Trip to Velikiy Novgorod

When I was in Saint-Petersburg I had a trip to visit my old friend who are living now in Novgorod.
Velikiy Novgorod - one of the most ancient and one of most historic cities of Russia.  The first references to Novgorod go back to 859 in the Sofia First Chronicle. Novgorod was the main Russian port for many centuries and was important for Baltic sea trade, so the city participated in the Hansa Union (the union of the richest Baltic ports). The city lies along the Volkhove River.

It's place 200 km from Saint-Petersburg. So I take a bus and full of waiting gone there. It’s winter and It was very cold there (-18° C). But for this reason the landscape with curches covered with snow seems more unreal.
The focal point of the city is the Detinets, or the Kremlin. 

It was mentioned first in the chronicles in the entry for 1044. Inside the Kremlin is Russia’s oldest stone church – the magnificent Byzantine St Sophia’s Cathedral. The 38-metre-high, five-domed, stone cathedral was built by Vladimir of Novgorod between 1045 and 1050.

In the southern district there was a prince's court, also known as the Yaroslav's Courtyard.
Here, close to the St. Nicholas' Cathedral, the Novgorodian Veche held its meetings.  Veche is a people’s assembly which made decisions on war and peaces, laws etc.