St George monastery

Founded in the 12th C, at the point where the Volkhov River leaves Ilmen Lake, this monastery is in a superb natural site to the south of the town. The main church, St. George Cathedral (1119), is a harmonious, well-proportioned building that seems to have been carved out of a single rock. It contains fragments of several 12th C frescoes. During World War II. the monastery was used as barracks by the Spanish Blue Division. Today it has returned to its original monastic life.