Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Enter beneath the pink
St Simeon Stylite Gate-Church
on the north wall. The oldest and
busiest church is the
Church of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils
,
where worship is held continuously from 10am to 5pm daily. Founded in the 17th century
and rebuilt repeatedly, the church contains several chapels on two floors: the main one up-
stairs is flanked by side chapels to St Daniil (on the northern side) and Sts Boris and Gleb
(south). On the ground level, the small main chapel is dedicated to the Protecting Veil, and
the northern one to the prophet Daniil.
The yellow neoclassical
Trinity Cathedral
, built in the 1830s, is an austere counterpart
to the other buildings. West of the cathedral are the patriarchate's External Affairs Depart-
ment and, at the far end of the grounds, the Patriarch's Official Residence. Against the north
wall, to the east of the residence, there's a 13th-century
Armenian carved-stone cross
, or
khachkar
, a gift from the Armenian Church. The church guesthouse, in the southern part of
the monastery grounds, has been turned into the elegant
Danilovskaya Hotel
.
MONASTERY
DONSKOY MONASTERY
Moscow's youngest, Donskoy Monastery was founded in 1591 as the home of the
Virgin of
the Don
icon (now in the Tretyakov Gallery). This icon is credited with the victory in the
1380 battle of Kulikovo; it's also said that, in 1591, the Tatar Khan Giri retreated without a
fight after the icon showered him with burning arrows in a dream.
Most of the monastery, surrounded by a brick wall with 12 towers, was built between
1684 and 1733 under Regent Sofia and Peter the Great. The
Virgin of Tikhvin Church
over the north gate, built in 1713 and 1714, is one of the last examples of Moscow baroque.
In the centre of the grounds is the large brick
New Cathedral
, built between 1684 and 1693.
Just to its south is the smaller
Old Cathedral
, dating from 1591 to 1593.
When burials in central Moscow were banned after the 1771 plague, the Donskoy Monas-
tery became a graveyard for the nobility, and it is littered with elaborate tombs and chapels.
Donskoy Monastery is a five-minute walk from Shabolovskaya metro. Go south along ul
Shabolovka, then take the first street west, 1-y Donskoy proezd.
