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ALEXANDER NEVSKY LAVRA
Peter the Great founded the lavra on the purported
site of the legendary 1240 battle between Alexander
Nevsky and the Swedes. The term lavra is usually
translated as monastery or abbey, and there are only
four in all of Russia. The metropolitan of the
Orthodox Church resides here (metropolitans are
second to the patriarch in the Church hierarchy).
Even during the soviet period the seminary continued
to function here with only a few years' break. The
Holy Trinity Cathedral, St. Petersburg's main
functioning place of worship, is located here. Also
worth seeing is the Tikhvin Cemetery, two plots
filled with intricate monuments to the people resting
here which include Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky,
Mussorgsky, and other local luminaries of the 18th
and 19th centuries. Tickets for the cemetery are
available from kassas outside the main monastery
gates.
Ploshchad Alexandra Nevskogo. Metro: Ploshchad
Alexandra Nevskogo. Cemeteries open 11:00-19:00 (in
winter to 18:00), closed Tuesdays and Saturdays. Tel:
274 0409.
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