Founded in 1397 by the monk St. Cyril on the shore of Lake Siverskoye. Cyril Belozersky monastery introduced the strict charter. Due to the strategically important location on the northern borders of the state has become the abode of the rich and powerful, but from arising on the settlement of the city Kirillov monastery grew.
The architectural ensemble of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery is one of the most important creations of the Russian artistic culture.
In imperial times Cyril Belozersky monastery served as a place of imprisonment of prominent members of the nobility and the clergy.
The Moscow or Ferapontovskaya tower of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, was erected in the 17th century, in 1660. It belongs to the New Town, the latest building in the monastery. The Ferapontovskaya Tower is the tallest structure in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, the tower has 16 sides.
In 1600, a large stone wall with eight towers was built. At the beginning of XVII century the monastery withstood many attacks of the Polish-Lithuanian troops.
Holy Gates (1523) with the church of St. John Lestvichnika (1572).
The tomb of the Simonov merchants is located behind the altar of the Church of St. John the Baptist. It was built at the end of the 19th century from sheet iron on a stone plinth. Burials were made in the late 19th – early 20th centuries.
