KIRILLO-BELOZERSKY MUSEUM-RESERVE

Kirillov is 130 km northwest of Vologda, but the monastery that this village houses is well worth the trip. Founded at the end of the 14th century by Saint Cyril of Belozero, it was the second richest property in Russia after the Trinity Monastery in Moscow. Ivan the Terrible had his own cell there and would have thought of retiring as a monk. In this vast fortified complex, we must see the immense cathedral of the Assumption built in the 16th century and its 17th century iconostasis.