page_title: Monastery of the Tithes
section_title: Other objects
hierarchical_section_title: Monastery of the Tithes / Monastery complex / Other objects
caption_attribution_description: English: Northern building of Desyatinny monastery, Veliky Novgorod This is a photo of a cultural heritage object in Russia, number: 5310020006 This template and pages using it are maintained by the Russian WLM team. Please read the guidelines before making any changes that can affect the monuments database!
context_page_description: The Monastery of the Tithes is an inactive monastery or convent in Veliky Novgorod, one of eight ancient monasteries of Novgorod Republic.
  The Desyatinny Monastery now has a regular square-shaped perimeter. The monastery's complex was developed over a lengthy period and now includes objects constructed in periods from the 14th to the 20th centuries. It was finally completed at the beginning of the 20th century but was closed in 1918 by the Soviet government. Some buildings, including both churches and part of the monastery wall, were lost in the 20th century during World War II and the anti-religious campaign, with the result that the monastery is preserved fragmentarily.
  Never considered particularly important, it was subjected to rebuilding many times. Built to symbolize and immortalize the miracle of historical significance for the Novgorod Republic, until the present day, the monastery in fact has undertaken certain social functions affecting Novgorodian society. Its history is a story of ups and downs, of ruin and reconstruction. Almost nothing in the present monastery's exterior suggests how ancient the monastery really is.
context_section_description: The bell tower in Russian Revival style is now the most notable building in the modern monastery complex; it also serves as a portal into the monastery. The bell tower was erected in 1903, in line with the last abbess' Lyudmila intention to replace an existing old, shabby bell tower with a new one. The construction, to a design by Theodor Vorontsov, a city architect, was entirely funded from donations. The main bell was cast at the expense of the duchess Anna Orlova-Сhesmenskaya. There is a suggestion that about 18 bells were to be hanged there in 1922.
  During the World War II, the bell tower was harmed substantially – it lost its roof with the main dome. Afterwards, in the postwar period the local government was planning to bulldoze the bell tower. Nevertheless, a positive decision was taken, and the tower was the first building in the monastery subjected to the reconstruction in 1975 – 1976 based on old photographs and postcards. Now it is occupied with workshops for artists and designers. The bell tower not only dominates the monastery only but in a substantial part of the town.
  The east wall with cells inside is joined to the bell tower, although they are much older. They date from 1814 – 1820 in the classicism syle according to plans by the city architect Ivan Dmitrov to replace a fence of wood. The decision to build walls of brick in the 19th century has some quite curious background. In the 19th century Novgorod became a provincial city with the monastery on the outskirts. It was usual to observe some cattle crazing near the holy place, or drunken workers singing songs while the sisters were in prayer. Abbess Lyudmila applied to the city hall regarding any walls of brick to be constructed around the monastery in order to, as she formulated it, literally, “different blasphemies not to occur almost near the holy gates”, but the application was rejected as it was assessed as "contradicting to the highly signed [architectural] plan of Novgorod". Nevertheless, the positive decision was finally taken, and the process of construction was started in 1814. The construction was funded entirely by Yelizaveta Poltoratskaya, a wealthy parishioner, the wife of a state councillor.
  The east wall with cells was built in a complex with another bell tower consequently replaced with the present one. That bell tower was built in 1811 – 1813 in style of classicism: quite modest and not as tall as the present one. In its turn, that bell tower replaced with itself a wooden one, constructed in 1778. The bell tower of wood was in fact extremely non-durable, as it rotted during 14 years.
  A bell tower, no matter when it was built, is meant to divide the east wall at its centre into 2 wings: the southern wing, and the northern wing. On the monastery perimeter's corners either wing is meant to be finished with small towers having spires with wind vanes, but at the present day the southern tower is not preserved. Either wing is also provided inside with cells of the average dimensions about 9 m × 8 m: there are 6 cells in the north wing, and 4 wings in the south wings (there were formerly 5).
  During the World War II the ending of the southern wing with a corner tower was ruined. The reconstruction, undertaken during the postwar time, implied the full reconstruction of the building, but didn’t in fact imply the reconstruction of the lost corner tower. Right after the war it was temporarily accommodated for living. In 1977 – 1982 some reconstruction works aimed to arrange workshops for artists in the cells were undertaken: by means of constructing mezzanines and changing the shape of the roof from the inner facade, the cells were turned into 2-floored with windows on the second floor. The southern corner tower finishing the wall from the south is still not reconstructed because of financial difficulties, despite of the project of reconstruction exists. Now there are workshops for artists there.
  The abbess chamber is the oldest building in the modern monastery (but still, the ruins of the church of the Nativity dated by 1397 are retained right ben
caption: The northern cells house
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