Novaya Ladoga, Leningrad Oblast Russia
[Russian Orthodox]
The monastery was founded in the 14th and 15th centuries on the Medvedets peninsula. It was destroyed several times by invaders. The St. Nicholas Catheral, the oldest church in Novaya Ladoga, was built in the late 1400s. The complex was later fortified. The monastery was abolished by 1704.In the 16th century, an icon of St. Nicholas was placed high on the wall towards the river. A bronze langern with icon-lamp was used as a guide light for ships on the Volkhov River. In the mid-1870s a porch with iron stairs and balcony was built in front of the icon. The cathedral was closed in 1938 and the image and interior decorations lost. Returned to believers in 1947, it was again closed in 1961. Restoration is ongoing.