2008-10(Oct)-25 Novgorod Kremlin

http://picasaweb.google.com/terricallaway/NovgorodKremlin#

This will be my final installment on Novgorod, the oldest town in Russia. The pictures you will see are from the Novgorod Kremlin, the old walled city. About 30 of us took the bus ride from St. Pete city center to Novgorod. The first picture is of three of the lovely ladies who work for BE&K. The one on the left is John's translator, Nina; the one on the right, Natasha, took me shopping when we were setting up the apartment; Julia is rather young, still in school and working too. She is like the office aid - she does a variety of things as they are needed. It is very unusual for university students to work but she got special permission, in large part because she is working for a US company. She is fluent in Spanish and although not as good as the translators, her English is very good.

It was a lovely fall day - overcast but not raining. As we were driving in, I thought the actually town was rather dreary. It is a fairly large city of over 200,000 people, and it appeared to be still in the soviet times. The buildings, whether 50 or 200 years old, looked like they were in need of a facelift. There was some new buildings construction going on, but nothing like you would expect in such a large city.

However, in the old city center, almost every building was in the process of being repaired. Most buildings looked like the ones in St. Petersburg but on a smaller scale. They were constructed of brick, stuccoed and then painted. In 2009, the city will celebrate their 1150th anniversary, so the city is trying to get ready for a big celebration.

The bus was parked in an area across the river from the Kremlin. Here seven very old churches are displayed in a garden-like setting. Apparently seven different noblemen built these churches as a gift to the town. I guess like keeping up with the Jones' in medieval times. Most had been 're-stuccoed' but the one I found most interesting was not. Close to the river, it looked like they were building a grassy pavilion with arches around the perimeter. We learned that this area was severely damaged in WWII and the pavilion area was being built in the location of a large indoor market that had been destroyed by the bombing. Prior to the war, the building had arches all around the outside. There is a large shopping center in St. Pete, Gustini Divor, that looks very much like this. I guess that was a common Russian style. Later I'll show you guys what the shopping is like here - there are indoor markets that are like a farmers market inside and there are stores that look like Whole Foods (upscale food mart in the US) - and everything in between, including Walmart look-alikes!

Back to Novgorod, we took several pictures prior to walking across the bridge to the Kremlin. The community was 'founded' in 859 and the walls to protect the city were built later in that century. Because it was an important medieval city, it had many large buildings, a huge bell tower and a beautiful church, St. Sophia. The present church was built about 1050 which replaced one built in 980. The frescos were first painted in the 1200s, and they have been repaired and repainted over the years because of fires. The most recent repairs occurred after WWII but the church received only minor damage. However, a Spanish unit took the cross off the top of the church to Spain. It has been returned and is now presented inside the church - almost like an icon.

There are several Saint Sophia churches in Russia. I always thought Sophia was a person who became a saint but our guide tried to explain that Sophia is the wisdom of God in Jesus. Being simple-minded, I didn't understand that so maybe this will help: In the mystical theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church wisdom is understood as the Divine Logos who became incarnate as Jesus Christ.In the Holy Family, Sophia is often seen as being represented by the Theotokos (Virgin Mary). Sophia is expressed as the Holy Wisdom of God and the saints, obtained through humility, and Mary the Theotokos is the first and greatest of all saints. In Eastern Orthodoxy humility is the highest wisdom and is to be sought more than any other virtue. It is humility that cultivates not only the Holy Wisdom, but humility (in contrast to knowledge) is the defining quality that grants people salvation and entrance into Heaven. The Hagia Sophia or Holy Wisdom church in Constantinople was the religious center of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly a thousand years.(from Wikipedia)

After seeing the church, we walked to the large sculpture that was unveiled in 1862 as a tribute to the most important Russian historical figures. There were many other buildings and a WWII memorial. I had to take more construction pictures - three guys 'laying' round stones in the sand one at a time to make a patio; the large palace that dozens of guys were working on - taking off old stucco, re-plastering with new stucco and painting all at the same time; and the two guys hanging from ropes and painting the church.

Here is information from UNESCO: there is a good picture of St. Sophia there
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=42622&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Novgorod is the oldest Russian city, it being mentioned in chronicles since 859 A.D. The city itself was built gradually from the end of the ninth century, subsequently taking the name Novgorod (The New City). During the middle of the tenth century, Novgorod became a prosperous medieval city, situated on the trade route between the Baltic and the Byzantine empire. Its historical monuments were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1992.

AND MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veliky_Novgorod

Question of the week: Are there any antiques stores like we have in the states?
There are lots of antique stores that sell all kinds of items. However it is against the law to remove anything from Russia that is over 100 hundred years old, even if you bring it in with you. So I guess, if your wedding ring belonged to your grandmother from Canada, and you wore it over her, you would have to give it to the government when you left. That may be an extreme example, but it is my understanding that old items are confiscated often. The law also says you cannot take any art from the country without papers. I bought two paintings at the craft show a while back and the artist had to go to the organizer of the show to get papers saying the date I bought them and the price I paid. Then of course the paper was stamped - EVERY official document (even some sales receipts) have to be stamped - purchase orders, delivery tickets to name some. There are lots of notaries here. But back to the antiques question, please remember we live in a very expensive part of Russia, the stores are quite fancy - like the ones in the French Quarter in New Orleans. I have not been shopping in rural areas and I expect that is where we could find some old things at good prices. That having been said, the vast majority of the citizens of Russia have only had the things required to get by. Even today that is true. Although the standard of living is improving, this is still a third-world country. We in the US have a closet full of clothes. Russians may have a handful of outfits. Some of them may be rather expensive, but to them less is more. Their homes/apartments are small and there is no where to put much stuff. Items that were owned by the elite were very nice and still command a very high price.

Until Next time: Hugs to all, Terri