Solovetsky Monastery

Solovetsky Monastery (Russian: Соловецкий монастырь) was the greatest citadel of Christianity in the Russian North. Situated on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea, the monastery braved many changes of fortune and military sieges. Solovetsky Monastery was founded in the late 1429 by monks Gherman (Herman) and Savvatiy (Sabbatius) of Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Its most important structures date from the 16th century, when Filip Kolychev was its hegumen. By the 17th century, Solovetsky Monastery had already had some 350 monks, 600-700 servants, artisans and peasants. The architectural ensemble of the Solovetsky Monastery is located on the shores of the Prosperity Bay (бухта Благополучия) on Solovetsky Island. The territory of the Solovetsky Monastery is surrounded by massive walls (height 8 to 11 m, thickness 4 to 6 m) with 7 gates and 8 towers (built in 1584–1594 by an architect named Trifon), made mainly of huge boulders up to 5 m in length. There are also religious buildings on the monastery's grounds (the principal ones are interconnected with roofed and arched passages), surrounded by multiple household buildings and living quarters, including a refectory (a 500 m? chamber) with the Uspensky Cathedral (built in 1552-1557), Preobrazhensky Cathedral (1556–1564), Church of Annunciation (1596–1601), stone chambers (1615), watermill (early 17th century), bell tower (1777), and Church of Nicholas (1834). The monastery also had a huge depository of manuscripts and old books.