Pskov, October 28, 2026
Photo: museumpskov.ru
A cathedral whose frescoes were painted by unknown Greek masters in the 1130s and 1140s is going back to the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Transfiguration Cathedral of the Mirozh Monastery in Pskov, along with the monastery’s Brotherhood Cells, is being transferred to the Church’s jurisdiction, Interfax reports, citing the press service of the Pskov Museum-Reserve.
The cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2019.
The Pskov Museum-Reserve says it was notified by the Interregional Territorial Administration of the Federal Property Management Agency for Pskov and Novgorod Provinces that its right of operational management has been terminated.
Photo: museumpskov.ru
The notice covers two federal cultural heritage sites in the Holy Transfiguration-Mirozh Monastery ensemble: the 12th-century Transfiguration Cathedral and the Brotherhood Cells, which date from the 15th to 19th centuries.
The museum and the Pskov Diocese are currently holding consultations on preserving and promoting the cathedral as a UNESCO site.
According to the museum, the restoration program for the cathedral and the preservation of its 12th-century fresco ensemble will continue under the religious organization. This will take into account its half-century of experience maintaining the temperature and humidity conditions the frescoes need. Work to preserve and promote the site will be coordinated with the Pskov Province Ministry of Cultural Heritage.
Photo: museumpskov.ru
The Transfiguration Cathedral is the oldest surviving church of the Mirozh Monastery and of the city of Pskov, famous for its frescoes. It was painted from top to bottom in the 1130s and 1140s by unknown masters who came from Greece.
The frescoes were whitewashed in the 17th century, which, fortunately, helped save them. Their existence came to light in 1856, when repairs to the cathedral exposed fragments of painting beneath areas of whitewash that had fallen away. A new uncovering of the frescoes began in the 1920s.
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