The first convent in St Petersburg was the Smolny Convent which was founded in 1746 by Empress Elizabeth but this was later dissolved during the reign of Empress Catherine the Great.  It was only in 1849, under Emperor Nicholas I, that a convent was reopened in St Petersburg in the south of the city. Like the previous Smolny Convent, it was dedicated to the resurrection ('voskresenie') of Christ and was named the Voskresensky Novodevich ('New Maiden') Convent. The convent was closed during the Soviet period and only re-established in 1995. A cemetery is located behind the convent.

Resurrection of Christ Cathedral

The convent's main cathedral is the Resurrection of Christ Church and work on its construction started immediately upon the foundation of the convent in 1849. It was completed and consecrated in 1891. The five-domed church was built in the traditional Russian style. During the Soviet period the cathedral lost its domes, but it has since been fully restored. 

Our Lady of Athos Church and the Three Hierarchs' Church

Built on to either side of the cathedral are the convent's auxiliary buildings including residential blocks for the nuns and two smaller churches - the Our Lady of Athos Church and the Three Hierarchs' Church, both of which date from the 1850s.

Our Lady of Kazan Church

Behind the main complex of the cathedral and residence buildings is the distinctive Our Lady of Kazan Church which was built between 1908 and 1912. It is an example of traditional Byzantine church architecture with large but squat domes.