Description of the attraction
The bell tower of the former Znamensky Monastery on Varvarka Street is one of the monastery buildings that have survived to this day. The bell tower was built in the second half of the 18th century next to the Znamensky Cathedral; the northern cell building is adjacent to the tower. In addition to the cathedral and the bell tower, fraternal and service buildings, the chambers of the Romanov boyars are now located on the territory of the monastery.
In 1764, a reform was carried out in Russia, the essence of which was the abolition of almost half of the monasteries and the transfer of all monastic possessions to the state treasury. Znamensky Monastery, ranked among the lower, third class, began to decline. His situation was aggravated by the plague epidemic that happened in 1771, during which the monastery was deprived of the income that the cemetery brought with him. However, already in 1780, the affairs of the monastery began to improve again, and during this period of short prosperity, among other changes for the better, a bell tower was built, which became the main entrance to the Cathedral of the Sign.
The Znamensky Monastery was founded in the first half of the 17th century, its name comes from the icon of the Mother of God "The Sign", in whose name it was consecrated. Due to different versions of the founding of the monastery, different dates are also called: 1629 and 1631. The first on the site of the cathedral in the 16th century was built a house church, also Znamenskaya, which belonged to the Romanov boyars. The former boyar chambers on Varvarka are also known under the name of the Old Tsar's court.
The monastery has repeatedly been exposed to a variety of negative influences, including the fire in 1668, which destroyed it almost completely, the invasion of French soldiers who plundered it in 1812, and the closure in 1923, after which the buildings of the monastery were adapted for residential and utility premises.
In the second half of the last century, the Znamensky Cathedral was restored twice, and some of the former monastery buildings were demolished. In 1993, divine services began again in the Znamensky Cathedral. Now the Cathedral of the Sign and the chambers of the Romanov boyars are a branch of the State Historical Museum, and the office of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments is located in the former cells.
