Antoniev Monastery, Orthodox monastery in Veliky Novgorod, Russia
The Antoniev Monastery sits on the Volkhov River bank and consists of a three-domed church surrounded by several stone buildings within a walled enclosure. The structures display typical features of medieval Novgorod architecture with its distinctive forms and construction methods.
The monastery was founded in 1101 and soon became one of the four largest landowners among Novgorodian monasteries. It controlled extensive territories in the Vodskaya and Shelonskaya regions and grew into a major religious and economic center.
The monastery houses the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God, whose apse still holds frescoes from the 12th century. These paintings offer visitors a direct view into the artistic techniques and religious subjects of the medieval period.
The monastery is part of the Novgorod United Museum-Preserve and allows visitors to explore medieval Russian religious architecture. The best time to visit is during daylight hours when the grounds are fully accessible and the buildings' facades are clearly visible.
A monk of this monastery named Kirik wrote one of the first mathematical texts of the East Slavs titled Teaching on Numbers. His work shows that learning and scholarly activities flourished at this place from ancient times.
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