The Museum of Wooden Architecture
That Novgorod is neatly bypassed by the Krasnaya Strelka rail route seems typical -- its history has been one of constant eclipse by the superpower cities around it.
However, on a weekend break in this ancient city, the so called cradle of Russia, it's easy to forget the bustle and grime of Moscow and St Petersburg in Novgorod's tranquil beauty.
Arriving by bus near the intersection of October and Marx Prospects is an education in how quickly a big city like Petersburg can absorb its recent past. Novgorod, though reasonably large, only really sprawls in its outskirts, so the compact, intimate center maintains a village feel and provincial mindset borne out by its antiquated street names.
Since a weekend in Novgorod is all about resting your city-aching bones in small-town bliss, the luxury of the Beresta Palace hotel recommends itself to all visitors. Three bus stops from the center, this Marco Polo establishment has its four-star quality maintained by an attentive staff.
The rooms are bright and comfortable, with satellite TV and mini bar. Facilities are extensive: as well as its fine restaurant, the hotel also has a bierstube, casino and nightclub, and the sauna and swimming pool are perfect for winding down. The businessmen we saw heading into the hotel's two conference rooms looked pampered enough.Two stops from the station, and Lenin stands on Victory Square amongst Soviet monoliths pointing to the motorway to Leningrad.
Despite Russian Federation flags, it feels like the 1950s. But this is a minor stitch in time compared to the nine-century leap back a step inside the walls of Novgorod's Kremlin achieves.
St Sophia's cathedral, the oldest church in Russia, dominates the historic
fortress, where many buildings have been razed leaving a windy expanse straight
down to the Volkhov river. With its clean white exterior and onion domes, it's
typical of the plethora of churches in the town.
The interior is breathtaking. Twelfth century frescoes are tucked into the cupola and ceiling-to-floor nineteenth century painting surrounds you to intense effect. A service here, lit only by candles and Tsar Boris Godunov's massive chandelier, is a must.
Around the cathedral, other buildings glisten against the snow: the belfry and the faceted tower, which houses a tiny museum of amazingly well-preserved embroidery dating from as early as the 1500s.
Other points of interest are a millennium monument which honors in steel hundreds of "Great Russian Figures." Pushkin's there, unsurprisingly, but he was almost unlocatable on the common people's tier.
The city museum, peeking over the top of the monument, has archeological finds in Novgorod from 1800 years ago and some nice Repins. Since the Kremlin also shelters the Phoenix and Detinets cafes and the municipal Philharmonia, a whole day could be spent in this Kremlin to good effect.
Across the windy Volkhov is a maze of streets whose intermingled churches and dachas make for a true provincial winter stroll. As the center of the Russian Orthodox Church, Novgorod is crawling with the kind of chapels that St Petersburg could never hope to muster. The river bank's Gostiny Dvor-like arcade from the old market protects half a dozen such churches from the ice floes -- all closed, but nonetheless inspiring.
If you are looking for churches that are open, you can find them on the main thoroughfare -- Bolshaya Moskovskaya Ulitsa -- but they are only open for trade. The street's churches have been sacrilegiously converted into supermarkets and timber merchants.
For a more spiritually uplifting experience, head down Mikhailova Ulitsa, just off Bolshaya Moskovskaya, which is lined with picture-postcard painted houses as it heads down to the Znamensky St Philip's cathedral. Znamensky's astonishing frescoes inside and out are worth the admission fee, whilst the low-ceilinged intimacy of its whitewashed neighbor is a change from the usual ecclesiastical vastness.
Outside town the Museum of Wooden Architecture and the Yureyev monastery, with its lovely cathedral, are worth the bus ride, particularly in winter, when the rolling snow-covered fields are an impressive sight.
* See restaurant review