Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery

Savva, a disciple of Sergius of Radonezh, founded the monastery in 1398 on Storozhi hill above the Moskva at Zvenigorod, and the Nativity cathedral built there in 1405 is one of the small group of early Moscow white stone churches that survive - squat, thick-walled, with a carved band around it, and frescoes that include work associated with the circle of Andrei Rublev. The Zvenigorod tier, three icons attributed to Rublev, was found in 1918, by the usual account in a shed by the Assumption cathedral on Gorodok in the town below, and is now in the Tretyakov. Alexis, the second Romanov tsar, made the monastery a personal favourite in the 1650s and built the walls, towers, palace and the tsaritsa's chambers, which is why the complex is grander than its size suggests. It sits above a bend of the river with woods around, and Zvenigorod below was a favourite of Chekhov, Levitan and Tchaikovsky.

History

In 1398 Prince Yuri of Zvenigorod asked Savva, one of the first disciples of Sergius of Radonezh, to found a monastery, and a first wooden church of the Nativity rose on Storozhi hill above the Moskva. In 1650 Tsar Alexis made it his suburban residence, building a palace for himself and a smaller one for his wife in the early 1650s and walls and towers modelled on those of the Trinity Lavra, and later tsars came here to pray before their coronations (Wikipedia, Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery).

What's there

• The 1405 cathedral - an early Moscow white stone church with frescoes of Rublev's circle.
• The Alexis buildings - walls, towers, palace and tsaritsa's chambers from the 1650s.
• The Zvenigorod tier - Rublev icons found in 1918 at Gorodok in the town below, now in the Tretyakov.
• The hill - the monastery above a bend of the Moskva with woods around.

When to go

May to September. Two to three hours. Suburban train from Moscow then a local bus or a walk.

Before you go

An active monastery with dress rules and restricted areas. Photography in churches is prohibited. The Rublev icons are in Moscow, not here. Busy on feast days and summer weekends.

Nearby

Zvenigorod is below the hill; Arkhangelskoye is east towards Moscow.

Key facts