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The "New Town" (as its name means in Russian) of Novgorod is anything but new: Dating back to the 9th century, this illustrious, lustrous city, three hours south of St. Petersburg, was once a creative center of the nation. In Imperial days, it was known as Novgorod The Great, and today, it still reveals its grand heritage in its cathedrals, museums, and classically Slavic architecture. Despite being overshadowed by the grand palaces and museums of St. Petersburg -- and in spite of the Nazi's attempts to destroy the city -- Novgorod still holds its own today. Visitors who travel to the city of 190,000 are rewarded by its wealth of cultural attractions. Among the city's religious architecture highlights are the Byzantine St. Sofia Cathedral, dating to 1050 (thought to be Russia's oldest major building), and the Church of Our Saviour-at-Ilino, built in the 14th century, where you can see the only surviving frescoes of the Byzantine master, Theophanes the Greek. Another landmark, the Historic Museum, displays some 80,000 artifacts and artworks -- including a treasure trove of Novgorodian painted icons -- spread out over 35 galleries in a series of historic buildings. The oldest of the museum buildings, the 12th century Nikity Corpus, was the scene of one of Novgorod's bloodiest episodes: On the second floor lies the Faceted Palace (Granovitaya Palata), where Ivan the Terrible hosted a veritable last supper for the city's prelates and magnates -- he had them executed during a banquet there in 1570. That was the just first course, however: Ivan (whose actions explain his nickname) also had his troops burn the city and, in a vicious pogrom, killed 60,000 residents. The city wouldn't have been such a target for terror if it weren't so important -- it is, in fact, one of Russia's oldest, most historic cities. It was here that the Varangian Norsemen first established the settlement, in the 9th century, which gave birth to Mother Russia. For the next six centuries it was a dominant city in the new land, though its importance faded after the dynastic shift to St. Petersburg pushed Novgorod into the background.