The Monastery was built in 1710 to welcome the relics of Saint Alexander Nevsky, and the Lavra marks Peter the Great’s intention to establish the new Northern Capital in Holy Russia. The monastery of Saint Alexander Nevsky on the Neva was elevated to the rank of Lavra, an honorary title granted to an Orthodox monastery because of its importance, 87 years after its construction. Today, the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra is notably composed of the Trinity Cathedral built in the neoclassical architectural style, and the residence of the metropolitan which is constructed in the baroque architectural style.

With your guide, you will visit the Lavra and the different locations it consists of. You will discover the opulent trappings of the Trinity Cathedral, the Chapel of the Annunciation, and the St. Alexander Nevsky Chapel, where you will find the holy relics of the saint. Your guide will then lead you to the sepulchers of famous Russian personalities in the history of the Russian arts. After you have crossed over from the Nikolskoe Cemetery, which was reserved for the aristocrats of the Imperial regime, you will enter the Lazarevskoe Cemetery where the remains of the celebrated Russian scientist and writer Mikhail Lomonsomov are interred. You will end your tour in the Tikhinskoe Cemetery, the cemetery where the greatest personalities of Russian arts and letters are buried. Your guide will help you learn more about the writer Dostoevsky and the musician Tchaikovsky, just two of the most famous Russians reposing in this cemetery.

Whether for its history, its cemeteries or its spiritual character, the St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra is a symbol of the Russian spirit, and is an essential visit during your stay in St. Petersburg.