Patriarch's Palace

Lonely Planet review

This palace was mostly built in the mid-17th century for Patriarch Nikon, whose reforms sparked the break with the Old Believers. The palace contains an exhibit of 17th-century household items, including jewellery, hunting equipment and furniture. From here you can access the five-domed Church of the Twelve Apostles, which has a gilded, wooden iconostasis and a collection of icons by the leading 17th-century icon painters.

The highlight is perhaps the ceremonial Cross Hall ( Krestovaya Palata ) where the tsar's and ambassadorial feasts were held. From the 18th century the room was used to produce miro, a holy oil used during church services, which contains over 30 herbal components; the oven and huge pans from the production process are on display.

Now quiet, the palace at its prime was a busy place. Apart from the Patriarch's living quarters it had huge kitchens, warehouses and cellars stocked with food, workshops, a school for the high-born children, offices for scribes, dormitories for those waiting to be baptised, stables and carriage houses.