The Ferapontov convent (russian: Ферапонтов монастырь), in the Vologda region of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, is considered one of the purest examples of Russian medieval art, a reason given by

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for its inscription on the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. The monastery was founded by Saint Ferapont in 1398 in the inhospitable Russian North, to the east from the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, named after his fellow monk, Saint Cyril of Beloozero. The fame of the monastery started to spread under Kirill's disciple, Saint Martinian, who was to become a father superior of the

Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Pos ...

in 1447. Even after Martinian's death, his monastery was protected and favoured by members of Ivan III's family. The most ancient structure, the Cathedral of Nativity of the Virgin (1490), was built in brick by the masters of

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While ...

. This edifice is the best preserved of three sister cathedrals erected in the 1490s in the Russian North. All the interior walls are covered with invaluable

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

es by the great medieval painter

Dionisius Dionisius (russian: Диони́сий, variously transliterated as ''Dionisy'' or ''Dionysiy''; also Dionisius the Wise; c. 1440 – 1502) was acknowledged as a head of the Moscow school of icon painters at the turn of the 15th and 16th ...

. This is the last surviving Russian medieval church with fully painted walls. During the 1530s, they added a treasury, a refectory, and the unique Annunciation church surmounted by a belfry. At that time the monastery enjoyed special privileges conferred upon it by

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Iva ...

, and possessed some 60 villages in the vicinity. The tsar himself frequently visited the monastery as a pilgrim. In the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...

, the monastery was ravaged by the

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. During its recovery the last buildings — the tent-like church of Saint Martinian (1641), a two-tented barbican church (1650), and a bell-tower (1680) — were added to the complex. The belfry clocks (1638) are said to be the oldest in Russia. As the monastery gradually lost its religious importance, it was being turned into a place of exile for distinguished clerics, such as the

Patriarch Nikon Nikon ( ru , Ни́кон, Old Russian: ''Нїконъ''), born Nikita Minin (''Никита Минин''; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially fro ...

. It was abolished by Emperor Paul in 1798, reinstituted as a convent in 1904, closed by the Bolsheviks twenty years later, and turned into a museum in 1975. The museum constitutes a part of the Russky Sever (''Russian North'') National Park since 1991. As of January 2013, images of the monastery and grounds were available via

Google Street View Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expan ...

. ferapontovo.jpg, Difficulty of access helped preserve the monastery intact since the 17th century. Ferapontov.jpg, St Nicholas, the patron saint of Russian merchants. Fresco by

from the Ferapontov Monastery.

External links

All the murals of the Ferapontov Monastery onlineOfficial web page of the monastery
{{Authority control Religious buildings and structures completed in 1490 15th-century Russian Orthodox church buildings Russian Orthodox monasteries in Russia World Heritage Sites in Russia Fresco paintings Buildings and structures in Vologda Oblast 1398 establishments in Europe 14th-century establishments in Russia Museums in Vologda Oblast Art museums and galleries in Russia Religious museums in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Vologda Oblast