Sergiev Posad · Russia

The Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra

monasterypilgrimagehistoryartgoogle verified

easy

10/10

best: morning

spiritual, historic, golden

A local would say...

Andrei Rublev painted these icons, and a prayer has been going continuously inside this cathedral since the 1420s.

Russia's most important monastery, founded by St Sergius in the 1420s and today a living pilgrimage site where a memorial service for the saint continues all day every day inside the dark, icon-covered Trinity Cathedral, painted largely by the great medieval artist Andrei Rublev. The monastery complex includes the vast blue-domed Assumption Cathedral built by Ivan the Terrible, the 88m bell tower, and a collection of monastery buildings spanning five centuries. Just 60km from Moscow, it represents the artistic and spiritual heart of Russian Orthodoxy.