A genuine fortress on a bend in the Moskova River, this monastery for women was founded in 1514 by Vassili III. It had several famous boarders over its history, among whom the regent Sophia Alekseyevna (1657-1704), who was confined here in 1689 by her half-brother, Peter the Great. By the Great Pond, the monastery boasts several lakeside edifices, including the beautiful Baroque Church of the Transfiguration, and above all the imposing Cathedral of Our Lady of Smolensk.