 | Novgorod: Encyclopedia II - Novgorod - Sights
Novgorod - Sights
No other Russian or Ukrainian city may compete with Novgorod in the variety and age of its medieval monuments. The foremost among these is the St Sophia Cathedral, built in the 1040s at the behest of Yaroslav the Wise. It is the best preserved of 11th century churches, and the first one to represent original features of Russian architecture (austere stone walls, five helmet-like cupolas). Its frescoes were painted in the 12th century and renovated in the 1860s. The cathedral features famous bronze gates, made in Magdeburg in 1156 and reportedly snatched by Novgorodians from the Swedish capital Sigtuna in 1187.
Novgorod kremlin, traditionally known as Detinets, also contains the oldest palace in Russia (the so-called Chamber of the Facets, 1433), the oldest Russian bell tower (mid-15th cent.), and the oldest Russian clock tower (1673). Among later structures, the most remarkable are a royal palace (1771) and a bronze monument to the Millennium of Russia, representing the most important figures from the country's history (unveiled in 1862).
Outside kremlin walls, there are three cathedrals constructed during the reign of Mstislav the Great, the last monarch of united Rus. St Nicholas Cathedral (1113-23), containing frescoes of Mstislav's family, graces Yaroslav's Court (formerly the chief square of Novgorod Republic). The Yuriev Monastery (probably the oldest in Russia, 1030) contains a gloomy Romanesque cathedral from 1119. A similar three-domed cathedral (1117), probably designed by the same masters, stands in the Antoniev Monastery.
There are numerous ancient churches scattered throughout the city. Some of them were blown up by the Nazis and subsequently restored. The most ancient pattern is represented by those dedicated to Sts Peter and Pavel (on the Swallow's Hill, 1185-92), to Annunciation (in Myachino, 1179), to Assumption (on Volotovo Field, 1180s) and to St Paraskeva (at Yaroslav's Court, 1207). The greatest masterpiece of early Novgorod architecture is the Saviour church at Nereditsa (1198).
In the 13th century, there was a vogue for tiny churches of three-paddled design. These are represented by a small chapel in Peryn (1230s) and St Nicholas' on the Lipnya Islet (1292, also notable for its 14th-century frescoes). The next century saw development of two original church designs, one of them culminating in St Theodor's church (1360-61, fine frescoes from 1380s), and another one leading to the Saviour church on Ilyina street (1374, painted in 1378 by Feofan Grek). The Saviour' church in Kovalevo (1345) admittedly reflects Serban influence.
During the last century of republican government, some new temples were consecrated to Sts Peter and Paul (on Slavna, 1367; in Kozhevniki, 1406), to Christ's Nativity (at the Cemetery, 1387), to St John the Apostle's (1384), to the Holy Apostles (1455), to St Demetrius (1467), to St Simeon (1462), and other saints. Generally, they are not thought so innovative as the churches from the previous epoch. Several 12th-century shrines (i.e., in Opoki) were demolished brick by brick and then reconstructed exactly as they used to be.
Novgorod's conquest by Ivan III in 1478 decisively changed the character of local architecture. Large commissions were thenceforth executed by Muscovite masters and patterned after cathedrals of Moscow Kremlin: e.g., the Saviour Cathedral of Khutyn Monastery (1515), the Cathedral of the Sign (1688), the Nicholas Cathedral of Vyaschizhy Monastery (1685). Nevertheless, some parochial churches were still styled in keeping with traditions of local art: e.g., the churches of Holy Wives (1510) and of Sts Boris and Gleb (1586).
In the village of Vitoslavlitsy, on the road from Novgorod to the Yuriev Monastery, a museum of ancient wooden art was established. Many wooden churches, houses and mills, some of the dating to the 14th century, were transported there from all around the Novgorod region.
Other related archives10th century, 1119, 1136, 1156, 1187, 1478, 1570, 1727, 1862, 1941, 1944, 1998, 859, 882, 9th century, August 15, Bielefeld, Birch bark documents, China, Feofan Grek, France, Gardariki, Gdov, Germany, Hanseatic League, Harald Haardraade, Ivan III, Ivan the Terrible, Ivangorod, Izborsk, January 19, Khutyn Monastery, Kiev, Kievan Rus, Kirillov, Knyaz, Koporye, Korela, Kronstadt, Ladoga, Lake Ilmen, London, Magdeburg, Magnus I of Norway, Moscow, Moscow Kremlin, Mstislav the Great, Muscovy, New Dvina Fort, Norse Sagas, Norse sagas, Novgorod (disambiguation), Novgorod Oblast, Novgorod Republic, Olav I of Norway, Olav II of Norway, Old Novgorod dialect, Oleg of Novgorod, Oreshek, Paris, Porkhov, Posadnik, Pskov, Red Army, Rochester, New York, Rurik, Russia, Russkaya Pravda, Sadko, Sigtuna, Smolensk, Solovki, St Petersburg, St Sophia Cathedral, Strasbourg, Tver, UK, Varangian, Veche, Viking, Vladimir-Suzdal, Volkhov River, Vyborg, WWII, Watford, World Heritage Site, Yamburg, Yaroslav the Wise, Zibo, a bronze monument to the Millennium of Russia, aristocracy, birch bark letters, city state, folklore, kremlin, medieval, trade route from the Baltics to Byzantium
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Sights", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
