The article discusses the changes that have occurred in the Novgorod building technologies at the turn of the 13^th - 14^th centuries: the invention of new types of brick and mortar, new variants of foundations and wall masonry, new shapes of window and door openings; the first appearance of brick floors etc. The overall structure of the church buildings didn't fundamentally change from pre-Mongol period, nevertheless a large number of technological and design innovations in the buildings of 1290-1310s clearly demonstrate the transfer of the new techniques in Novgorod from other construction centers, probably from the countries of the Baltic Sea coast. The reason for the change of the construction tradition is obvious - due to almost complete cessation of construction in Novgorod in the second half of the 13^th century many craft skills had been lost, and only an external impact could help reviving the architecture. Some new techniques were immediately exploited by Novgorod masters while some other techniques they never used later on.