
Saviour Cathedral in
1883.
The 'Zaikonospassky monastery' (Заиконоспасский монастырь in
Russian) was a
monastery in
Kitai-gorod,
Moscow, just one block away from the
Kremlin.
It was founded in
1600 by
Boris Godunov. At first called "Saviour the Old", the cloister gradually acquired its present quaint name which alludes to its location and means "the Saviour behind the icon shops".
Between the late
17th - early
19th centuries, the Zaikonospassky monastery was one of the
enlightenment centers of
Russia. Between
1687 and
1814, it was home to the
Slavic Greek Latin Academy, Russia's first
secondary education establishment.
Today's architectural ensemble includes the Saviour
Cathedral (originally constructed in
1660-
1661; rebuilt in
1717-
1720 and
1742) and several 17th-century chambers as well former school building which date to
1822.
The Zaikonospassky monastery was closed after the
October Revolution and later reopened as an institute of archives. There is a memorial
plaque in honor of
Mikhail Lomonosov, who was once a student at this cloister.