The Smolny convent cathedral is the gem of Russian architecture of the mid-XVIIIth century designed by Rastelli. Its name derives from the "Smolny Dvor"or "Tar Yard", sited here in the XVIIIth century to supply Peter the Greats shipyards. Later empress Elisabeth founded a convent which Catherine the Great converted into a boarding school for the daughters of the nobility the Smolny Institute for Noble Young Ladies. The convent, which had got the official status in 1764, was abolished in 1997.