It is situated on the M10 federal highway connecting Moscow and St. Petersburg. Translated from Russian, its name means roughly "The Great New City" or "The Big New City". The city lies along the Volkhov River just below its outflow from Lake Ilmen.

No other Russian or Ukrainian city can compete with Novgorod in the variety and age of its medieval monuments. The foremost among these is the St Sophia Cathedral, built between 1045 and 1050 under the patronage of Vladimir Yaroslavich, the son of Yaroslav the Wise (Vladimir is buried in the cathedral along with his mother, Anna.) It is the best preserved of 11th century churches, probably the oldest structure still in use in Russia and the first one to represent original features of Russian architecture (austere stone walls, five helmet-like cupolas). Its frescoes were painted in the 12th century originally on the orders of Bishop Nikita (died 1108) (the "porches" or side chapels were painted in 1144 under Archbishop Nifont) and renovated several times over the centuries, most recently in the nineteenth century.

The cathedral features famous bronze gates, which now hang in the west entrance, allegedly made in Magdeburg in 1156 (other sources see them originating in Plock in Poland) and reportedly snatched by Novgorodians from the Swedish town of Sigtuna in 1187. More recent scholarship has determined that the gates probably were purchased in the mid-fifteenth century, apparently at the behest of Archbishop Evfimii II (1429-1458), a lover of Western art and architectural styles.

Wikipedia articles for Velykyi Novgorod

• Yaroslav-the-Wise Novgorod State University
• Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod
• Novgorod Kremlin
• Antoniev Monastery
• Millennium of Russia
• Yaroslav's Court
• Veliky Novgorod
• Church of the Transfiguration on Ilin Street
• Novgorod Airport