Description of the attraction
The Zverin-Pokrovsky Monastery is a convent on the left bank of the Volkhov, where before the construction of the monastery a menagerie was located in a protected forest in which the Novgorod prince hunted. The monastery was first mentioned in the annals in 1148. The monastery is famous for two ancient churches (one of them is the Church of Simeon - a one-day one, built of wood during the plague of 1467, and a year later - already of stone) and the miraculous icon of St. Simeon the God-Receiver.
The Church of Simeon the God-Receiver is a typical Novgorod building of the 15th century. The architectural feature of the temple is its two-story structure; on the first floor there was a sub-church, which was used as an office building. The temple itself was located on the second floor, distinguished by its special intimacy. The unique icon painting of the church is a wall pictorial calendar that is not found anywhere else in Russia. Walls, pillars, arches are covered with small bust images of saints.
The main church in the monastery was consecrated in honor of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God. The church has been wooden since the 12th century, and in 1335 a stone church was laid in its place by Archbishop Vasily. In 1399, the church continued to be built under Archbishop John II. After the Swedish devastation, the temple received a new dedication - in honor of the Position of the Robe of the Mother of God. At the beginning of the 20th century, a new five-domed church was added to the western facade of the Intercession Church.
The House of Folk Art is located on the territory of the Zverin Monastery, where visitors are offered exhibitions on weaving and sewing, as well as various temporary exhibitions of crafts and painting. Here those who wish can learn traditional Russian crafts - weaving and gold sewing.
