# Alexander Nevsky Lavra, St Petersburg > A working Orthodox monastery founded by Peter the Great at the far end of Nevsky Prospekt. **The grounds and the Holy Trinity Cathedral are free**, open daily 5:30–22:00. Only the two museum necropolises — with the graves of Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky and Lomonosov — charge: 200 ₽ each or 400 ₽ for both, 10:00–17:00. Allow an hour, or two with both cemeteries. Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/alexander-nevsky-lavra - City: [St Petersburg](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg), Russia - YesGo score: 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - Entry: Free, necropolises 200–400 ₽ - Opening hours: Monastery daily 5:30–22:00; Holy Trinity Cathedral 5:45–20:00; necropolises daily 10:00–17:00, last tickets 16:30 - With kids: Better without small kids - Monastery grounds: Free, daily 5:30–22:00 - Holy Trinity Cathedral: Free, 5:45–20:00; cleaning after the evening service may limit access - 18th-Century Necropolis (Lazarevskoe Cemetery): 200 ₽, concession 150 ₽ - Necropolis of Masters of Arts (Tikhvin Cemetery): 200 ₽, concession 150 ₽ - Both necropolises: 400 ₽, concession 300 ₽; guided visit +200 ₽ - Necropolis hours: Daily 10:00–17:00, ticket desk until 16:30 - Free necropolis entry: Preschool children always; under-18s, full-time students and Russian pensioners on the first Wednesday of the month - Monastery tours (in Russian): Daily at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00, run by the Lavra’s Pilgrimage Centre - Annunciation Church (Suvorov’s grave): Being handed to the Church since 2023; visiting arrangements unconfirmed - Metro: Ploshchad Aleksandra Nevskogo 1 & 2, ≈ 5 min walk to the gate - Payment: Roubles in cash or a Russian card — Visa and Mastercard issued abroad don’t work in Russia - Coordinates: 59.92108, 30.38852 - Facts checked: 29.10.2026 ## Key facts - **1713** — the first wooden church was consecrated — the official founding date (source: Official website of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, History; Russian Wikipedia) - **1797** — Paul I raised the monastery to a lavra, the highest rank of Russian monasteries (source: Official website of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, History; Russian Wikipedia) - **1724** — the relics of St Alexander Nevsky were brought from Vladimir (source: Official website of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra; Russian Wikipedia) - **1776–1790** — Ivan Starov built the Holy Trinity Cathedral (source: Official website of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Churches; Russian Wikipedia) - **1937** — the Tikhvin Cemetery became the museum Necropolis of Masters of Arts (source: State Museum of Urban Sculpture website; Russian Wikipedia) - **1823** — the Tikhvin Cemetery was founded, first called the New Lazarevskoe (source: Official website of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra; State Museum of Urban Sculpture website) - **1922** — the silver shrine of Alexander Nevsky went to the Hermitage, where it still is (source: Official website of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Churches; Russian Wikipedia) - **1989** — the saint’s relics returned to the cathedral (source: Official website of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra; Russian Wikipedia) - **4 cemeteries** — inside the walls: Lazarevskoe, Tikhvin, Nikolskoe and the Cossack Cemetery (source: Official website of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Cemeteries; Russian Wikipedia) ## Is Alexander Nevsky Lavra free? Tickets and opening hours **Yes — the monastery grounds, the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Nikolskoe Cemetery are free.** You only buy a ticket for the two necropolises run by the State Museum of Urban Sculpture, which flank the path just inside the gate. The **18th-Century Necropolis** (Lazarevskoe Cemetery) is on the left, the **Necropolis of Masters of Arts** (Tikhvin Cemetery) on the right, next to the only ticket desk. One necropolis costs 200 ₽ (concession 150 ₽), both 400 ₽ (300 ₽). Payment needs roubles in cash or a Russian bank card: Visa and Mastercard issued abroad have not worked in Russia since March 2022. The monastery is open daily 5:30–22:00 and the cathedral 5:45–20:00. The necropolises open daily 10:00–17:00, but the ticket desk stops selling at 16:30 — come later and the gates are effectively shut. > **Dress code: it’s a working monastery** Services are held every day. Women should cover their hair and wear a skirt or dress below the knee inside the churches; men take off hats and skip shorts. Don’t photograph people praying, and keep cameras down during services. ## Where are Dostoevsky and Tchaikovsky buried? - **Necropolis of Masters of Arts** (Tikhvin Cemetery, right of the path): Fyodor Dostoevsky, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Modest Mussorgsky, Mikhail Glinka, Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the historian Nikolai Karamzin, the fabulist Ivan Krylov and the painters Ivan Shishkin and Arkhip Kuindzhi. - **18th-Century Necropolis** (Lazarevskoe Cemetery, left), the oldest in the city: the scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, the playwright Denis Fonvizin, the statesman Sergei Witte, Pushkin’s widow Natalia, and the architects Quarenghi, Rossi, Voronikhin, Zakharov and Thomas de Thomon — the men who built much of the city you’ve just walked through. - **Annunciation Church**: Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov and 18th-century royals. The building was handed to the Church in 2023, so check access on the day. - **Nikolskoe Cemetery**, behind the cathedral — free and still in use; the historian Lev Gumilyov lies here. ## How to get to Alexander Nevsky Lavra 1. Take the metro to **Ploshchad Aleksandra Nevskogo** — the green line 3 (station 1) and orange line 4 (station 2) meet here. 2. From Palace Square: walk 15 minutes down Nevsky to **Gostiny Dvor**, then 2 stops on the green line. Or from **Admiralteyskaya** (purple line 5) ride to Sadovaya, change to Spasskaya and go 3 stops on the orange line. 3. Leave the metro onto Alexander Nevsky Square and cross it to the bridge over the Monastyrka river — about 5 minutes to the gate. 4. Walking the whole of Nevsky Prospekt from the Admiralty is about 4.5 km — more than an hour. Most people walk one way and take the metro back. 5. Station signs are in Cyrillic: look for «Площадь Александра Невского». ## Is Alexander Nevsky Lavra worth visiting? Worth it if Russian novels or music mean something to you. Nowhere else can you stand at the graves of Dostoevsky and Tchaikovsky within a few minutes of each other, and the monastery courtyard is one of the quietest corners of central St Petersburg. Skip it on a one-day visit if those names don’t ring a bell. The Lavra sits 4 km from the [Hermitage](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/hermitage) and Palace Square, and the trip there and back costs close to an hour you could spend at [St Isaac’s Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/st-isaacs-cathedral) or on the canals. **One hour** covers the courtyard, the cathedral and the Tikhvin necropolis. **Two hours** lets you add the 18th-Century Necropolis and the cemetery behind the cathedral. The necropolises reward a guide — without one you walk past most of the stories. ## Holy Trinity Cathedral and the relics of Alexander Nevsky The cathedral is a neoclassical church by Ivan Starov, with a dome and two bell towers, built in 1776–1790 under Catherine the Great. Entry is free. Inside lie the **relics of St Alexander Nevsky**, the 13th-century prince who beat the Swedes on the Neva and became the city’s patron saint. Peter the Great had them brought here in 1724. The Soviets removed them in 1922 and they came back only in 1989. The massive silver shrine made for them stayed in the Hermitage — you can see it there. Visit between about 11:00 and 16:00, when there’s no service and you can look at the interior without stepping around worshippers. The evening service starts at 17:00. ## What to see at the Lavra - The Gate Church by Ivan Starov — your way in from Alexander Nevsky Square. - The graves of Dostoevsky and Tchaikovsky in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts. - Lomonosov’s grave and the 18th-century tombstones of the Lazarevskoe Cemetery. - The Holy Trinity Cathedral with the relics of St Alexander Nevsky. - The bridge over the Monastyrka river and the courtyard — the best angle on the cathedral’s façade. - The Metropolitan’s Garden, a quiet green square inside the walls. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] At the necropolis ticket desk by 16:30 - [ ] Roubles in cash — foreign Visa and Mastercard don’t work in Russia - [ ] Headscarf and below-knee skirt (women), no shorts (men) - [ ] Comfortable shoes — the necropolis paths are uneven - [ ] A list of the graves you want — signs are in Russian only - [ ] Cathedral in the daytime, before the 17:00 service ## Alexander Nevsky Lavra vs Kazan Cathedral vs Peter and Paul Fortress | | Alexander Nevsky Lavra | Kazan Cathedral | Peter and Paul Fortress | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Working monastery and museum cemeteries | Working cathedral on Nevsky | Fortress, cathedral and imperial burial vault | | Who’s buried | Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky, Lomonosov, Suvorov | Field Marshal Kutuzov | Russian emperors from Peter the Great | | Entry | Free; necropolises 200–400 ₽ | Free | Grounds free, cathedral by ticket | | Where | End of Nevsky, Ploshchad Aleksandra Nevskogo metro | Mid-Nevsky | Hare Island | | Time needed | 1–2 h | 30 min | 2–3 h | [Kazan Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kazan-cathedral) is on your way and takes half an hour. Pick the [Peter and Paul Fortress](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peter-and-paul-fortress) for the tsars and the city’s founding, the Lavra for the writers and composers. ## St Petersburg’s churches compared Every church and monastery in St Petersburg rated by YesGo. - [Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/church-of-the-savior-on-spilled-blood) — YesGo score 75/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · 700 ₽, under 7 free - [Peter and Paul Fortress](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peter-and-paul-fortress) — YesGo score 74/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · Grounds free, cathedral 1,000 ₽ - [Kazan Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kazan-cathedral) — YesGo score 72/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free - [St Isaac's Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/st-isaacs-cathedral) — YesGo score 69/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h · 700 ₽, colonnade 700 ₽ - [Kronstadt](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kronstadt) — YesGo score 49/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · Free, museums extra - [Alexander Nevsky Lavra](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/alexander-nevsky-lavra) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free, necropolises 200–400 ₽ ## The Lavra and Nevsky in half a day Start at the Lavra in the morning, take the metro back to the centre and walk Nevsky Prospekt to Kazan Cathedral and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. 1. [Alexander Nevsky Lavra](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/alexander-nevsky-lavra) — YesGo score 48/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free, necropolises 200–400 ₽ 2. [Nevsky Prospekt](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/nevsky-prospect) — YesGo score 65/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · Free 3. [Kazan Cathedral](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/kazan-cathedral) — YesGo score 72/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free 4. [Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/church-of-the-savior-on-spilled-blood) — YesGo score 75/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · 700 ₽, under 7 free > **Make the Lavra the end of your Nevsky walk** Nevsky Prospekt runs straight into the Lavra’s square, so walk it from the Admiralty end and finish here. Just reach the gate before 16:30 if you want the necropolises — the cathedral stays open until 20:00. ## Good to know “Lavra” is the title of Russia’s most important monasteries; the full name is the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Don’t confuse it with the Trinity Lavra of St Sergius in Sergiev Posad near Moscow, or with the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia. ## Tips - In an hour: gate → Necropolis of Masters of Arts (Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky) → bridge over the Monastyrka → Holy Trinity Cathedral. - In two hours: add the 18th-Century Necropolis with Lomonosov’s grave and the Nikolskoe Cemetery behind the cathedral. - On a zero budget, the courtyard, the cathedral, the Nikolskoe Cemetery and the Metropolitan’s Garden are all free — enough for half an hour. - The Lavra’s own tours run in Russian; for an English guide, book one in advance. - Afterwards, ride two stops back to Gostiny Dvor for Kazan Cathedral and the [Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/church-of-the-savior-on-spilled-blood). ## Questions ### Is Alexander Nevsky Lavra free to visit? Yes. The grounds and the Holy Trinity Cathedral are free. Only the two necropolises charge: 200 ₽ each or 400 ₽ for both. ### What are the opening hours of Alexander Nevsky Lavra? The monastery is open daily 5:30–22:00 and the cathedral 5:45–20:00. The necropolises open daily 10:00–17:00, with last tickets at 16:30. ### Where is Dostoevsky’s grave in St Petersburg? In the Necropolis of Masters of Arts (Tikhvin Cemetery) at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, to the right just inside the main gate. Tchaikovsky is buried in the same necropolis. ### Who is buried at Alexander Nevsky Lavra? Dostoevsky, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Glinka, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin in the Tikhvin Cemetery; Lomonosov and the architects Rossi and Quarenghi in the Lazarevskoe Cemetery; Suvorov in the Annunciation Church. ### Is there a dress code at Alexander Nevsky Lavra? For the churches, yes: women cover their hair and wear a skirt below the knee, men remove hats and avoid shorts. The grounds and cemeteries have no strict rule. ### How do I get to Alexander Nevsky Lavra by metro? Ride to Ploshchad Aleksandra Nevskogo on the green line 3 or orange line 4, then cross the square to the gate — about 5 minutes. ### How long should I spend at Alexander Nevsky Lavra? An hour for the courtyard, the cathedral and one necropolis; about two hours to see both necropolises properly. ### Can I pay by card at the Lavra? Only with a Russian card. Visa and Mastercard issued abroad don’t work in Russia, so bring roubles in cash for tickets and candles. ### Where are the relics of Alexander Nevsky? In the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Lavra. They were brought from Vladimir in 1724 and returned to the cathedral in 1989; the silver shrine is in the Hermitage. ## How we checked Monastery and cathedral hours and the tour times come from the Lavra’s official website; necropolis prices, hours and free days come from the State Museum of Urban Sculpture, which runs them. Sources disagree on when the Lazarevskoe Cemetery was founded — the museum says 1713 (the monastery’s founding date), the Lavra 1716 — so we leave the year out. The relics’ arrival in 1724 is dated 30 August (Old Style) in Wikipedia and 12 September (New Style) by the Lavra, so we give only the year. In 2023 the city handed the Annunciation Church burial vault with Suvorov’s grave to the diocese, and neither website lists its hours on 29.10.2026, so that row is marked as being checked. The Lavra publishes no written dress code; we give the standard rules of Russian Orthodox monasteries. Walking times are our estimate from the map. ## Sources - Official website of the Holy Trinity Alexander Nevsky Lavra: general schedule, Pilgrimage Centre, cemeteries, history, churches, contacts, 29.10.2026 - Official website of the State Museum of Urban Sculpture: 2026 ticket prices, opening hours, visitor FAQ, 18th-Century Necropolis, Necropolis of Masters of Arts, 29.10.2026 - English and Russian Wikipedia: Alexander Nevsky Lavra; Wikidata Q946428 - Fontanka and Delovoy Peterburg on the transfer of the Annunciation Church burial vault to the diocese, August 2023 - Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022 --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.