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One of the weekends we were in Saint Petersburg, Jim and I took a bus trip down to the city of Novgorod on the Volkhov River. Our first stop was the Yuryev (St George) Monastery. This picture shows the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, built in 1829. Click on any photo to see the full-size image. Need help? |
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The bell tower of the Yuryev Monastery, seen from inside the monastery. The sightlines inside the monastery were really difficult for me to work with. I had a hard time getting a decent shot of anything. |
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A wider shot of the monastery grounds, showing the bell tower. |
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The Cathedral of St George, founded in 1119 by Prince Mstislav. Most of the 12th-century frescoes inside are still intact. |
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Inside the Yuryev Monastery. A look across the Cathedral of St George to the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross. |
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A look at the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross from the monastery grounds. This building looked like something out of a dream. It's hard to believe that places like this exist outside of fairy tales. A larger version of this picture is available in the wallpaper gallery. |
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One last look back at the Cathedral of St George. I know this is a big photography no-no, shooting directly into the sun like this. But, thanks to the miracle of digital photography (and software retouching), I've been able to clean it up to where I think it looks pretty cool. |
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Another look at the bell tower and the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross. |
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The corner tower of the Yuryev Monastery wall. |
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Looking up at the corner tower. If you look at the full-sized image, you can just see a halo of wispy cobwebs around the sunburst at the right of the cupola. |
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A ruin off in the distance. I was struck by an overwhelming desire to go see it. Unfortunately, the bus wouldn't have waited. And I probably couldn't have crossed whatever that water is. Nevertheless, I found this terribly intriguing. |