Novospassky Monastery

Welcome to the Novospassky Monastery, the New Monastery of the Savior, one of the most historically significant religious sites in Moscow. As you stand before the towering 18th-century bell tower, you are at the entrance to a…

The spiritual and architectural heart of the monastery is the Spaso-Preobrazhensky, or Transfiguration Cathedral. Built during the reign of Tsar Mikhail Romanov, this massive five-domed structure was intended to rival the great…

Beneath the Transfiguration Cathedral lies the ancestral tomb of the Romanovs, a site of immense historical gravity. Long before they were monarchs, the boyars of the Romanov house were buried here. …

In the monastery courtyard, you will find a tall, intricately carved stone cross. This is a monument to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the Governor-General of Moscow and uncle to Tsar Nicholas II. …

Near the monastery walls sits a small, unassuming chapel that hides one of Moscow’s most enduring mysteries. This is the original burial place of the Nun Dosifeya, who lived in the nearby Ivanovsky Monastery for decades under a…

The 20th century brought a dark transformation to the Novospassky Monastery. Immediately after the 1917 Revolution, the Bolsheviks closed the monastery and turned it into one of the city's first concentration camps. …

Connected to the main cathedral complex is the Znamenskaya, or Sign of the Mother of God Church. This church was built by the Sheremetev family, one of Russia’s most powerful and wealthy aristocratic clans, to serve as their…

As you walk back toward the great bell tower and prepare to re-enter the modern streets of Moscow, take a moment to reflect on the immense span of history you have just witnessed. The Novospassky Monastery is more than a…