World Heritage #0657 – Sergiev Posad

Last modified 30.10.2022 | Published 22.05.2011North and Central Europe, Russia, World Heritage Sites

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Sergiev Posad is an important Russian Orthodox pilgrimage site as well as being the residence of the head of this church for centuries.

The UNESCO World Heritage List includes more than a thousand properties with outstanding universal value. They are all part of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

Official facts

  • Official title: Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad
  • Country: Russian Federation
  • Date of Inscription: 1993
  • Category: Cultural site

UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre’s short description of site no. 657:

“This is a fine example of a working Orthodox monastery, with military features that are typical of the 15th to the 18th century, the period during which it developed. The main church of the Lavra, the Cathedral of the Assumption (echoing the Kremlin Cathedral of the same name), contains the tomb of Boris Godunov. Among the treasures of the Lavra is the famous icon, The Trinity , by Andrei Rublev.”

My visit

I wrote this in my 2011 post:

Over 300 years of church activities has left its traces in Sergiev Posad. In addition 550 monks and a theological university with 700 students leave a living religious environment even today. Numerous domestic tourists or perhaps more like pilgrims come here to cross themselves and kiss icons. The magnificent churches with domes of gold are also eternal witnesses of Russia’s intense religiosity that not even 70 years of “religion is the opium of the people” ideology could destroy.

Read more about my visit.

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