Kirillov
Millions of tourists and admirers of the Old Russian painting dream to visit
this land. The town of Kirillov became worldwide famous thanks to its two
outstanding monasteries, founded in the 14th century: the Kirillo-Belozersky
monastery and the Ferapontov monastery.
The Ferapontov monastery is placed on the bank of the Borodava Lake, 20 km
away from the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery. The Museum of the frescos by
Dionisy is situated there. In 1502 the Cathedral of Nativity of the Virgin,
entering into the monastery ensemble, was painted by remarkable artist of
Muscovy Dionisy and his sons Vladimir and Feodosy. The wall-painting of the
Nativity Cathedral is well preserved, and just they are a general value of
the Ferapontov monastery. This monument is inscribed in the List of the
World Heritage of UNESCO.
The Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, one of the largest in Europe, is located
on the Siverskoye Lake. The Kirillo-Belozersky Historical-Architectural and
Art Museum-Preserve has the unique collection of icons. It also contains the
extant icons of local temples. There are five monuments of church
architecture with murals, including the singular full-preserved wall
painting of the Holy Gate of the 16th century. The most complete collection
of the folk art of Belozer’e, comprising the set of the peasant painted
furniture and black-glazed ceramics, is exposed in the museum. The
iconostasis complexes of the churches of the 15-17th centuries and the
collection of the manuscript and old printed books are of great significance.
7 km away from Kirillov there is the Resurrection Goritsy monastery, founded
in the 16th century. In summer one can come from Moscow and St. Petersburg
to a landing stage of Goritsy by a comfortable motor ship.
The Kirillov district is notable for its wonderful nature. The national park
“Russian North” was created there on March 20, 1992.