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This classical monastery is named after its founder Daniil, son of the great Novogorod ruler Aleksander Nevsky. Founded in 1282, the Danilov monastery holds the claim to being the oldest monastery in Moscow. Throughout centuries, the building has several times been at the center of fighting:. It was the last monastery to be closed under the Communism and the first to be reopened under Gorbachev in 1983. Since then, the Danilov Monastery has been the official residence of the Russian Patriarch and the headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church. While there, pay attention to the monastery’s bells. When the monastery was closed during the Communist era, the bells were bought by an American industrialist Charles Crane, who later donated them to Harvard University. The bells stayed there until 2008 when they were eventually returned to the church.
Address: Danilovsky Val, 22, Moscow
Opening hours: Daily 10am – 5pm
Direction: Metro Line 2 or 5 to Tulskaya Station or Paveletskaya Station
Phone: +7 495 961 14 80
Website: www.msdm.ru
Photo credit: Rostislav (Slava) Smolin (Flickr CC), Andrew Kisliakov (Flickr CC), WBUR Boston’s NPR News Station (Flickr CC)
