Novgorod, Russian Federation

Novgorod
Registered Sector: 
Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings
Location and site: 
In the northwest of Russia, between Saint Petersburg and Moscow, Novgorod is situated in a prairie region with lakes and rivers. It is on the river route linking the Gulf of Finland to the Black Sea, and the navigable Volkhov River passes through the city.
Historical Function: 
Trade, culture and religion.
Administrative Status: 
Chief city of the province of Novgorod.
Historical Reference: 
  • Novgorod, which was founded by the Varnagians, was made capital of the principality established by the new Rurikid Dynasty in 862. A Gotland trading post prospered in the Volkov River.
  • It was annexed to Kievian Russia following the transfer of the capital city to Kiev in 882. Under the Grand Prince of Kiev, a stone wall was erected around its kremlin in 1044; inside this enclosure, the Cathedral of Saint Sophia was constructed between 1045 and 1050.
  • In the 10th and 11th centuries, Novgorod separated from Kiev. As the princes were progressively isolated from the kremlin and deprived of their rights to the cathedral, they erected several churches.
  • From 1136 on, the only assurance that the princes provided was defense. The power was held by the Archdiocese and an elected mayor.
  • The new city-republic was spared from the attacks of the Mongols in the 13th century. During the "Battle of the Ice" of 1242, Prince Alexander Nevski defended Novgorod against the threat of the Teutonic Knights.
  • At the end of the 13th century and in the 14th century, Novgorod was at the peak of its economic prosperity. The Hanseatic League established a trading post there. A number of small churches were constructed.
  • In 1487, Novgorod was annexed to the Grand Principality of Moscow by Ivan III. The Hanseatic merchants were expelled in 1495.
  • In 1570, during the social revolts, Ivan the Terrible sacked the city. Novgorod fell into decline while Saint Petersburg prospered during the 18th century.
Urban Morphology: 
An earthen rampart and moats dating to the 14th and 16th centuries surround the city on both sides of the river. On the north side, a radial plan developed around the kremlin, adapting to the topography surrounding this fortified historic node. On the south side of the river, the site of the commercial district with the former foreign trading posts, the plan is orthogonal. Today, a single modern bridge, located near the kremlin, links the two parts of the city.

Novgorod is sprinkled with early religious buildings. Their sober, even austere, and vigourous architectural forms are surmounted by one or several cupolas and decorated with frescoes. The increasing tendency to include ornamentation at the end of the 13th century is illustrated by the Church of Saint Nicolas (1292) and the Church of the Transfiguration (1374). These monuments are in the midst of a landscape that was reconstructed following the Second World War.

Registration Criteria: 
As an eminent cultural centre, a place of creation for Russia's national architecture in stone and the site of one of the oldest national schools of painting, Novgorod influenced the development of Russian arts in the Middle Ages. (II) It is a genuine "conservatory" of Russian architecture of the Middle Ages and later (11th to 19th centuries). (IV) It was one of the major centres of Russian culture and spirituality. (VI)