Nilov Monastery

Ostashkov, Russia

Stolobny Island is the home of Nilov Monastery, which was founded by Saint Nilus in 1594, and previously welcomed up to 40,000 pilgrims each year. Most of the buildings of the monastery were built in the 18th and 19th Centuries in a neoclassical style. Today the monastery complex remains one of the most impressive ensembles of Neoclassical architecture in Eastern Europe. Some of its churches date back to the 17th century. A graceful embankment was completed by 1812, and a large cathedral was built in 1821-25. The construction of the causeway to the island was completed in 1812. The Nilow Monastery was one of the largest and wealthiest monasteries in the Russian Empire.

In 1919, after the October Revolution, the monastery was confiscated. It was closed in 1927 by the Soviet government and subsequently used for various purposes. From 1927 to 1939 there was a work camp for underage criminals.

In the period 1939 to 1941, during the first years of World War II, the monastery was a prisoner of war camp of the Russian secret service NKVD, which held approximately 7,000 Polish prisoners of war who had been taken captive by the Soviet Union as a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Almost all of the prisoners were subsequently executed in April 1940 in Kalinin (now Tver) and then buried in mass graves in Mednoye, an act which became known as the Katyn Massacre. Amongst those killed were Polish officers, lawyers, policemen, teachers, doctors, and other members of the intelligentsia.

From 1941 to 1945 there was a hospital in the building complex, and again from 1945 to 1960, a camp for minors and orphans. From 1960 to 1971 the monastery was used as a retirement home, and from 1971 to 1990 a hostel for tourists.

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Address

Unnamed Road, Ostashkov, Russia
See all sites in Ostashkov

Details

Founded: 1594
Category: Religious sites in Russia

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.8/5 (based on Google user reviews)

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User Reviews

Cladr kly (20 months ago)
Одно из самых любимых мест! Очень красиво! Это моё "место силы"! Этот остров я открыла для себя ещё, когда там были руины и даже храм не действовал. Сейчас там всё шикарно: и отделка, и музей, и гостиница, и трапезная! Цены, конечно, дороговаты! Но жить монастырю тоже надо!
Denikin17 Denikin (20 months ago)
Отдыхали на Селигере в январе. Грех не побывать в монастыре. Очень интересный музей и рассказ экскурсавода Надежды об истории появления монастыря, и об истории жизни Нила, его обете никогда не ложиться, всегда быть в горизонтальном положении. Мы этим очень прониклись, но решили, что на такое не отважимся. По крайне мере пока.
Юрий (21 months ago)
Были здесь не раз... видели как восстанавливается монастырь.. сделали много замечательных фотографий... Вообще это уникальное место в России... "В 16 веке в Тверском Верхневолжье поселился отшельник Нил, впоследствии русский святой Нил Столобенский Чудотворец, слава о котором разошлась далеко за пределы Тверской земли. Как потом оказалось, это событие имело важные последствия для истории края. Преподобный Нил поселился на острове Столобный, где в 1594 г. был сооружен монастырь Нилова пустынь, который стал не просто хранителем заветов молитвенника, но и духовным центром всего Верхневолжья. В истории монастыря было немало горьких лет, наполненных тяжкими испытаниями, однако вопреки всем трудностям Нилова пустынь продолжала развиваться, укрепляться и отстраиваться с материальной поддержкой русских царей и знатных меценатов.Архитектурный облик монастырского ансамбля окончательно оформился в середине 19 века. Это время считается расцветом обители: идёт активная застройка, вырастают храмы и различные хозяйственные строения. Новый, 20 век Нилова пустынь встречает в качестве самого популярного среди паломников святого места. Годы советской власти — это громадный шаг назад, монастырь закрывается, ценности изымаются, многие здания разрушаются, а мощи святых подвергаются осквернению. В период с 1927 по 1990 г. в обители размещались колония для военнопленных, госпиталь, дом престарелых, туристическая база. В 1990 г., когда святую обитель передали Русской православной церкви, появилась надежда увидеть Нилову пустынь в возрождённом виде. Восстановительные работы не прекращаются и сейчас..."
Victor Lander (2 years ago)
Powerful place
Changwon Oh (2 years ago)
Reverence !
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