In the history of our city there are places that have collected a special memory of people and events.
Getting there, you feel that you are at the point where epochs and personalities intersect.
One of these places is the Monastery of the Sign of the Most Holy Theotokos or the Znamensky Monastery.
One of the oldest monasteries in Siberia, the Znamensky Monastery was built in the seventeenth century.
Peter the Great attached special importance to the construction of this monastery: the population of Siberia was being Christianized. The gospel granted to them is still kept here.
The architecture of the church has elements of the "Siberian Baroque".
During the years of Soviet authority, the Znamenskaya Church was practically destroyed, but then restored through the efforts of the Irkutsk people.
Since 1960, the complex of the Znamensky Monastery has been transferred to the rank of architectural monuments.
Looking at the necropolis at the monastery, we see milestones in the history of the city of Irkutsk - the names of famous city dynasties and great Russian writers.
Decembrists Mukhanov, Bechasnov, Panov were buried at the church. The grave of the wife of the Decembrist Ekaterina Trubetskoy has been preserved.
It is here that the "Russian Columbus" - Grigory Shelikhov, explorer and navigator, rests.
Here are the relics of the Enlightener of Siberia, Saint Innokenty Kulchitsky and Bishop Innokenty Nerunovich.
Near the monastery, on the banks of the Angara, Admiral Kolchak was killed. This is reminiscent of the first monument in Russia to Kolchak, built in the park.
Visiting the Church, we can feel the whole history of the city of Irkutsk, its life, its fight, its glory.
