Makaryevo is an Urban-type settlement, located in Lyskovsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Region, on the left bank of Volga, at the mouth of The Kerzhenets River. The settlement grew up near the Makaryevsky Monastery. The monastery's founder, Venerable Macarius, was born in 1349 in Nizhny Novgorod, into the family of pious parents Ivan and Marya (his feast day in the Orthodox Church falls on July 25/August 7). Before founding the monastery, Saint Macarius traveled through many Russian lands and earned honor and respect; his feats of fasting and prayer were truly extraordinary — he took food only so as not to die.
In 1434 the Saint founded the Makaryevsky Monastery, dedicated to the Most Holy and Life-Giving Trinity, at the mouth of The Kerzhenets River. In the four years of the monastery's existence, a good many monks joined Saint Macarius, and the community became quite renowned. But the new monastery's flourishing lasted only five years; in 1439 it was destroyed by Khan Ulu-Muhammad. Most of the monks were killed, and Venerable Macarius himself was led away captive to Kazan. The khan soon released the Venerable, "as one meek, wise and without malice," but forbade rebuilding the monastery on its former site. The monastery was revived on the old site by Avraamy, a native of Murom, in 1620. The monastery's convenient position in the middle of the navigable Volga, together with the abbots' efforts, contributed to the rise of a fair on lands belonging to the monastery. Named the Makaryevskaya after the monastery, the fair became the largest in Russia and, probably, in Europe. It was held every year in July. Besides Russians, merchants came from Central Asia, Transcaucasia, India and Iran, trading in furs, cloth, fish, metal goods and more. It was on the proceeds of this trade that the monastery was rebuilt, and its stone structures erected. Largely for political reasons, in 1817 the Makaryev Fair was moved to Nizhny Novgorod (without, however, losing the name "Makaryevskaya"); the monastery's income dwindled, it was declared unendowed, a major fire broke out there, and before long the monastery was abolished, with the surviving icons passing to the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. The community was restored again in 1883, but this time as a convent. Under Soviet rule the monastery was shut down; within its walls stood an orphanage, and during the Great Patriotic War a hospital; later the monastery was assigned to a veterinary college, and livestock and feed were kept in its churches.
Since 1991 Makaryevsky has been handed back to the Nizhny Novgorod Diocese, and the convent has been revived once more (around 25 nuns). On August 7, 2007, the honorable head of Venerable Macarius was transferred to the Makaryevsky Monastery from the Pechersky Ascension Monastery; Archbishop Georgy consecrated the Trinity Cathedral.
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Makaryevsky Monastery
The monastery's architectural ensemble is extraordinarily beautiful. "It is dominated by the large cubic volume of the five-domed Trinity Cathedral (1658), with the only monumental wall and vault painting in Gorky Oblast done in the Upper Volga school of the late 17th–early 18th centuries. The cathedral's central dome, which collapsed in 1859, was restored in 1910. The spacious monastery refectory with the five-domed Dormition church and tent-roofed bell tower was built in 1651. The monastery was enclosed by fortress walls with towers in 1660?1677, with residential cells and the gate church of Michael the Archangel (1670) built into the southern wall. Earlier, additional 17th-century walls adjoined the monastery from the west (no longer existing today). In 1808 the Makaryevskaya Church was built, joined to the cathedral by a Tuscan-order colonnade." Restoration work on the monastery's buildings is currently under way.
At present the waters of the Volga almost wash against the monastery walls, and its monumental architecture and historical value draw the attention of many tourists, artists, and simply people interested in this striking example of the history of the Nizhny Novgorod land. The view of the monastery from the deck of an approaching riverboat is especially beautiful. I have admired such views many times, but each time I notice something new for myself. I know these places well — not far from here, quite close by, in the village of Velikovskoye, my grandfather and grandmother used to live. Every year, coming to Makaryevo in summer in search of new picturesque views, together with my friends I marvel at the builders' creation.