Top Historic Sights in Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Explore the historic highlights of Veliky Novgorod

Novgorod Kremlin

Novgorod Kremlin (Detinets) stands on the left bank of the Volkhov River. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings. The compound was originally the site of a pagan burial ground upon which the first bishop of Novgorod, Ioakim Korsunianin built the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom upon his arrival in the area in 989 or so. Thus the compound was and remained largely an ecclesia ...
Founded: 14th century | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Millennium of Russia

The Millennium of Russia is a famous bronze monument in the Novgorod Kremlin. It was erected in 1862 to celebrate the millennium of Rurik"s arrival to Novgorod, an event traditionally taken as a starting point of Russian history. A competition to design the monument was held in 1859. An architect Viktor Hartmann and an artist Mikhail Mikeshin were declared the winners. Mikeshin"s design called for a grandiose, ...
Founded: 1862 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Saint Sophia Cathedral

The St Sophia's Cathedral was built between 1045-1050 inside the Novgorod Kremlin (fortress). It is one of the earliest stone structures of northern Russia. Its height is 38 m. Originally it was taller, for during the past nine centuries the lower part of the building became concealed by the two-metre thick cultural layer. The cathedral was built by Prince Vladimir, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, and until the 1130s this p ...
Founded: 1045-1050 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

St. Paraskevi's Church

Church of St. Paraskevi, a small crossed dome church with three naves and four pillars, is one of Russia"s oldest churches. It is currently a museum and on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a part of Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings. The church was built in 1207 by Novgorod merchants and is named after Saint Paraskevi, who was the patron saint of the merchants. Previously, at least two different woode ...
Founded: 1207 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Yaroslav's Court

Yaroslav's Court (Yaroslavovo Dvorishche) was the princely compound in the city of Novgorod the Great. Today it is roughly the area around the Trade Mart, the St. Nicholas Cathedral, the Church of St. Procopius, and the Church of the Myrrh-bearing Women. The Trade Mart renovated and heavily modified in the 16th and 17th centuries, is all that is left of the princely palace itself. The prince also had a compound called the ...
Founded: 11th century | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Saint Nicholas Cathedral

Saint Nicholas Cathedral (Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral), founded by Mstislav the Great in 1113 and consecrated in 1136, is the oldest surviving building in the central part of Veliky Novgorod after the Saint Sophia Cathedral. It is on the World Heritage list as a part of object 604 Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings. The cathedral is located outside of the kremlin walls, on the right bank of the Volkhov R ...
Founded: 1113-1136 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Yuriev Monastery

The St. George"s (Yuriev) Monastery is usually cited as Russia"s oldest monastery. It was used to be the most important in the medieval Novgorod Republic. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site named Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings. According to legend, the monastery was founded in the 11th century by Yaroslav the Wise (whose Christian name was George), but the first historically-reliable ...
Founded: 12th century | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Transfiguration Church

The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior is a former Russian Orthodox Church built in 1374 and frescoed by Theophanes the Greek (Feofan Grek or Феофан Грек in Russian) 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 ...
Founded: 1374 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Peryn Chapel

Peryn Chapel or the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos on Peryn is one of the oldest churches of the region, dating from the 1220s. The church is a part of the complex of the Peryn Skete, a former monastery abolished in the 18th century, and is the only acting church in the monastery. It is built of plinthite and of stone and has a foundation in the shape of a square. The church is built on four pillars and has one d ...
Founded: 1220s | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Antoniev Monastery

The Antoniev Monastery rivalled the Yuriev Monastery as the most important monastery of medieval Novgorod the Great. It stands along the right bank of the Volkhov River north of the city centre and forms part of the Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings, a World Heritage Site. The monastery was founded in 1117 by St. Anthony of Rome (Antony Rimlyanin), who, according to legend, flew to Novgorod from Rome on a r ...
Founded: 1117 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Rurikovo Gorodische

Rurikovo Gorodische (Рюриково городище, in Scandinavian sources known as Holmgård) is a settlement, an archaeological site of the 9th century in front of Yuriev Monastery. Including known as the residence of the princes of Novgorod, which is connected with the names of many famous political figures of ancient Russia. Set ...
Founded: 9th century AD | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Zverin Monastery

The Zverin Monastery is one of the oldest Russian monasteries, founded not later than the 12th century. It was first mentioned in the chronicles as a female monastery in 1148. By that time, the monastery already existed, and the wooden Intercession Church was destroyed by lightning. The name of the monastery, which derives from the Russian wordзверь - a mammal - originates from Zverinets, a wooden area where the mona ...
Founded: 12th century | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Nereditsa Saviour Church

The Saviour Church on Nereditsa is one of Russia"s oldest Orthodox churches. It is on the World Heritage list as a part of Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings. The church was founded in 1198 by Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich and decorated with frescoes in 1199. The church was located outside the city of Novgorod but close to the residence of the prince, and the church was regarded by the prince as the plac ...
Founded: 1198 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Volotovo Church

The Volotovo Church was built in 1352 by Moisey, the archbishop of Novgorod. The church survived the Time of Troubles, when many Novgorod churches were destroyed or damaged by the Swedes. During the World War II, the church was basically at the front line between the Soviet and the German armies for three years and was destroyed. In 1955, Leonid Krasnorechyev performed conservation of the monument. The church was standing ...
Founded: 1352 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

St. Peter and Paul Church

Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Sinichya Gora is one of Russia"s oldest churches, dating from 1192. The church is located at the Saint Peter Cemetery, on the left bank of the Volkhov River. It is on the World Heritage list as a part of Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings. The small stone church is built as a cube and has one dome. The type of a small church was developed in Novgorod in the end of ...
Founded: 1192 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Kovalyovo Transfiguration Church

The Transfiguration Church in Kovalyovo was built around 1345. The southern annex is thought to have been designed as the burial vault of the Zhabin family. The church was notable for the frescoes created in the 14th century. During the Second World War, between 1941 and 1943, the church was destroyed. After the war, the ruins were conserved. In the 1960s, fragments of the frescoes were restored. Only 16 square metres ori ...
Founded: 1345 | Location: Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.