Simonov Monastery in Moscow, one of the most damaged and significant in the city's history, lost more than two-thirds of its buildings in the 20th century, including one of the oldest cathedrals in the capital. However, fragments of its history remain, reminding us of the consequences of destruction.

The monastery was founded in 1370 by Saint Fyodor, a disciple and nephew of Sergius of Radonezh, at the site where the Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Old Simonovo now stands. The name of the monastery was derived from the monastic name of boyar Stepan Khovrin, who donated the land for the monastery and took monastic vows under the name Simon. In 1379, the monastery was moved slightly north, where it remained. At that time, the construction of the stone Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God began, completed in 1405. In the 16th century, stone walls were erected, presumably by architect Fyodor Kony. The walls and towers of the monastery, masterpieces of Russian fortification, withstood sieges multiple times. The towers 'Dulo', 'Solyanaya', and 'Kuznechnaya' were reconstructed in the 1640s. The monastery was closed in 1771 for the placement of a plague quarantine but was restored in 1795 at the initiative of Count Musin-Pushkin.

The center of the monastery was the massive five-domed Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God. To the south was the refectory, built in 1677 with funds from Tsar Fyodor Alexeyevich, along with the Church of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God. This building featured a wide observation tower from which the tsar admired Moscow. The facades were adorned with windows with intricate moldings, and to the west, the building was crowned with a decorative composition with Dutch motifs. Above the western gates stood the Church of the All-Merciful Savior, built in 1593 in memory of the victory over the Crimean Khan Qazi-Girey, and above the eastern gates, the Church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. On the northern side of the monastery wall was the bell tower, built between 1835-1839 with funds from merchant Ivan Ignatiev according to the design of architect K.A. Ton. Near the monastery hospital was a single-domed church of Saint Alexander of Svir.

Many Russian saints and notable archbishops began their paths in Simonov Monastery, including Metropolitan Jonah, Patriarch Joseph, and Saint Cyril of Belozersk. The monastery's necropolis was the burial place of prominent figures in Russian literature and art, such as D.V. Venevitinov and the Aksakovs.

Next to the monastery was a pond, which, according to legend, was dug by Sergius of Radonezh. In literature, it is known as 'Lizyn Pond' thanks to N.M. Karamzin's book 'Poor Lisa'.

In 1920, the monastery was closed, but the buildings remained, and some were used to organize a fortification museum. However, by 1930, the museum was closed, and on the night of January 21, 1930, most of the monastery, including the Assumption Cathedral, was blown up. This became the largest loss of cultural heritage in Moscow in the 1930s. The monastery necropolis was destroyed, and only a few graves were moved to Novodevichy Cemetery. On the site of the destroyed part of the monastery, the Palace of Culture of the ZIL plant was built according to the design of the Vesnin brothers.

Today, only a third of the monastery ensemble remains: of the six churches, only one, in the name of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, has survived. Three towers with fragments of walls, the cellar building, the refectory, the malt house, and the treasury cells have also survived. These buildings were used for production purposes for a long time and are in poor condition. In 1995, the building of the Tikhvin Church with the refectory was handed over to the faithful, and restoration has been ongoing since then. A community for the deaf and hard of hearing operates here.