I decided to split my story about the Iverskiy monastery
into two albums. This one is mostly about the architecture, and the next
one is more down-to-earth and about everyday life.
Iverskiy monastery is located on
Selevitskiy Island, one of the islands in the center of Lake Valdaiskoe.
The islands form a thin chain and are connected by lintels, so they are
quite easy to get to by car or bus – there is a pontoon bridge.
The
Iverskiy monastery was founded in the year 1651 by the Novgorod
metropolitan (and later patriarch) Nikon. In his own words – “one
island among the others, not very big, but very beautiful, and
surrounded by good fishing”.
On the left in the picture is the guest cell block. It is adjacent to
Strannopriimnaya (Zimogorskaya) tower. The separate building on the
right is the “Cow yard”. All three buildings date back to the 19th
century.
The St. Phillip church above a gate
(built in 1656, and rebuilt in 1874-1875). It is the entrance to the
monastery (here we have already entered and turned around).
The Archangel Michael church above a
gate – the front and back views. Designed by Afanasiy Fomin in
1666-1702. This is yet another gate, though it is inside the monastery.
The view through the church above.
By the way, here is the map of the
monastery (in Russian).
Uspenskiy (Assumption) cathedral.
Built
under the supervision of Averkiy Mokeev in 1656.
This is the first stone building of the monastery.
Up close..
It is 43 meters high.
Notice how carefully the water drain pipe is crafted
The view of the Uspenskiy cathedral from
the other side, opposite of the entrance.
Here is how things look inside.
The restoration is ongoing.
The view from the cathedral towards the
monastery entrance.
Church of the Epiphany at the meal room.
Designed by Afanasiy Fomin in 1666-1702.
Inside the church of the Epiphany.
On
the left we can see the edge of a barrel with a sign that says “holly
water” and a faucet.
Let’s walk under one of the arches.
By the way, having gone on a few tours in
the North-West region, I noticed that the tour guides have completely
changed their orientation following inline with the state-owned
television. Now, if the tour passes by a church or monastery, you are
guaranteed a portion of Orthodox Christian propaganda – the way in the
old days you were guaranteed a portion of atheist propaganda. Well, at
least the atheist one was inline with science and almost never
discriminated between different gods and nationalities, but the current
one really does.
To listen to them, you’d think that there are no
people other than Russians. And if there are, they were unfortunate to
be born. Once they made this mistake in the beginning of the 20th
century, and they want to do it yet again on a modern technology level.
For those who have left a while ago and
don’t live in Russia: ask your friends to record some federal or local
news programs, and you’ll see what I mean.
Looks like Mendeleyev’s periodic table
Bell tour.
Built in 1679-1689.
On the left it is adjacent to the abbot block
On the right – the governor block.
Down by the entrance there is a bell – evidently they are going to
pull it up.
“This holly bell is a gift to the Virgin
Mary…”
The depiction on the bell.
The view of the bell tower from the other
side.
The bell tower and part of the Uspenskiy
cathedral.
The south-east corner tower (18th
century) and weather-vane on top of it.
The lake shore.
The weather is quite unfriendly – it’s very windy and cloudy, though
it is not raining.
