Danilov Monastery

One of the oldest monastic foundations in Moscow, traditionally dated to the thirteenth century, this walled monastery on the south bank of the Moskva now serves as the administrative headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church. White churches, a bell tower and residential buildings stand within crenellated walls, restored after decades of Soviet use as a detention centre and factory. Its historic bells were sold abroad in the 1930s and later returned from an American university.