Novgorodsky District: Monasteries, Narrow-Gauge Railway, and History

Novgorodsky District brings together a variety of interests: a collection of narrow-gauge railway vehicles, stone monastery churches, and memorial sites. If you want to plan your trip around specific interests, you’ll find places to explore the history of technology, architecture, and history here.

Narrow-Gauge Railway and Monastery Architecture

The Tesovskaya Narrow-Gauge Railway Museum is located in Tesovo-Netylsky. It displays a collection of narrow-gauge railway vehicles, including locomotives, carriages, and specialist equipment, on an operational narrow-gauge railway. The different types of vehicles give the museum visit a clear focus on technology.

The monasteries also offer specific architectural and historical themes. At the heart of the Nikolo-VyazhishchiMonastery ensemble are two stone churches: the Church of St. Nicholas and the Church of St. John the Evangelist. A guided tour of the monastery is available by advance booking on days when the museum is open. Plan this visit in advance accordingly.

The Trinity Cathedral stands at the heart of the Holy Trinity Monastery of St. Michael of Klopsk. It has four pillars and three domes and was built in the 1560s. The monastery is first mentioned in 1408 in connection with Michael of Klopsk entering it. Its principal relics are those of St. Michael of Klopsk; they rest beneath the floor on the south side of the Trinity Church. In this way, the monastery ensemble brings together building history and religious tradition.

Memorial Sites and Historical Connections

The Miasnoy Bor Memorial is located in the village of Miasnoy Bor. Near the village, the Second Shock Army of the Volkhov Front was encircled in the spring of 1942. The “Defense Line” memorial is in Volotovo. The front line ran along the right bank of the Maly Volkhovets from August 1941 to January 1944.

These places give your trip a different focus from the railway collection or monastery visit: local history and remembrance of the Second World War take center stage here. If several of the themes mentioned interest you, you can start by considering which visits you want to make the focus of your stay when choosing your holiday rental.

Nature and Museums in Novgorod Oblast

If you look beyond the district to the wider destination of Novgorod Oblast, you’ll also find nature and cultural experiences. Valdai National Park covers 159,100 hectares and stretches across the Valdaysky, Demyansky, and Okulovsky districts. Its highest point is Mount Ryzhokha. A 25-meter-high observation tower there offers views of the taiga, Lake Velyo, and other bodies of water. In the Bor area, a circular trail passes through typical taiga forests on hilly terrain and through marshes in the hollows between the hills. These landscapes offer a different emphasis alongside the monastery and railway themes of Novgorodsky District.

In Valday, the Bell Museum Center is dedicated to bells from around the world and their development: the forms range from the 3rd century BC through the Middle Ages to modern souvenir bells. Staff demonstrate bell-ringing techniques and let visitors try them out themselves. Another perspective is offered by the exhibition at the District Town Museum, which opened in 1998. It explores the daily lives of the town’s residents, the development of local trades, and the lives of individual Valday families and well-known summer visitors.

Choose a holiday rental based on the visits you want to make the focus of your stay.

More Places in the District

Podberezye, Vyazhishchi, and Kotovitsy are other places to consider as you explore the district.

Discover more destinations: Starorussky District, Marevsky District, Malovishersky District, Okulovsky District, Krestetsky District.

For the overview of the wider destination: Novgorod Oblast.