Yaroslav's Court

Yaroslav's Court lies on the right bank of the Volkhov River opposite the Kremlin and contains major architectural monuments of the 12th–18th centuries. Along the river, the complex is edged by the western arcade of the former Gostiny Dvor. This was the residence of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. At the turn of the 11th–12th centuries, Yaroslav, son of Vladimir the Baptizer, was sent to Novgorod. In 1015 abuses by Varangian mercenaries sparked an uprising. After suppressing the ringleaders, Yaroslav was forced to reconcile with the citizens at a veche assembly, promising compensation in gold and calling on Novgorod to support his campaign for the Kyiv throne. This is the first recorded mention of the Novgorod veche. After taking Kyiv with Novgorod support, Yaroslav granted the city privileges and established legal rules that became the first law code, Russkaya Pravda. For centuries the area was also the city’s great market. Piers lined the bank, and by the 16th century around one and a half thousand shops were organized into specialized rows for leather, bread, silver, icons, fish and other goods. Novgorod traded with the south, east, North Caucasus and Western Europe. South of Yaroslav's Court stood the Gothic merchants’ yard with the Church of St. Olaf, known locally as the “Varangian church.” The Hanseatic St. Peter’s Court stood at the corner of Bolshaya Moskovskaya and Ilyina streets. The veche is believed to have met near St. Nicholas Cathedral. During the Novgorod Republic, the assembly elected officials, decided questions of war and peace, invited or expelled princes, and managed the republic’s land.