Danilov Monastery

The Danilov Monastery in southern Moscow was founded in the late 13th century by Prince Daniel of Moscow and is the oldest monastery in the city. Daniel, the first independent prince of Moscow, was buried here and later canonized. During the Soviet era the complex was repurposed as a home for delinquent children before becoming, in 1983, the first monastery ever returned to the Russian Orthodox Church - just in time for the 1988 millennium of the Christianisation of Rus. Since then it has served as the official residence of the Patriarch of Moscow and the meeting place of the Holy Synod. Visitors enter the white-and-green complex with its golden onion domes through a bell-tower gate; the entrance chapel and the Resurrection Church are open. Photography and dress rules are strictly enforced.