Archbishop’s Chamber (Faceted Chamber)

The Faceted Chamber in Veliky Novgorod is the 1433 residence of the Novgorod archbishops and the only surviving German Gothic building of its period in Russia. It is open Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00; admission is 700 RUB and a visit takes about one hour. Entry is free with the Guest Card. The listed schedule is Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00. It is closed on Monday and the first Wednesday of each month. The 700 RUB ticket is the highest single admission price among the Kremlin sites. In Veliky Novgorod the Guest Card covers 15 paid attractions worth 5,350 RUB in tickets; a 2-day card costs 1,300 RUB and can pay for itself by the second or third attraction. The physical card is collected at the Krasnaya Izba Tourist Information Center, 5 Sennaya Square. Inside, look for the ribbed Gothic vault that gave the chamber its popular name, a form with no parallel in 15th-century Russian architecture. The museum collection includes precious-metal icon covers, crosses and panagias made by Novgorod craftsmen, as well as the Small Zions, church-shaped liturgical vessels. The carved archbishop’s rooms and traces of rebuilding reveal how the chamber changed function several times over five centuries. Current exhibition details are listed on novgorod.travel using information supplied directly by the museum-reserve. Allow one hour. With the rest of the Kremlin, a practical estimate is: the chamber one hour, St. Sophia Belfry half an hour, and the main museum building two hours. A full Kremlin visit takes about four hours including walks between sites, not counting St. Sophia Cathedral, which has free entry and no time limit. Key Kremlin attractions include the Faceted Chamber (700 RUB, one hour), the main museum in the Government Offices building (500 RUB, two hours), St. Sophia Belfry (50 RUB, half an hour), St. Sophia Cathedral of 1045–1050 with free entry, and the Church of St. Andrew Stratelates. The Kremlin Wall Walk follows its regular schedule from May to September; from October to April it is available only on guided tours. Paid Kremlin sites are free with the Guest Card. A good route is St. Sophia Cathedral, then the chamber, the belfry for views over the Volkhov River, and finally the main museum building. The Kremlin is a 20-minute walk from the railway station. Free portal audio guides cover 23 routes and 200+ stops and do not require the Guest Card. Check closures before visiting. St. Sophia Belfry is closed from October to April, and from October the Wall Walk is accessible only with a tour. The Museum of Fine Arts on Sofiyskaya Square may close for restoration in summer. The chamber normally operates year-round, but the exhibition status for a specific date should be checked in its catalog listing. The Guest Card covers 55+ museums across the region, but not every venue; the full list is on novgorod.travel. The chamber may be less suitable if you have only one day in the city with young children: 700 RUB for an hour of jewelry and decorative art may offer less value for them than the belfry view for 50 RUB or the open-air Vitoslavlitsy museum. It is best for visitors interested in architecture and applied art. It is closed on Monday and the first Wednesday of the month. Without a Guest Card, 700 RUB is the most expensive single ticket in a Kremlin day. Nearby are Kremlin Park, the Volkhov embankment and the pedestrian bridge to the Trade Side, all free and within five minutes. Yaroslav's Court and St. Nicholas Cathedral are ten minutes away across the bridge, and the Kremlin beach lies below the walls. The dining catalog lists 90 venues in the city, 34 of which offer a Guest Card discount. Accommodation near the Kremlin can be filtered by district in the catalog.