Excursion to Novodevichy Convent of Moscow with private tour guide in English

Excursion to Novodevichy Convent of Moscow with private tour guide.

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Exchequer Chamber End of XVII (to the left)

Novodevichy Convent is an ensemble consisting of 14 buildings: temples, belfries, household and residential buildings. Ones of such buildings are Exchequer Chambers which are the building made of stone. They were erected in 17 century.

Initially the building was one-storey but later wooden storey was added to it. These chambers were used for the storage of treasury, and monks lived there.

Hospital Chambers End of XVII century (to the left in the corner)

Two-storied white building built in XVII century. The building of chambers was used as a hospital for the soldiers and officers and it was surrounded by pharmaceutical garden. Famous restorer P.D. Baranovskiy lived in this house in 1939-1984. Memorial plaque is installed on the

building in memory of him. He has done a lot for the recovery and salvation of Moscow churches and building.

Belfry (1687-1689)

For its construction there was disassembled dilapidated church above the tomb of the princess Anna, first-born of Ivan the Terrible. Her remains were buried in the crypt under the altar of Smolenskiy cathedral.

The church is built in the last year of the Sofia’s rule. Its height is 72 meters and it consists of 6 tiers of octagonal structures surrounded by galleries with white-stone balustrades. The third and fifth tiers are occupied by belfries. The lower tier was intended for the church of reverend Varlaam and Ioasaph connected with the chambers of princess Eudoxia Alexeevna. On the second tier there was side-chapel of saint apostle and Evangelist St. John the Evangelist, moved in the beginning of XIX century to the rectory of Assumption cathedral. The building in the style of Naryshkin baroque.

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Itineraries in Moscow (see more)

Convent necropolis

34 burial places with white-stone headstones of XVI – XVII centuries have been preserved in the basement of Smolenskiy cathedral. These are burial places of representatives of Ivan the Terrible’s family, boyar and princely origin. In quadrangle of the cathedral there are tombs of the relatives of Peter I – his sisters, Cathrine, Eudoxia, Sofia; and the first wife of tsar – Eudoxia Fedorovna Lopukhina.

City cemetery on the territory of the convent has been formed in XIX century. Here were buried people of noble and merchant estate, professors of the university, poets, men of letters, doctors, public figures, heroes of Paatriotic War of 1812, general of Patriotic War of 1812 and first world war, Decembrists, outstanding Russian historians.

Chapel of the Prohorov (on the square near cathedral). This is family vault of very famous and respectable family of textile entrepreneurs in Russia, founders of Tryokhgorny manufacture in Moscow. Here were buried 8 members of the family. Memorial chapel made of granite and grey sandstone were built by the project of architect V.A. Pokrovskiy in 1911-1916. Inside it’s faced with mosaic compositions.

Near the eastern wall of Smolenskiy sathedral, under the glass showcase there are two white-stone headstones of XVI century. Here was buried the first abbess of Novodevichiy convent Elena Devechkina (1524 -1547). She is glorified by Russian orthodox Church as locally venerated saint under the name Elena of Moscow. Nearby there is a burial place of one more abbess Eunice (1556 – 1573).

Marksman guardrooms of XVII century

Near every round tower (there are 4 of them) there are marksman guardrooms.

The first tower – to the right of it there is Marksman guardroom near Setunskaya tower of Novodevichiy convent – two-storey chambers for the garrison of marksmen protecting convent fortress.

The second tower – Marksman guardroom is near Chebotarnaya tower of Novodevichiy Convent – stone building for the garrison of marksmen protecting convent tower.

The third tower - to the left of the entrance there is a guardroom near Nikolskaya tower of Novodevichiy convent – stone building of two chambers for the garrison of marksmen protecting convent fortress.

The fourth tower - to the right of the entrance there is a guardroom near Naprudnaya tower of Novodevichiy convent – two-storey chambers for the garrison of marksmen protecting convent fortress. In 1698-1704 they served as a place of confinement of princess Sofia.

It’s thought that it served as a place of confinement of princess Sofia in 1698-1704 because only these chambers have windows cut to the side of pond, from where princess observed execution of marksmen. In XVIII century the premise was used as record office.