St. Sophia Cathedral

Veliky Novgorod is inseparable from St. Sophia Cathedral. Built in 1045–1050 in the 11th century, it immediately became a symbol and spiritual protector of the ancient city. Novgorod tradition credited St. Sophia with protecting the city from Mongol-Tatar raids and from a devastating plague. The cathedral was founded by Yaroslav the Wise and his son Vladimir and built by craftsmen from Kyiv and Byzantium. It is considered Novgorod’s first stone building. The cathedral has five main domes, while a sixth crowns the stair tower in the western gallery south of the entrance. The cupolas resemble ancient Russian helmets. In the 15th century the central dome was gilded. A dove on the cross of the central dome symbolizes the Holy Spirit and is linked to a famous Novgorod legend: during Ivan the Terrible’s destruction of Novgorod in 1570, the dove supposedly landed on the cross and turned to stone from horror. The legend says that if the stone bird flies away, Veliky Novgorod’s final day will come. One of the cathedral’s three entrances is decorated with the Magdeburg Gates, made by German metalworkers in the 12th century from 48 bronze panels depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments. They are opened only during services led by a bishop. The gates came to Novgorod in the 15th century. Ancient graffiti also survives on the walls, scratched with a stylus like those used for writing on birch bark. The cathedral preserves many icons and frescoes, including images of Saints Constantine and Helena, the icons “Saviour on the Throne” and “Apostles Peter and Paul,” and the miraculous Mother of God icon “The Sign,” traditionally believed to have protected the city in battle against the Suzdalians. St. Sophia was conceived as the city’s central church, and services continue today. In 1929 the cathedral was closed and transferred to a museum; in 1991 it was returned to the Church and reconsecrated on 16 August that year. Today, in the heart of the Novgorod Kremlin, it remains a symbol of the city. The words attributed to Mstislav the Great in the 12th century — “Where St. Sophia is, there is Novgorod” — are still closely associated with the city. The cathedral is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.