History of the St. Petersburg

Early Russia’s foremost cultural and art centre, Novgorod was first mentioned in a scripture in 859. For the many centuries ever since Novgorod produced a large artistic school and preserved numberless monuments of the 11th-17th-century architecture, along with artistically outstanding works of early monumental painting. Novgorod remained unconquered throughout the hard times of Tartar invasion, so that its cultural monuments and artistic traditions survived until to-day. This explains the city’s special significance in Russian art.

Novgorod. The Antoniev Monastery. Stone chambers (17th century). Detail of the fagade

Novgorod. The Yuriev Monastery. St George Cathedral(l 119). General view from the East

Novgorod. The Antoniev Monastery. Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin (1117; with the porch added in the 17th century), to the right, the Church of the Presentation in the Temple (1533-1536). General view.