became an important business and commercial centre that carried on a brisk trade with the countries of Occident and Orient, Scandinavia, Byzantinte, let alone the other Russian principalities. Novgorod for many centuries played an important part in the political and cultural life of the medieval Russia. The modern city of Novgorod contains the treasures of our cultural and architectural heritage of the 16-18th centuries. A visitor here is overwhelmed by the fabulous beauty of an authentic Russian city. Novgorod is the city of the churches surrounded by the old monasteries. Numerous monuments have survived from the premongolian period (11-13th century).

The unique monuments of Novgorod architecture are included into the world heritage list of UNESCO. Among these are the Novgorod Kremlin, St. Sophia Cathedral (11th century which is the oldest on the territory of Russia), the Church of the Saviour at Nereditsa, and the Church of the Saviour at Kovalyovo.

The art scholars justly compare Novgorod to Florence by the wealth of the preserved mural paintings on the walls of the temples. The Church of Our Saviour Transfiguration in Ilyna street (14th century) is the only one where the frescoes of Theophanes the Greek have survived.

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