Landmark Europe
Novodevichy Convent
The Novodevichy Convent is a group of old buildings with golden domes in Moscow, Russia. A white wall with towers goes all around it!
The Novodevichy Convent stands in southwest Moscow, near the Moscow River. Founded in the 1520s, it is surrounded by a high wall with 12 towers, and its 14 buildings are among the best examples of a style called Moscow Baroque. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.
The Novodevichy Convent, founded by Grand Duke Vasily III in the 1520s in southwest Moscow, was one of a chain of monastic ensembles built into the city's defenses. Inside a high wall with 12 towers stand 14 buildings, from the Smolensky Cathedral of 1524-1525 to a 72-meter bell tower of 1683-1690. UNESCO calls it the most outstanding example of 'Moscow Baroque' and inscribed it in 2004.
Photo: Max_Ryazanov, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Novodevichy Convent
The Novodevichy Convent is in Moscow, the capital of Russia.
A convent is a group of buildings where nuns live. This one has a tall white wall with towers.
The Novodevichy Convent stands in the southwest of old Moscow, close to the Moscow River. A park with a lake surrounds its walls.
Inside a high wall with 12 towers are 14 buildings: churches, a bell tower, homes and service buildings. UNESCO says it is sometimes called 'the Moscow Kremlin in miniature'.
ICOMOS describes the convent as standing in southwest Moscow near the Moscow River, enclosed by walls and surrounded by a park, with a lake whose northwest shore gives picturesque views of the ensemble.
The territory is an irregular rectangle stretched west to east, inside a high masonry wall with 12 towers and gates to the north and south. UNESCO counts 14 buildings, including churches, a belfry, chapels and residential and service buildings, on a property of 5.18 hectares.
- Where
- Southwest Moscow, Russia
- Buildings
- 14
- Wall towers
- 12
- World Heritage Site
- 2004
A convent that was also a fortress
Long ago, a ruler of Moscow founded the convent.
Its strong walls also helped protect the city.
Grand Duke Vasily III founded the convent in the 1520s. It stood where the road into Moscow crossed the river, so it became part of a chain of monasteries that helped defend the city.
From the 1500s to the 1700s, women from the tsars' family and from rich noble families came here to become nuns.
UNESCO records that Grand Duke Vasily III founded the convent in the 1520s and that it was part of a chain of monastic ensembles integrated into Moscow's defenses; ICOMOS adds that its place at a river crossing on the road into Moscow gave it an important defensive role. UNESCO calls it the only ancient nunnery that served as a fortress at the same time.
In the 16th-18th centuries it was the chosen convent for women of the tsars' dynasty and of wealthy boyar and noble families. UNESCO links it closely with the Moscow Kremlin and with Russia's political and cultural history.
Moscow Baroque
The buildings have golden domes, red and white walls and lots of decoration.
This fancy style is called Moscow Baroque.
The oldest stone building is the Smolensky Cathedral, built in 1524-1525. It has white walls and five domes.
Many buildings were added in the late 1600s in a style called 'Moscow Baroque'. The bell tower, for example, is red brick with white stone decoration. UNESCO calls the convent the most outstanding example of this style, kept better than any other rebuilt monastery in Moscow.
The Smolensky Cathedral (1524-1525), the convent's first stone building and its focal point at the crossing of its two main axes, was modeled on the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin. ICOMOS describes it as brick with stone details, white-plastered, with two-tier galleries and five cupolas, possibly designed by an Italian architect.
The ensemble's character comes from the late 17th century. UNESCO calls the convent the most outstanding example of 'Moscow Baroque', having kept its integrity better than any other rebuilt monastery in Moscow.
The 72-meter bell tower
The convent's bell tower is 72 meters tall!
It is made of red brick, with white stone decorations.
The bell tower was built from 1683 to 1690. It is 72 meters high, in five tiers, made of red brick with white stone decorations.
UNESCO says that because of its great height and elegant shape, it has always been the main tall landmark of the western part of old Moscow.
The Bell Tower (1683-1690), 72 meters high in five tiers of red brick with white-stone details, has, UNESCO says, no equal among old Russian convents or other Moscow Baroque buildings, and has always been the main vertical element of the western part of historic Moscow. ICOMOS notes that it stands at the far end of the convent's east-west axis, linking it to the surrounding streets.
The Church of the Assumption with its refectory (1685-1687) is also brick Moscow Baroque, with three projecting entrance porches.
- Smolensky Cathedral
- 1524–1525
- Bell tower
- 1683–1690, 72 m
- Area
- 5.18 ha
Lights on the water
In this photo, it is night. The white walls and golden domes glow with lights.
Can you find the moon in the sky?
This photo was taken on 17 August 2013 at night, across the water. Lights make the white walls and towers glow, and the golden domes shine against the dark sky. The moon is up in the top right corner.
Today its churches are used again, people of the convent live there, and some of its old buildings are a museum.
The night photograph (17 August 2013) looks across the water at the lit ensemble: a church with five golden domes, a tall tiered tower, a round tower and the crenellated white wall, with trees and lamps along the shore and reflections below. The moon shows at the upper right.
UNESCO notes that its churches again serve their original purpose and its monastic quarters are lived in again, while the grand residential buildings are used as a museum. Busy road traffic nearby is one of the pressures on the site.
Amazing facts
-
People sometimes call this convent a little Kremlin!
The convent is sometimes called 'the Moscow Kremlin in miniature'.
UNESCO notes that the monastery is sometimes called 'the Moscow Kremlin in miniature'.
-
This convent was also a fortress!
UNESCO says it is the only old nunnery that was also a fortress.
UNESCO calls it the only ancient nunnery which served as a fortress at the same time.
-
The convent's bell tower is 72 meters tall, in five levels!
The bell tower rises 72 meters in five tiers.
The five-tier bell tower (1683-1690) reaches 72 meters and has, UNESCO says, no equal among old Russian convents.
Words to know
- convent
- a group of buildings where nuns live and work together
- nun
- a woman who lives in a convent and follows its rules
- Baroque
- a richly decorated style of building from the 1600s and 1700s
- bell tower
- a tall tower that holds bells
- tier
- one level in a stack of levels, like the layers of a cake
- World Heritage Site
- a place UNESCO lists as important for all people
Discovery challenge
-
How tall is the convent's bell tower?
How high is the five-tier bell tower built in 1683-1690?
What height does UNESCO give for the convent's bell tower?
- 72 meters
- 7 meters
- 720 meters
Show the answer
72 meters
72 meters!
72 meters.
72 meters.
-
In which city is the Novodevichy Convent?
The Novodevichy Convent stands in the southwest of which city?
Near which city's river crossing was the convent founded in the 1520s?
- Moscow
- Rome
- Madrid
Show the answer
Moscow
Moscow!
Moscow.
Moscow.
-
How many towers are in the convent's wall?
How many towers does the convent's high wall have?
How many towers stand in the masonry wall around the convent?
- 12
- 2
- 120
Show the answer
12
12 towers!
12.
Twelve.
-
What is the name of the convent's fancy building style?
UNESCO calls the convent the most outstanding example of which style?
Which late-17th-century style does the convent represent best, according to UNESCO?
- Moscow Baroque
- Art Deco
- Ancient Greek
Show the answer
Moscow Baroque
Moscow Baroque!
Moscow Baroque.
Moscow Baroque.
-
When was the convent started?
In which decade did Grand Duke Vasily III found the convent?
In which decade was the convent founded, as part of Moscow's chain of fortified monasteries?
- The 1520s
- The 1820s
- The 1920s
Show the answer
The 1520s
In the 1520s!
The 1520s.
The 1520s.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Explain why some monasteries and convents had walls and towers.
- Describe the features of the Moscow Baroque style.
- Explain why a tall tower can matter to how a whole city looks.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a convent be built where a road crosses a river?
- What makes a tall bell tower a landmark for a whole part of a city?
- How do night lights change the way an old building looks?
Try at home or in class
- Stack five boxes, each a little smaller, to build a five-tier tower.
- Find the Moscow River and the Novodevichy Convent on a map of Moscow.
Key vocabulary: convent, nun, Baroque, bell tower, tier, World Heritage Site
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Advisory Body Evaluation: Novodevichy, No 1097 , ICOMOS / UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- File:Novodevichy Convent night view.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- UNESCO World Heritage List , UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Linked as a reference; site facts come from Wikidata)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.