New Jerusalem Monastery

New Jerusalem Monastery 

(Voskresenskii Monastery), a monastery founded in 1656 by Patriarch Nikon as the suburban Moscow residence of the patriarch (now in the city of Istra, Moscow Oblast).

The monastery consists of a remarkable architectural ensemble of the 17th to 19th centuries splendidly finished in majolica and stucco, including the Voskresenskii Cathedral (1656–85), copied from the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Jerusalem, Nikon’s small monastic dwelling (1658), the stone wall with towers (1690–94), the church on the gates (1694–97), and the Church of the Three Prelates (1686–98). Those who contributed at various times to its development included P. I. Zaborskii, la. G. Bukhvostov, V. V. Rastrelli, M. F. Kazakov, K. I. Blank, and other skilled artisans and architects. In the 17th century there existed in the monastery a large library, which Nikon built up from manuscripts that were taken from other monasteries. By the mid-18th century the monastery functioned on the basis of a large feudal economy; before secularization in 1764, it owned 13,000 serfs. It was closed in 1918. In 1920 the Museum of Art History and Local Lore was opened in its buildings; in 1935 it became the Moscow Oblast Museum of Local Lore. In 1941 the fascist German invaders plundered the museum’s collection and blew up and burned the architectural monuments of the monastery. The museum was opened once again in May 1959. Restoration of the monastery continues.