The highest point of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery in Yaroslavl is an ancient 32-meter bell tower that began to be built as early as the 16th century. Originally, it had two tiers: the upper one housed the belfry with green tiled tent roofs, and the lower one housed the church.
Over several centuries, the structure underwent several changes. At the end of the 17th century, the chapel of Aleksandr Seversky was installed in the southern part of the bell tower, and two additional chapels, Nil Stolobensky and the Holy Forefathers, appeared much later, at the end of the 19th century. The tent roofs crowning the bell tower were dismantled in 1808-1809, adding another tier in the form of a three-span arcade, and by 1824 the belfry acquired its final appearance according to the design of the Yaroslavl architect Pyotr Pankov: a rotunda gazebo with a round dome resting on eight pillars.
The consecration in honor of the miraculous Pechersk Icon of the Mother of God took place in 1860. But already during the White Guard uprising of 1918, the bell tower was significantly damaged. Restoration work carried out in the 1920s and 1950s restored the structure's original appearance. Church bells rang here again in 1991, when antique bells were raised to the top. Some of them date back to the 16th century!
By the way, the top of the bell tower offers an excellent view of the historic center of Yaroslavl.
