Cathédrale Sainte-Sophie de Novgorod

"UNESCO World Heritage Novgorod is a hidden gem: It is littered with churches and monasteries, and fine sculptures, most famously the Millennium Monument of 1842, commemorating the first millennium of Russian history with 129 bronze figures, all of them approved by Emperor Alexander II. Novgorod was Russia's first capital, founded in 859, and it became a center for Orthodox spirituality as well as Russian architecture. The latter is epitomized by the distinctively domed Cathedral of St. Sophia, also known in the Orthodox world as the Church of Divine Wisdom. It is one of Russia's earliest stone structures. Little is given away by the massive monolithic structure: The walls are austere, the buttresses flat and bare, and the windows small and narrow to keep out the biting cold. The outer walls are divided by sharply protruding pilaster strips, which correspond exactly to the divisions of the interior. The masonry consists mostly of large, odd-sized blocks of undressed limestone set in a pinkish mortar of crushed brick and lime, which accentuates the irregular shape and enhances the power and austere beauty of the exterior. 'The central dome- -not onion-shaped like the other four domes--was gilded later in the fifteenth century along with its central cross. Visitors enter the church through the northern gates. The main (western) gates are opened only on a few special occasions. They protect two very rare bronze doors (crafted in the German city of Magdeburg in the twelfth century and seized as booty from Sigtuna in Sweden) whose detail shows portraits of the craftsmen involved. Frescoes frame this portal. Inside, the frescoes and ancient mural paintings have faded badly. There is, however, an impressive iconostasis (six-tiered icon screen) and other icons, including the famous Virgin of the Sign, returned to the cathedral in 1991."