A Town of Fifty Churches and One Lake

18 points23 km6.55 hours

A walk around Pereslavl-Zalessky won't be quick, but it will certainly be fascinating. Panoramic views, myths and legends, ancient churches, and plenty of pleasant impressions await you in this town on Russia's Golden Ring.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras
🏰🕵️‍♂️ Discover a legend

Route points (18)

St. Nikita Monastery in Pereslavl-Zalessky

Point on route “A Town of Fifty Churches and One Lake”

Point 10

St. Nikita Monastery

🕍 Place of worship • 📜 Historic site

Historical Background

The white walls of the St. Nikita Monastery stand not far from Lake Pleshcheyevo. It has three churches: one dedicated to the Great Martyr Nikita, a refectory church of the Annunciation, and a church of the Archangel Gabriel. Founded around the 11th–12th centuries, it is believed to have been the first Christian cloister in these lands. The monastery's appearance changed in 1528–1562. By order of Vasily III, a cathedral was built on the site of the old stone Church of St. Nikita, and later Ivan the Terrible completed the ensemble in memory of his father and came to the consecration. Of course, the monastery did not escape being burned and plundered. Its walls withstood a siege by the Poles, but in 1611 the Lithuanians burned all its churches. Restoration began with the participation of the Romanov royal family. In 1918 the monastery's property was nationalized and the monastery itself was abolished. Objects of historical value were handed over to a museum. The monastery buildings came to house a rest home for scientists, as well as a school, apartments, and a prison. In 1933 the iconostasis of the St. Nikita Cathedral was burned.

Today

In 1993 the St. Nikita Monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church. A new chapter in its history began: large-scale reconstruction and restoration of the buildings.

The Story of St. Nikita

The chief relics of the monastery are the relics and chains* of St. Nikita the Stylite, to whom the main church is dedicated. According to church chronicles, Nikita died a martyr's death in 1186 and was canonized. He had the gift of healing, wore iron chains, and even prayed in a deep, well-like pillar. The wrought-iron chains, the very same iron chains with three crosses, can still be seen in the monastery today. Chains* are heavy chains or any metal objects worn by penitent monks, with the blessing of their spiritual director, to mortify the flesh.