Nilo-Stolobenskaya Pustyn'

Russia, Russia

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Nilo-Stolobenskaya Pustyn' is a revered Russian Orthodox monastery on Stolobny Island in Lake Seliger, Tver Oblast, Russia, founded in the late 16th century at the hermitage site of Saint Nilus of Stolobenskaya, who arrived in 1528 and lived as a hermit until his death in 1555.

 Key milestones include the first chapel in 1560, wooden Epiphany Church in 1594 with Patriarch Job's blessing, major growth under Abbot Nektarius (elevated to Archbishop of Siberia in 1636), stone buildings from 1669, and church constructions like the Pokrov Church (1622) and stone Epiphany Cathedral (1671) housing Nilus's relics discovered in 1667.

A pilgrimage destination visited by Emperor Alexander I in 1820, it endured Tatar raids (1408), fires (1665), Soviet closure (1928) with relic looting and POW use, reopening in 1990 as an active male monastery under restoration.