May 2012 : Veliky Novgorod

The subject during 2 months will be "old towns of Russia". The first one called Veliky Novgorod will be presented in this post, and the second one, Staraya Russa, next month.

Veliky Novgorod is situated in the North-West of Russia, 160 kilometers South from Saint-Petersburg and 520 kilometers from Moscow, near the site where the Volkhov river takes its water (Lake Ilmen). The city is easy to reach by car, bus or train (by night, 10 hours from Moscow).

The climate is moist and moderate continental. Winter is snowy, summer is sunny, and in May-June there is the time of famous "white nights".

In this city you can find old buildings from 13th century : many churches and monasteries.

We decided to spend a weekend there and to stay at an hotel not far from the historical centre (Kremlin). As it was Easter time, decorated eggs and cakes were at the entrance of the restaurant.

Our first day was the visit of the town and monuments around, and the second day was a trip to Staraya Russa (subject for June ...).

The history ?

Novgorodians always felt rather superior compared to their neighbours : they wore leather boots instead of traditional Russian "lapti" (in birch bark), and they summoned, and expelled princes whenever they pleased. Streets of Novgorod were paved with wooden slabs, local builders and icon-painters were famous throughout the lands.

Novgorod was first mentioned as a fortress in the chronicles of 859, and this date is accepted as a starting point of the city's age. 

At the times of the Kievan Rus', Prince Vladimir 1st converted Russia into Christianity, and his son Yaroslav the Wise were among those who occupied Novgorod throne. 

From the 12th century, the Novgorod Land became an independent feudal republic managed by "veche" (a gathering of representatives of all city parts). Veche made decisions concerning war and peace, foreign and internal policy and other global matters as well as elect the archbishop of Novgorod.

In 1242, the town, attacked by the "Teutonic Knights" (religious and military order) appealed to the protection of Alexander Nevsky, who after saving it, subjected it to the tribute.

In 1478, annexed by Ivan III, Novgorod swore fidelity to the Great Prince of Moscow. The annexation of Novgorod republic to Moscow Principality crowned the creation of the Russian state whose capital became Moscow.

In 1570, it was the scene of horrific massacres carried out upon orders of Ivan the Terrible. The  legend tells that it is blood, then spilled into the river Volkhov, which today protects waters of winter ice. A dove, frozen under the influence of terror, remained petrified on the dome of Saint Sophia Cathedral.

Starting from the middle of the 20th century, systematic archaeological excavations are held on a large scale within the city borders. During this time, were found over 2 thousand of lead seals, a large number of weaponry, jewelry, household utensils, and various music instruments. The subject of great pride of the historians is over a thousand of birch-bark scrolls of various contents and in a perfect condition. Among the scrolls there are business contracts, love letters, culinary recipes, commentaries to the Bible, commercial estimates, and even the pupils' scribbles. These finds demonstrate the total literacy of the inhabitants of medieval Novgorod, including women and commoners, and help to understand the details of ancestors' life.

What to see ?

Start with the Kremlin.

A Kremlin is an essential part of any ancient Russian city. Originally it was the heart of the settlement, which defined the silhouette and layout of the city. The Kremlin (or Detinets, as it was sometimes called in the older times) was an administrative, social and religious centre. This is where veche gathered, elections were held, books were collected and copied, and events were recorded in the chronicles. The Kremlin walls protected the major cathedral of the city — St. Sophia Cathedral — and the residence of the Archbishop of Novgorod. 


You can see the red brick walls and towers of the fortress. The total length of the walls is 1,385 metres, they are 3.3 metres thick and 10.9 metres high. The area of the citadel is 12.1 hectares.

The Belfry of St Sophia is a monument of the 15th-17th centuries. The first stone structure with three stair-wells was raised in 1439. In the 16th century the lower stair-wells were removed and a new top was made of six rectangular pillars with rounded corners. The structure was surmounted by five tent-roofs. The existing surmount dates back to the 19th century. The bells on view in front of the belfry were cast in the late 16th and 17th centuries. Everyday, a priest will climb up the stairwell to the top level to ring the bells to signal the commencement of Russian Orthodox services.

The Monument to the Millennium of Russia, was unveiled in 1862. It is the work of Mikhail Mikeshin, an eminent Russian sculptor active in the second half of the 19th century.
The kneeling figure in the upper tier of the monument personifies Russia. Below, around the sphere, there are six groups symbolizing different periods of Russian history up to the first quarter of the 18th century. Represented, among others, are Prince Rurik who, according to legend, was invited in 862 to rule Novgorodian lands; Princes Vladimir, Dmitry Donskoi, Tsars Ivan III and Peter I. The high-relief frieze in the lower tier of the memorial depicts military heroes, statesmen, educators, poets, writers and artists - 109 figures altogether.

The city's southern outskirts remained almost untouched by time — the Volkhov river is taking its waters from the Ilmen Lake just as a thousand years ago. 

Today the Kremlin is the cultural and tourist centre of the city. Inside its walls there is a museum, restoration workshops, public library, philharmonic concert hall, college of music and arts, art school, restaurant (not found !) and souvenir shops. 

From Kremlin you should take the pedestrian bridge over the Volkhov river which connects the St Sophia and Torgovaya (commercial) sides of the city, just like in the medieval times, in order to reach the Yaroslav's Courtyard, after having seen a statue (people like to take picture with her).

The division of the city into the Sophia and Trade sides remained from the ancient times until today. The Kremlin was the center of the Sophia side, and the Trade side was concentrated around the Marketplace and the prince's courtyard, which Prince Yaroslav the Wise had moved here in the early 11th c. 
The Great Bridge connected Yaroslav's Courtyard and the Kremlin across the Volkhov river, and at its foot the Marketplace spread. A long line of jetties went along the bank, receiving boats bringing goods of a great variety. Shops were assembled into rows and sold bread, fish, leather, silver, icons, and many others.

As the old saying goes, «churches here grow like trees». Well, no wonder that churches were built here in such numbers - this was the traditional way of rich merchants both to perform their Christian duty and fulfill their social obligations. 

Also monasteries 
to see ?

According to the tradition, the first monastery in Novgorod was founded in the beginning of the 11th century, during the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. One of the known grant letters was given by Prince Mstislav to St. George monastery and certified that a large amount of lands, a number of villages and other properties were bestowed on the monastery in a permanent possession. 
In the Middle Ages, monasteries became the outposts of the city. They received the first attack of the enemies and were burned down and looted more than once. They suffered an especially hard fate in 1386, during the campaign of the Moscow Prince Dmitry Donskoy against Novgorod, and in 1611, at the time of Swedish invasion. 
In Novgorodian monasteries were created many outstanding examples of icon-painting (such as «St. George» and «Ustyuzhanskoye Annunciation»), jeweler's and applied arts (several altar Gospels in silver covers), gold embroidery (vestments of clergymen), and books. 
Most monasteries were abolished by Catherine the Great in the 18th c., their cathedrals turned into the parish and cemetery churches. Only a few most ancient and important monasteries retained their place in the religious life of Novgorod and all of Russia. 
After the revolution in October, 1917, all monasteries in the city and around it were closed, and the buildings themselves were used as colonies, hospitals, old people's homes, and dormitories. Remains of Khoutynsky and Vyazhischsky monasteries were used by movie producers as authentic ruin scenery as recently as 20 years ago. 
The reforms of the «perestroika» epoch changed the state policy concerning the church. Some of the monasteries in various Russian cities, including Novgorod, started a second life. Today around Novgorod there are three fully-functioning monasteries : Vyazhischsky, Khoutynsky, and St George.

St George monastery 


The legend tells that St. George monastery was founded in 1030 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise. He was christened as Georgy (Yury, George), and after victorious campaign against the people of chud' he founded the city of Yuriev (today Tartu, Estonia) and built cathedrals in Novgorod and Kiev in the name and to the glory of his heavenly patron. The St. George cathedral in Novgorod was built on the route from the city to the country-side residence of the prince in the Rakomo village, on the shore of the Ilmen Lake. Around the cathedral a monastery of the same name was founded.

In one of the churches, people have displayed eggs and cakes on tables in order to get priest's blessing.

Varlamoo-Khoutynsky monastery


In fact, the full name of the monastery is even longer - Varlaamo-Khoutynsky Spaso-Preobrazhensky, which means St. Varlaam Monastery of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour in the village of Khoutyn. St. Varlaam, just like St. Anthony, was born in a rich, aristocratic family, but left the world and became a hermit. He chose a place near the Khoutyn village. The monks founded the cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Savious and the monastery. St. Varlaam was respected both while alive and after his death, when his holy relics continuously worked wonders. 
The monastery was terribly damaged during the World War II, but some ten years ago it was completely restored and returned to the Eparchy of Novgorod as a convent. 

There was a bus stop (see photo) not far from the monastery to return to Veliky Novgorod : we waited more than half an hour, but no bus came (people said he should come soon ...), so we decided to go back by hitchhiking and it worked fine ... later, we saw the bus on the side of the road with the motor apparently damaged !

Church of the Transfiguration of our Saviour

Church of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour on Ilyina street is one of the most ancient temples in Novgorod. The famous icon «Our Lady of the Sign» was kept here, according to the legend. In 1374 a new stone church was erected to replace a wooden one, and the Archbishop himself consecrated it. 
The church presents a typical example of Novgorodian construction style of the 14th c.

VITOSLAVLITSY 
open air museum

A while ago, in the 12th century, there was a village Vitoslavlitsy by the road between Novgorod and St. George Monastery. Nearby were the fields and lands belonging to St. Panteleymon, Arkazhsky, Annunciation and many other smaller monasteries. Today the village and most of these monasteries are gone, but the landscape, including lakes and canals, remained. In the 1960s it was considered attractive enough to found here an open-air museum of wooden architecture (we reached it by foot from the St. George monastery).

Many tourists from Northern Europe are visiting Veliky Novgorod (it is not far) and there is a dynamic tourist office who is distributing a town guide in the hotels (but only in Russian). 
It is really a place to see !