The Alexander Nevsky Monastery is home to some of the earliest buildings in St Petersburg. Founded by Peter the Great soon after the city itself was built in 1703, it now encompasses various chapels, a museum and an enormous necropolis.
In 1797 the monastery was elevated to the status of lavra (even now there are only five in the Russian Orthodoxy) and, along with its historical value, it is particularly noteworthy for its two main cemeteries.
In the Lazarus Cemetery are laid to rest some of the city's architects, including Starov, Quarenghi and Rossi, while the Tikhvin Cemetery sees a clutch of composers - Tchaikovsky, Rubinstein, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Glinka - as well as the author Dostoevsky.