Savior Transfiguration Monastery, Religious landmark in Yaroslavl, Russia

The Savior Transfiguration Monastery is a former monastery on the left bank of the Kotorosl River near its mouth in Yaroslavl. Behind stone walls with watchtowers stand white-walled buildings with dark and pale green roofs: the 1516 Transfiguration Cathedral, the tiered bell tower topped by a spire, a large green dome with a small cupola, and smaller monastic buildings among trees.

Founded by Prince Konstantin Vsevolodovich in 1216 outside the city walls, the monastery hosted the first spiritual school of northeastern Rus in 1216–1218. Its stone Transfiguration Cathedral, built after the 1501 fire and consecrated in 1516, is the oldest surviving building in Yaroslavl. In 1609 the walls withstood a month-long siege during the Time of Troubles, and in 1613 Mikhail Romanov stayed here and sent his first charter agreeing to take the throne.

The monastery is no longer an active monastery: since the 1920s its buildings have housed the Yaroslavl museum-reserve, and worship is not held in the churches. The name comes from the Transfiguration of Christ, to which the 1516 cathedral is dedicated. Visitors can see the 1831 Church of the Yaroslavl Wonderworkers, built over the grave site of the three local saints whose relics were found here in the 15th century.

The complex is accessible daily and easily reached on foot from the city center. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes and be prepared for stairs in some areas, particularly when climbing to the bell tower or upper church levels.

The copy of The Tale of Igor's Campaign was found in the 1790s by Count Alexei Musin-Pushkin among the books of Ioil Bykovsky, the monastery's last abbot. The monastery is also often mistaken for the Yaroslavl Kremlin, since the real kremlin never had stone walls; in 2025 a large "Yaroslavl Kremlin" sign was put up at the museum entrance, prompting protests from local historians.