Patriarch Nikon dreamed of recreating Jerusalem's Holy Land near Moscow, complete with Mount Zion, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, an underground church and much more. Follow the route and judge for yourself how well this sacred landscape was transplanted.
Istoriya Mesta (History of the Place)
🎨 Art installations
Vintage Car Exhibition
🏛️ Museum · 🌿 Public garden or park
Bridge over the Istra River
🌉 Bridge
New Jerusalem Monastery
🕍 Place of worship · 🌿 Public garden or park · 🏟️ Architectural landmark · 📜 Historic site
Monastery Wall. Tower of David
📜 Historic site · 🏟️ Architectural landmark
Zion Tower
🏟️ Architectural landmark
Gethsemane Tower
🏟️ Architectural landmark
Sunday School
🏟️ Architectural landmark
Cannons
📜 Historic site · 🗿 Sculptures
Monument to the Fighters for Soviet Power
🗿 Monument
Gate Church
🕍 Place of worship · 🏟️ Architectural landmark
Underground Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen
🕍 Place of worship
Necropolis
📜 Historic site · 🗿 Monument
By the Tsar's Palace
📜 Historic site
Images of Bethlehem
🏟️ Architectural landmark · 📜 Historic site
Chamber of the Monastery Wards
🏟️ Architectural landmark · 📜 Historic site
Chambers of Tsarevna Tatiana Mikhailovna
🏟️ Architectural landmark · 📜 Historic site
Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ
🕍 Place of worship · 🕵️ Urban legend
Bell Tower and Church of All Saints
🕍 Place of worship
Point 4
🕍 Place of worship • 🌿 Public garden or park • 🏟️ Architectural landmark • 📜 Historic site
The building of New Jerusalem is tied to Patriarch Nikon. In the 1650s and 1660s he carried out a church reform that split the Orthodox Church and gave rise to many Old Believer movements. Nikon also played an active part in bringing Ukraine and Belarus under Russian rule. On this route, though, you'll learn about his biggest building project.
It may seem strange that Nikon decided to transplant the sacred landscape of Jerusalem, build a Holy Sepulchre and rename a river. Yet Christian history has known many “New Jerusalems.” They are a kind of icon rendered in space.
The project in Istra is exceptional in both scale and concept. New Jerusalem was just one step toward making Rus a Holy Land. All the places of Christ's life were reproduced following medieval maps of Jerusalem. Of course, neither the landscape nor the architecture was copied literally: the idea of New Jerusalem was to point back to the original.
Point on route “Palestine Near Moscow”
Point 4
🕍 Place of worship • 🌿 Public garden or park • 🏟️ Architectural landmark • 📜 Historic site
The building of New Jerusalem is tied to Patriarch Nikon. In the 1650s and 1660s he carried out a church reform that split the Orthodox Church and gave rise to many Old Believer movements. Nikon also played an active part in bringing Ukraine and Belarus under Russian rule. On this route, though, you'll learn about his biggest building project.
It may seem strange that Nikon decided to transplant the sacred landscape of Jerusalem, build a Holy Sepulchre and rename a river. Yet Christian history has known many “New Jerusalems.” They are a kind of icon rendered in space.
The project in Istra is exceptional in both scale and concept. New Jerusalem was just one step toward making Rus a Holy Land. All the places of Christ's life were reproduced following medieval maps of Jerusalem. Of course, neither the landscape nor the architecture was copied literally: the idea of New Jerusalem was to point back to the original.
19 points
5 km
4 hours
