The Xenophontos Monastery is one of the twenty monasteries located on the peninsula of Mount Athos in northeastern Greece. The monastery is on southwestern side of the peninsula near St. Panteleimon's Monastery. Xenophontos ranks sixteenth in the hierarchical order on Mount Athos.
First mention of the founding of a monastery was in 998, while the monk Xenophon is credited with building the monastery that bears his name in 1010. After the fall of Constantinople, Xenophontos began a period of hard times as the monastery was alternatively destroyed by pirates and rebuilt. Each time rulers from eastern Europe would fund rebuilding efforts. Such attacks continued until the 18th century.
In the 16th century a katholikon was built near the entrance to the monastery in the southern part of the monastery precinct and dedicated to St. George the Trophybearer. This church featured frescos painted by Antonius of the Cretan school. In the 18th century the monastery began to prosper again and a new katholikon was built. It was also restored between 1817 and 1837. This church remains the largest katholikon on the Holy Mount. This building was located in the northern part of the monastery precinct.
Within the monastery precincts there are eight chapels. Two of these are associated with the old katholikon where the chapels of St. Demetrios and St. Lazaros are within the katholikon. The other six, St. John the Theologian, St. Euphemia, Ss. Cosmos and Damian, the Dormition of of the Virgin, the Presentation of the Virgin, and St. Stephen, are outside it. There are also six chapels outside the precincts of the monastery. Additionally, the skete of the Annunciation or Xenophontos belong to the monastery.
The library of Xenophontos contains over 4,000 printed books and some 300 manuscripts.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.