Sergiev Posad
©
Sergiev Posad

Sergiev Posad

Small Russian town northeast of Moscow, centred on the fortified Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius

Sergiev Posad is a small town about 70 kilometres northeast of Moscow, and it exists essentially because of one building: the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, a fortified monastery complex that is the spiritual heart of the Russian Orthodox Church and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town grew up around the monastery walls over six centuries, and visiting Sergiev Posad today still means visiting the Lavra above all else.

The monastery was founded in the 1340s by St. Sergius of Radonezh, who became the most venerated saint in Russia. The current complex is a densely packed ensemble of white churches and bell towers enclosed behind thick stone walls, its skyline dominated by the great blue domes of the Assumption Cathedral (completed 1585). Inside the walls there are multiple churches from different centuries, two cemeteries, and the Moscow Theological Academy — the principal seminary of the Russian Orthodox Church. On feast days and pilgrimage weekends the monastery fills with worshippers.

Beyond the Lavra the town is modest. The Chernigovsky Skete, a smaller monastic complex a few kilometres east, is worth the trip — its underground chambers and cave church give a different experience from the grand Lavra. The Toys Museum documents the craft of making wooden toys for which Sergiev Posad has been famous since the 19th century; the Russian matryoshka doll was first produced here in 1890.

Sergiev Posad is easily done as a day trip from Moscow by commuter train, and many visitors come just for the day. If you stay overnight you get the monastery to yourself in the early morning.

Guide

Getting There

Sergiev Posad is the easiest day trip from Moscow. Commuter trains (elektrichka) from Yaroslavsky Railway Station in Moscow run roughly every 30 minutes and take about 1.5 hours. Express trains take about 75 minutes. The train station in Sergiev Posad is a 15-minute walk from the Trinity Lavra.

There is also a direct bus from the VDNKh metro station in Moscow, which takes slightly longer depending on traffic. By car the journey is about 70 kilometres on the M8 highway. Sergiev Posad can also be visited as part of the "Golden Ring" circuit — the loose collection of historic towns northeast of Moscow that includes Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov Veliky, and Yaroslavl.

Guide

Things to Do

Sergiev Posad is essentially a one-attraction town, and that attraction is outstanding. The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius dominates the hilltop above the town — a walled monastery complex whose ensemble of churches, bell towers, and domed cathedrals constitutes one of the finest examples of Russian Orthodox religious architecture anywhere. It is an active monastery and a major pilgrimage site, drawing thousands of worshippers on feast days and a steady stream of visitors every day of the year.

Within the Lavra, the Assumption Cathedral with its starry blue domes is the largest and most impressive building, but the older Trinity Cathedral — the first stone building of the complex — is the spiritual heart, containing the tomb of St. Sergius himself. The great bell tower completed in the 18th century is the tallest in Russia after the Ivan the Great bell tower in Moscow. A day is enough to visit the Lavra and the town's small museums; two days lets you reach the Chernigovsky Skete on foot.