Novodevichy Convent

Novodevichy was founded in 1524 to mark the return of Smolensk, and it grew into a wealthy and politically significant house - noblewomen were placed here, sometimes voluntarily and often not, including Sophia Alekseyevna, Peter I's half-sister, confined after her regency ended. Most of what stands is a single coherent building campaign of the 1680s under Sophia: white walls with twelve towers, the red and white Moscow baroque gate churches, a bell tower of seventy-two metres, all around the earlier Smolensk cathedral of 1524 with its sixteenth-century frescoes and a five-tier iconostasis. UNESCO listed it in 2004. The cemetery beside it is the other reason people come: Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Stanislavsky, Mayakovsky, Eisenstein and hundreds of others are buried there under sculpted monuments, and it functions as a walk through the country's cultural memory.

What you actually see

• The 1680s ensemble - white walls, twelve towers and red and white baroque gate churches.
• The Smolensk cathedral - the 1524 core with sixteenth-century frescoes and a tall iconostasis.
• The cemetery - Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov, Prokofiev and Shostakovich among hundreds.
• The confinements - noblewomen placed here, Sophia Alekseyevna among them.

When to go

May to September; the pond and walls photograph well in autumn colour. Two to three hours including the cemetery.

Honest expectations

The cemetery is a separate entrance and ticket from the convent. The convent is an active religious house with dress rules and restricted areas. Some buildings are closed for restoration. Photography inside churches is limited.

Nearby

Luzhniki is across the pond; the Moskva river and Sparrow Hills are south.