Monasteries and temples of Smolensk: from the century XII to XXI

Smolensk celebrated its 1150th anniversary in 2013. This ancient city was a major trading center in the Old Russian state, was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Commonwealth. Each period of its history is reflected in the temple architecture. Preserved temples of the XII century, similar to Russian heroes. Plinth, from which the walls of these temples are laid for more than 800 years! The history of the Avramievsky monastery goes back to the XIII century. The Ascension Women's Monastery was founded in the XVI century. Legends say that the future queen Natalia Naryshkina and Maria Korotkova, whom we know under the name of schimomonahini Rachel, were brought up in its walls. The Assumption Cathedral is a pearl of baroque architecture of the XVIII century! The future Patriarch Kirill served here from 1984 to 2009. The Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, consecrated at the beginning of the XX century and closed in 1918, is now finding a new life.