Wender·Vista
Veliky Novgorod
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileRussia
on the Volkhov River, just north of Lake Ilmen

Veliky Novgorod

— — where Russia first wrote its own name.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“One of the oldest cities in Russia, first recorded in 859, on the banks of the Volkhov River between Saint Petersburg and Moscow. Inside the red walls of the kremlin, Saint Sophia has stood since the eleventh century — the oldest stone church in the country. The medieval city was a merchant republic, and the people called it Lord Novgorod the Great. — from the studio

from the studio
Veliky Novgorod
— bring it home

Veliky Novgorod, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Veliky Novgorod

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Veliky Novgorod sits on the Volkhov River about six kilometres downstream of Lake Ilmen, in Novgorod Oblast in north-western Russia. The city lies roughly 180 kilometres south of Saint Petersburg and about 530 kilometres north-west of Moscow. The historic centre, including the kremlin and the monasteries set along the river, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992. The modern city holds around 220,000 residents, but its medieval footprint and street pattern have been preserved largely intact through centuries of war and rebuilding.

— the stone

The Novgorod Detinets — the kremlin — rises on the west bank of the Volkhov. Inside its red-brick walls stands the Cathedral of Saint Sophia, built between 1045 and 1050 under Vladimir of Novgorod, the oldest surviving stone church in Russia. Its five lead-covered domes set the silhouette of the city. The Millennium of Russia monument, a bronze bell-shaped sculpture cast in 1862 to mark a thousand years since the founding of the Rurik dynasty, stands a few steps from the cathedral door and carries 129 figures from Russian history.

— the year

From the twelfth to the fifteenth century, Novgorod was a merchant republic, governed by an assembly called the veche, with a prince hired and dismissed by the citizens. The city traded with the Hanseatic League and the wider Baltic, and its people were unusually literate for medieval Europe — more than a thousand birch-bark documents have been excavated from the waterlogged soil, ranging from tax receipts to a child's writing practice. The republic ended in 1478, when Ivan III of Moscow annexed the city by force and carried the veche bell south.

— where
Russia · Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod Oblast
— elevation
25 m · 82 ft
— position
58.5215° N · 31.2750° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
180 km N
Saint Petersburg
imperial capital
5 km S
Yuriev Monastery
twelfth-century monastery
210 km W
Pskov
medieval frontier city
N
Veliky Novgorod
Saint Petersburg
Yuriev Monastery
Pskov
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Veliky Novgorod — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The city is first recorded in chronicles in 859 and is one of the oldest in Russia. The eleventh-century Saint Sophia Cathedral remains in continuous use as a place of worship after nearly a thousand years.

The Detinets is the city's walled medieval citadel on the west bank of the Volkhov, in its current red-brick form from the late fifteenth century, with origins in the tenth. It holds Saint Sophia Cathedral and the Millennium monument.

Everyday letters and notes scratched into birch bark and preserved in waterlogged soil. More than a thousand have been excavated since 1951, giving a rare picture of medieval literacy across social classes.

Yes. From the twelfth century until 1478, Novgorod was governed by a citizen assembly called the veche, which hired and dismissed its princes. Ivan III of Moscow annexed the city and ended the republic by force.

The Lastochka high-speed train from Saint Petersburg's Moskovsky station reaches Novgorod in about three hours. The city is also a stop on intercity buses from Saint Petersburg, Pskov, and Moscow.

A bronze bell-shaped sculpture by Mikhail Mikeshin, unveiled in 1862 to mark a thousand years since the founding of the Rurik dynasty in Novgorod. It carries 129 figures from a thousand years of Russian history.

— about the piece in your home

Often, yes. Novgorod holds a particular place in Russian cultural memory as the older sister of Moscow. A Small or Medium with a note from the studio reads well in a study or a library.

The silver domes and stained-glass blues sit well in Jewel-tone Maximalist interiors, Old-World libraries, and rooms built around dark wood and brass. The piece pairs against deep green or oxblood walls.

Yes. The medieval architecture and Orthodox palette read warmly in rooms built around antique books, leather, and brass. A Medium above a writing desk holds the corner without overwhelming the rest of the room.

Above a standard sofa, the Large is usually right. Above a long console, a four-tile Mural carries the kremlin wall better. A nine-tile Mural anchors a wider wall and becomes the room's centre.

Yes, in our Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and tolerate steam and splash, so they work above a sink or in a shower surround. The Glossy finish is for dry-wall display only.

A soft microfibre cloth with water is all it needs. Avoid abrasive sponges and solvent cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, so normal cleaning will not dull or fade it over time.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original, made in our Knoxville studio under Reid Wender's direction, and not licensed from any outside source. We work as a single studio, with no third-party reproduction.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.