Sights of Rostov-Veliky

East of the Historical Centre

Avraamiev Bogoyavlensky Monastery

32 Ulitsa Zhelyabovskaya

The Avraamiev Bogoyavlensky Monastery was founded in the late 11th century by St Abraham (Avraami) of Rostov when he was bishop of Rostov. According to legend a pagan idol originally stood at the site of the present monastery and St John the Apostle appeared to Abraham, gave him a staff and ordered him to demolish the idol and build a church in its place. The new monastery would later be renamed after its founder. The monastery was a favourite of Tsar Ivan the Terrible who prayed… Read more »

Petrovsky Monastery

13 Ulitsa Leningradskaya

Rostov's Petrovsky Monastery is the smallest of the monasteries and convents in the city. It was founded in the late 13th century, according to legend by a prince of the Golden Horde who fled the Horde with Bishop Kirill of Rostov, who baptised him and gave him the name of Pyotr. Pyotr founded the monastery after allegedly witnessing an appearance of the apostles Peter and Paul. In the late 17th century Ss Peter and Paul's Cathedral and the Praise of the Virgin Mary Church became… Read more »

Ss Cosmos and Damian's Church

Perovsky Pereulok

Ss Cosmos and Damian's Church (which is also sometimes known as the Hodegetria Icon Church) dates from 1775 and in form consists of a single domed structure attached to a tent-dome bell tower via a closed vestibule. In the 1920s the church was closed and used as a warehouse for used bottles and jars. In 1995 the church was returned to the Orthodox Church and restored. Read more »

In the Historical Centre

Ascension Church

25A Ulitsa Karla Marksa
http://isidor.ru/

The Ascension Church was built in 1566 on the orders of Tsar Ivan the terrible. The church was built without any pillars and has a cross vault and an attached bell tower. The church is also known as St Isidor's Church as it is built on the tomb of St Isidor of Rostov. St Isidor was a 15th century holy fool originally from Brandenburg who settled in Rostov. He was a favourite saint of Tsar Ivan who credited the Conquest of Polotsk in 1563 to the intervention of St Isidor, hence the… Read more »

Bell Tower of the Exaltation of the Cross Church

Ploschad Sovetskaya

Standing on Sovetskaya Ploschad (Soviet Square) is a bell tower which is the sole surviving part of what was the Exaltation of the Cross Church. The original stone church was built between 1688 and 1692 to replace an earlier wooden version. In the mid-19th century the church was rebuilt and the surviving bell tower dates from this period. In the 1930s the church was closed and subsequently destroyed. Its bell tower was only kept as it was reequipped as a watchtower for the… Read more »

Bogoroditse-Rozhdestvensky Convent

14 Ploschad Sovetskaya

The Bogoroditse-Rozhdestvsky Convent was founded by Archbishop Feodor of Rostov between 1390 and 1395 and dedicated to the Nativity (Rozhdestvo) of the Virgin Mary. As with most religious buildings in the city, the majority of the stone construction work was carried out as part of Metropolitan Iona Sysoevich's construction programme at the end of the 17th century. The convent was closed by the Soviets in 1926 and much of it fell into disrepair or was converted into housing. Only… Read more »

House of Handicrafts

16 2-y Proezd Tolstovskoy Naberezhnoy
http://domremesel.com/

A wooden house close to the shore of Lake Nero has been turned into the House of Handicrafts which is dedicated to traditional forms of Russian handicrafts, including woodcarving, lace-making, bead-weaving, glass painting, majolica, doll making and making traditional costumes. The centre also holds temporary exhibitions, offers master classes and has a shop where you can pick up traditional souvenirs. Read more »

Khors Art Gallery

31 Ulitsa Podozerka
http://khors.org/

The Khors Art Gallery was set up in 1995 by enamel artist Mikhail Selischev in a wooden house under the walls of the Rostov Kremlin. The gallery comprises permanent exhibitions of the artist's enamel work and a collection of everyday items from the 19th century. In addition the centre also holds temporary exhibits, runs workshops and includes a guesthouse and a banya. The centre's garden has also been turned into an exhibition as the "Vertograd" garden. Read more »

Rostov Kremlin

historical centre of Rostov
http://rostmuseum.ru/
10:00 - 17:00, daily except 1 January. Walls and churches open from 1 May to 1 October.

Rostov's most famous sight is of course its Kremlin which is located in the very centre of the city. It was built between 1670 and 1683 on the orders of Metropolitan Iona Sysoevich of Rostov and Yaroslavl to serve as a new residence for himself. Even though the strong fortified walls and 11 towers were really more for decorative purposes rather than defensive ones, the new residence nevertheless started to be referred to as a kremlin. After the Rostov and Yaroslavl Eparchy… Read more »

Saviour Church in the Trading Rows

Ulitsa 50 Let Oktyabrya

Built as part of the city's trading rows in the very centre of the city is the Saviour Church, known as the Saviour in the Trading Rows (Spas na Torgu) in Russian. It was built during Metropolitan Jonah's building programme between 1685 and 1690. Previously a wooden church stood here which was built in the early 13th century but burned down by Polish Interventionists during the Time of Troubles. A second wooden church was built in 1654 as citizens were dying of plague and hoping… Read more »

War Memorial

Park Pobedy

The small park located in between Ulitsa Dekabristov and Ulitsa Kommunarov is known as Park Pobedy (Victory Park), the centrepiece of which is a monument dedicated to the Soviet victory in the Second World War and to the soldiers to Rostov who fell in that war. The white monument depicts a group of four soldiers jubilantly marching and flying a banner in the air. The monument was unveiled in 1982. Read more »

West of the Historical Centre

Intercession Church

31 Ulitsa Leninskaya

The Intercession Church was built between 1795 and 1798 in stone replacing an earlier wooden version of the church, which was destroyed by lightning. During the Soviet years the church was closed and its features were removed so it could be used as a warehouse. In 1998 it was returned to the Orthodox Church and subsequently underwent reconstruction, returning it to its previous appearance. Read more »

Museum of Rostov Merchants

32 Ulitsa Leninskaya
http://rostmuseum.ru/kekin/first.html
10:00 - 17:00. Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and 1 January.

The Museum of Rostov Merchants is located in the mansion which was once owned by the Kekin family who became successful merchants in Rostov by breeding and supplying hunting birds before diversifying into other forms of trade. The most famous member of the family is Aleksey Kekin who left eight million roubles to Rostov in his will to fund the building of a grammar school, which still exists today. The mansion now has exhibitions on this family and on life in Rostov in the 18th -… Read more »

Our Lady of Tolga Church

Ulitsa Dekabristov

The Our Lady of Tolga Church was built in 1761 and is one of Rostov's finest examples of a parish church from the 18th century. It comprises a small pillar-less building attached to a bell tower and topped with a single grey dome. Inside it holds icons which date from the 14th and 16th centuries. The church remained open during the Soviet era. Read more »

Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery

44 Ulitsa Engelsa
http://www.rostov-monastir.ru/

The Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery was founded as the Zachatievsky Monastery in approximately 1390 by Bishop Jacob (Yakov) of Rostov. After his death in 1392 Bishop Jacob was interred in a wooden church here and was later canonised as St Jacob (Yakov) of Rostov. In 1408 the monastery was burned to the ground by Edigu’s Tatar army. The monastery was once again destroyed in 1609 by the Polish interventionists during the Time of Troubles. In 1765 the neighbouring Spaso-Pesotsky Monastery… Read more »