Solovetsky yard. Winter

The Solovetsky Monastery is a fortified monastery located on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea in northern Russia. It was one of the largest Christian citadels in northern Russia before it was converted into a Soviet prison and labor camp in 1926-39, and served as a prototype for the camps of the Gulag system. The monastery has experienced several major changes and military sieges. Its most important structures date from the 16th century, when Filip Kolychev was its hegumen (comparable to an abbot).
Layout:
The Solovetsky Monastery is located on the shores of the Prosperity Bay on Solovetsky Island. The monastery is surrounded by massive walls with a height of 8 to 11 m and a thickness of 4 to 6 m. The wall incoroporates 7 gates and 8 towers (built in 1584-1594 by an architect named Trifon), made mainly of huge boulders up to 5 m in length. There are also religious buildings on the monasterys grounds with the principal structures interconnected with roofed and arched passages. They are in turn surrounded by multiple household buildings and living quarters, including a refectory (a 500 m? chamber) with the Uspensky Cathedral (built in 1552-1557), Preobrazhensky Cathedral (1556-1564), Church of Annunciation (1596-1601), stone chambers (1615), watermill (early 17th century), bell tower (1777), and Church of Nicholas (1834).