kirillo-belozerki state historical architectural art museum-reserve

This Monastery was built in 1937 by St. Kirill, who left a life of luxury to become closer to God. The vast walled area of the monastery, features two priories and eleven churches. The monastery walls were 732 meters long and seven meters thick, constructed between 1654-80 to hold off Lithuanian invaders.The monastery has an impressive collection of Russian Orthodox icons, and paintings of Christian religious figures. Just when you thought you had seen everything, there was more to see than you could have imagined. The grounds of the monastery were well designed and maintained, setting a stage for great photography! This is a true sight to see and offers a very spiritual and humbling experience.Jon Lefeber

you get impressed immediately once you see it. Your first impression gets only stronger when you walk through the monastery and it peaks as your stroll ends up at the shore of a big lake.

This used to be the largest Monastery in northern Russia. There are many icons here and many fabulous ones to feast your eyes upon. Our tour ( as part of a Viking River Cruise) around this Museum was very rushed and we could have done with more time here in order to take in many of the interesting artefacts. No photos are allowed inside the museum, a permit can be purchased, however there is so much glare and reflection from the glass cases surrounding the icons that it is very difficult to take a good image.The grounds and buildings are undergoing refurbishment/renovation works and there are large external areas which still look very run down. The paths are cobbled and uneven.

We visited as part of our Russian river cruise and had a lovely guide take us through this great museum

Visited as a stop from Moscow to St Petersburg on the Volga Dream ship. Museum/fortress has an excellent collection of icons. Worth a short visit.

We visited this ancient Monastery, and the nearby village, as part of our Viking river tour up the Volga from Moscow to St. Petersburg. It was a worthwhile stop, although far from the most interesting sight we saw along the river. The best thing about it by far is the museum, which contains a magnificent collection of icons. Most of the Monastery appeared to be under reconstruction and stabilization work, and we were unable to see the inside of the church itself. I suspect there is more to see here than we were able to view on the limited time table of our visit.

The best thing abut this monastery is the view of it from across an inlet (see photo). We found the actual visit very disappointing.

We arrived by river ship to the small town of Goritsy and rode a short ways to the Monastery of St. Cyril on the White Lake (also known as Kirillo-Belozersk monastery)). Here there is a beautiful and large collection of life-sized icons, many of which have been on a world tour of their own. Do not miss the beautiful display of the Royal Gate given to the monastery by the first Romanov himself, Michael, and is a spectacular work of silver craftsmen in 1645.

The museum at the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery was full of important icons and religious items of Russian Orthodox history.

The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery was founded by Saint Cyril in 1397 and includes several small wooden chappels, the Assumption Cathedral and a museum. Be prepared to see even more frescoes and icons.

We visited this monastery as a part of tour going also to nearby Ferapontov monastery. A well-informed Russian guide guided us through all of the main parts of complex and museums. From what I understood the monastery is still undergoing a reconstruction and you could see some of its parts were still in quite a worn state. I liked the icons on display, they very much remined me of Klimt's work which I guess is due to the golden background. From the optional things to do we paid to take the 60 stair climb to the belltower from which there's a nice view all over the grounds. Toilets are near the entrance/café and also at the back of the monastery. Overall an interesting tour and I guess it would be even nicer after all of the renovations will be finished.

I visited the renowned Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, founded by Saint Cyril in 1397 during my recent trip with Viking River Cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Although I was told that this monastery had received the UNESCO heritage designation by my guide, I could not validate this fact online. I, therefore, do not believe it is true. Nonetheless, the site did receive a cultural designation by the Russian government which I found online. The monastery is located in Goritsy, a tiny settlement near the White Lake (actually lake Siverskoye). The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery is also known as the Monastery of St, Cyril of the White Lake. It is one of the largest and best preserved medieval Abbeys in Russia. Although named after the White Lake (Lake Beloye) and the city of Belozersk it actually is located on smaller lake Siverskoye, near the present day town of Kirillov, a few miles inland from the village of Goritsy on the Sheksna River. It was one of the stops on our river cruise and it was worthwhile. Many of my fellow cruisers found this one of their favorite stops. I had to agree although their is one I liked even better: Kinzhi. Goritsy’s Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, built in 1397 by St. Kirill, who left a life of luxury to become closer to God. Interestingly, by the 16th century, the monastery was the second richest landowner in Russia and had close connections to ruler Ivan the Terrible. The walled area of the monastery features two priories and eleven churches, most of them dating to the 16th century. The monastery walls, about half a mile long and almost 23 feet thick, were constructed in 1654-80 to hold off Lithuanian invaders. It could not, however, resist the Bolsheviks. The monks were shot or sent to labor camps, though it was one of the few monasteries not turned into a concentration camp. During my visit in July 2013, only a few monks lived here. We took a guided walk through the Monastery’s historic grounds, seeing several small wooden chapels, the Assumption Cathedral and a museum. We also dipped in the small lake which is said to have powers to make you younger. Several women dipped their hands and put it on their faces. I resisted. The visited lasted about 1 hour. It is worth visiting because it was very serene and very authentic.I don't know the cost because this trip was an included trip in my itinerary. There probably is a fee involved.

We briefly stopped here as part of our Viking River Cruise. Due to the limited time ashore, we got a very rushed tour of the museum, which holds some gorgeous icons and other very old treasures. The museum is fairly small, but we would have liked to have had more time to look at things. Our local guide spoke excellent English and had a lot of humor. No photos are allowed in the museum.

Although a Monastery, it contains only one active church and is surrounded by massive walls , the lake on one side and a massive gate entry with a slot where the portcullis must have been on the other. There are small former chapels where old icons are displayed with colourful robes and other places with silver produced locally. The nearby port of call is tiny but with plenty of stalls selling icons, some hand painted, furs, nesting dolls, birch items etc. There is still a considerable amount of restoration to be completed but the essential structure is there and forbidding given its history with Ivan the Terrible

Our bus took us from the ship to this peaceful stone monastery to view a spectacular collection of painted icons and frescoes inside the 15th century church. We dodged the rain as we toured several chapels and listened to some amazing men's choral voices echo off the stone walls. It was hauntingly beautiful. Some of the stone pathways we walked on were ancient grave stone markers that made me feel a bit uncomfortable. The inside of the tiny chapels were adorned with more beautiful icons and frescoes. Just amazing. To read more about this trip go to my blog at www.mytb.org/kelleygirl.