Novodevichy Convent

Novodevichy Convent in Moscow is an Orthodox nunnery founded in 1524 by Grand Prince Vasili III to commemorate the recapture of Smolensk. Within its white fortress walls stand the 16th-century Smolensk Cathedral and buildings in the lavish Moscow Baroque style that emerged under Regent Sofia Romanovna in the late 17th century. Sofia herself was imprisoned here after her failed uprising against her brother Peter the Great; Peter's first wife Yevdokia was also confined to its cells. The adjoining cemetery holds the graves of Chekhov, Bulgakov, Gogol and Khrushchev. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2004, the ensemble combines a working monastery with a quiet park and pond whose reflection of the towers is one of the classic Moscow scenes.