Novodevichy convent in summer

Novodevichy Convent, also known as Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery (Новодевичий монастырь, Богородице-Смоленский монастырь in Russian) is probably the best-known cloister of Moscow. Its name, sometimes translated as the New Maidens' Monastery, was devised to differ from the ancient maidens' convent in the Moscow Kremlin. Unlike other Moscow monasteries, it has remained virtually intact since the 17th century. In 2004, it was proclaimed the World Heritage Site. Saint Basils Cathedral Moscow (Russian/Cyrillic: Москва́, pronunciation: Maskvá  listen) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 1097. ... The Ascension Convent in 1882 The Chudov Monastery (also known as Alexius’ Archangel Michael Monastery) was founded in the Kremlin in 1358 by metropolitan Alexius. ... The Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (Russian: Московский Кремль) is the best known kremlin (Russian citadel). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...

Muscovite period

The Novodevichy Convent was founded in 1524 by Grand Prince Vasili III in commemoration of the conquest of Smolensk in 1514. It was built as a fortress at a curve of the Moskva River and became an important part of the southern defensive belt of the capital, which had already included a number of other monasteries. Upon its founding, the Novodevichy Convent was granted 3,000 rubles and the villages of Akhabinevo and Troparevo. Ivan the Terrible would later grant a number of other villages to the convent. Events March 1, 1524/5 - Giovanni da Verrazano lands near Cape Fear (approx. ... The title of Grand Duke (Latin, Magnus Dux; German, Großherzog, Russian, Великий князь) used in Slavic, Baltic, and Germanic countries, is ranked in honour below King but higher than a sovereign Duke (Herzog) or Prince (Fürst). ... Vasili III Ivanovich (Russian: Василий III Иванович, also Basil) (March 25, 1479–December 3, 1533) was the Grand Prince of Moscow from 1505 to 1533. ... The view of Smolensk in 1912 Smolensk (Russian: Смоленск;, Belarusian: Смаленск) is a city in western Russia, located on the Dniepr river at 54. ... Events March - Louis XII of France makes peace with Emperor Maximilian. ... Fortifications (Latin fortis, strong, and facere, to make) are military constructions designed for defensive warfare. ... Moskva River (Москва́), also known as the Moscow River, is a small river over 400 miles long, situated in Russia, Eastern Europe. ... 1998 Russian Federation one rouble coin. ... Ivan IV (August 25, 1530–March 18, 1584) was the first ruler of Russia to assume the title of tsar. ... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ...

The Novodevichy Convent was known to have sheltered many ladies from the Russian royal families and boyar clans, who had been forced to take the veil, such as Feodor I's wife Irina Godunova (she was there with her brother Boris Godunov until he became a ruler himself), Sophia Alekseyevna (Peter the Great's sister), Eudoxia Lopukhina (Peter the Great's first wife), and others. In 1610-1611, the Novodevichy Convent was captured by a Polish unit under the command of Gosniewski. Once the cloister was liberated, the tsar supplied it with permanent guards (100 Streltsy in 1616, 350 soldiers in 1618). By the end of the 17th century, the Novodevichy Convent had already possessed 36 villages (164,215 desyatinas of land) in 27 uyezds of Russia. In 1744, it owned 14,489 peasants. A boyar (also spelt bojar; Romanian: boier) was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Ruthenian (Russian) and Romanian aristocracy, second only to the ruling princes, from the 10th through the 17th century. ... Feodor presents a golden chain to Boris Godunov. ... Boris Godunov Boris Fyodorovitch Godunov (Бори́с Фёдорович Годуно́в) (c. ... Sophia Alekseyevna (Софья Алексеевна in Russian) (September 17(27), 1657 — July 3(14), 1704), regent of Russia in 1682-1689, daughter of tsar Aleksey I of Russia and Maria Miloslavskaya. ... Peter I Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia Peter I (Pyotr Alekseyvich) (9 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ... Eudoxia Lopukhina (1669 - 1731) was the Russian first wife of Peter I, they married in 1689 but divorced in 1698. ... Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ... Events November 1 - At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeares romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time. ... Tsar (Bulgarian цар, Russian царь,  listen; often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to... Streltsy (Стрельцы in Russian), a unit of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. ... Events Dirk Hartog lands on an island off the Western Australian coast Pocahontas arrives in England War between Venice and Austria Collegium Musicum founded in Prague Nicolaus Copernicus De revolutionibus is placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Roman Catholic Church Births May 18 - Johann Jakob Froberger, German... Events March 8 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejects the idea after some initial calculations were made but on May 15 confirms the discovery). ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Uyezd was a division of guberniya. ... Events The third French and Indian War, known as King Georges War, breaks out at Port Royal, Nova Scotia Ongoing events War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) Births May 19 - Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen of George III of Great Britain (d. ... Categories: 1911 Britannica | Historical stubs | Feudalism ...

Imperial period

Novodevichy convent in winter

In the mid-17th century, they transferred the nuns from other Ukrainian and Belarusian monasteries to the Novodevichy Convent. In 1721, some of the aged nuns, who had done away with the Old Believers movement, were given shelter there. In 1724, the monastery housed a military hospital for the soldiers and officers of the Russian army and an orphanage for female foundlings. By 1763, the convent housed 84 nuns, 35 lay sisters and 78 sick patients and servants. Each year, the state provided the Novodevichy Convent with 1,500 rubles, 1,300 quarters of bread, and 680 rubles and 480 quarters of bread for more than 250 abandoned children. In general, a nun is a female ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave the world and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. ... Events Pope Innocent XIII becomes pope Johann Sebastian Bach composes the Brandenburg Concertos April 4 - Robert Walpole becomes the first prime minister of Britain September 10 - Treaty of Nystad is signed, bringing an end to the Great Northern War November 2 - Peter I is proclaimed Emperor of All the Russias... The Old Believers (старове́ры or старообря́дцы) are a schismatic group of the Russian Orthodox Church. ... Events January 14 - King Philip V of Spain abdicates the throne February 20 - The premiere of Giulio Cesare, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, takes place in London June 23 - Treaty of Constantinople signed. ... This article is about the institutions for orphans. ... Child abandonment or the practice of abandoning ones offspring outside of legal adoption is a long standing social ill. ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Lay brothers are Catholic religious occupied solely with manual labour and with the secular affairs of a monastery or friary. ...

In 1812, Napoleon's army made an attempt to blow up the convent, but the nuns managed to save the cloister from destruction. In Tolstoy's War and Peace, Pierre was to be executed under the convent walls. In another novel of his, Anna Karenina, Konstantin Lyovin (the main character) meets his future wife Kitty scating near monastery walls. Indeed, the Maiden's Field (as a meadow in front of the convent came to be known) was the most popular scating-rink in 19th-century Moscow. Tolstoy himself enjoyed scating there, when he lived nearby, in the district of Khamovniki. 1812 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Napoleon (disambiguation). ... Lev Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy  listen (Russian: Лев Никола́евич Толсто́й; commonly referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy) (September 9 (August 28, O.S.), 1828 – November 20 (November 7, O.S.), 1910) was a Russian novelist, reformer, pacifist and moral thinker, notable for his ideas on nonviolent resistance and... See also War and Peace (album) War and Peace (Война и мир [Voyna i mir], in original orthography Война и миръ) is an epic novel of Russian history and society by Leo Tolstoy, first published from 1865 to 1869, which tells the story of Russia during the Napoleonic Era. ... Anna Karenina (Анна Каренина) is a novel by Leo Tolstoy that was first published in 1877. ...

In 1871, the Filatiev brothers donated money for a shelter-school for the orphans of "ignoble origins". Also, the convent housed two almshouses for nuns and lay sisters. By 1917, there had been 51 nuns and 53 lay sisters in the Novodevichy Convent. 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Categories: Stub ... 1917 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Soviet period

In 1922, the Bolsheviks closed down the Novodevichy Convent (the cathedral was the last to be closed, in 1929) and turned it into the Museum of Woman's Emancipation. By 1926, the monastery had been transformed into a history and art museum. In 1934, it was affiliated with the State Historical Museum. Most of its facilities were turned into apartments. Actually, this spared the convent from destruction. 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Bolshevik Party Meeting. ... A cathedral is a Christian church building, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy (such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Anglican churches), which serves as the central church of a bishopric. ... 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1934 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... State Historical Museum, as seen from Red Square The State Historical Museum of Russia is a museum of Russian history located at one end of Red Square in Moscow. ...

In 1943, when Stalin started to make advances to the Russian Orthodox church, he sanctioned that the so-called Moscow Theological Courses should be opened in the convent. The Institute of Theology was opened the next year. In 1945, the Soviets returned the Assumption Cathedral to the believers. The residence of the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna has been located in the Novodevichy Convent since 1980. 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... Saint Basils Cathedral, a well-known Russian Orthodox church situated in Moscow The Russian Orthodox Church (Русская Православная церковь) is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Soviet redirects here. ... When the word metropolitan (from the Greek metera = mother and polis = town) is used as an adjective, as in metropolitan bishop, metropolitan France, or metropolitan area it can mean: of or characteristic of a metropolis; see also metropolitan area of or belonging to the home territories of a country, as... Kolomna (Russian: Коломна) is an ancient Russian town, founded in 1177 on the Moskva River and Oka River. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

In 1994, nuns returned to the convent, which is currently under the authority of the Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna. Some of the churches and other monastic buildings are still affiliated with the State Historical Museum. In 1995, they resumed service in the convent on patron saint's days. 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In several forms of Christianity, a patron saint has special affinity for a trade or group. ...

Monuments

The oldest structure in the convent is the huge five-domed cathedral, supposedly built by an Italian architect in 1524-25 and dedicated to the holy icon Our Lady of Smolensk. Its frescos are among the best in Moscow. Executed in the canonical, monumental style, they date mostly from Ivan the Terrible's reign. A baroque golden-carved iconostasis was installed in 1683-85. Its five tiers contain icons from the best painters of 17th-century Russia, including Simeon Ushakov and Konstantin Zubov. A XIV Century fresco featuring Saint Sebastian Note: Fresco is the NATO reporting name of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. ... Ivan IV (August 25, 1530–March 18, 1584) was the first ruler of Russia to assume the title of tsar. ... Iconostasis of Elias prophet church, Yaroslavl In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis (the plural is iconostases, whose last syllable rhymes with ease) is a wall of icons, religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. ...

The cathedral may be a focal point of the monastery, but there are many other churches. Most of them date from the 1680s, when the convent was thoroughly renovated on behest of the regent Sophia Alexeievna (who, ironically, would be incarcerated there later). The blood-red walls and crown-towers, two lofty over-the-gates churches, a refectory and residential quarters were all designed in the Muscovite baroque style, supposedly by the celebrated Peter Potapov. The Assumption church in the Pokrovka Street, Moscow (1696-99) Naryshkin baroque, also called Moscow baroque, or Muscovite baroque, is a named given to a particular style of architecture and decoration which was fashionable in Moscow at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. ...

A slender and lofty belltower is probably the most remarkable of these structures. Built in 6 tiers to a height of 72 metres, it used to be the highest structure in Moscow after Ivan the Great Bell Tower. This light octagonal column seems to unite all major elements of the ensemble into one harmonious whole. The Belltower at University of California, Riverside, a center piece of the campus at UC Riverside. ... Ivan the Great Bell Tower, with Assumption Belfry on the left The Ivan the Great Bell Tower is the tallest bell tower of the Kremlin in Moscow, with a total height of 81 meters (266 feet). ...

Necropolis

Like other Moscow monasteries (notably the Danilov and the Donskoy) the New Maidens' Monastery was coveted by the Russian nobility as a place of burial. Sergey Solovyov and Alexei Brusilov are only two of the many prominent Muscovites buried within convent walls. In 1898, the so-called Novodevichy Cemetery was opened without monastery walls. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was one of the first notables to be interred at the new necropolis, and Nikolai Gogol was later reburied there too. During the Soviet epoch, it was turned into the most high-profile cemetery in Russia, with the likes of Peter Kropotkin, Nikita Khruschev, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Konstantin Stanislavski being interred there. Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov (Soloviev, Solovyev) May 17 (May 5 (O.S.) 1820 — April 16 (April 4, (O.S.)), 1879 was one of the greatest historians of Imperial Russia. ... Novodevichy Cemetery (Новодевичье кла́дбище) is located in Moscow, Russia and is the citys third most popular tourist site. ... Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Анто́н Па́влович Че́хов) (born January 29, 1860 (Jan. ... Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol (Russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Го́голь) (March 31, 1809 - March 4, 1852) was a Ukrainian-born Russian writer. ... Peter Kropotkin Prince Peter Alexeevich Kropotkin (In Russian Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин) (December 9, 1842 - February 8, 1921) was one of Russias foremost anarchists and one of the first advocates of what he called anarchist communism: the model of society he advocated for most of his life was that of... Nikita Khrushchev in 1962 Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (Russian: Ники́та Серге́евич Хрущёв) (nih-KEE-tah khroo-SHCHYOFF) (April 17, 1894 – September 11, 1971) was the leader of the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin. ... Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Russian: ) (April 271, 1891 – March 5, 1953) was one of the Soviet Unions greatest composers. ... Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich  listen (Russian: ) (September 25, 1906 – August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... Konstantin (Constantin) Stanislavski (Константин Сергеевич Станиславский / Алексéев) (January 5, 1863 - August 7, 1938) was a Russian theatre and acting innovator. ...

External link

• Evaluation of the convent by UNESCO team (http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/1097.pdf)