Kizhi Pogost (Russian: Кижский Погост) is a historical site dating from the 17th century on Kizhi island. The island is located on Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia (Medvezhyegorsky District), Russia. The pogost
is the area inside a fence which includes two large wooden churches
(the 22-dome Transfiguration Church and the 9-dome Intercession Church)
and a bell-tower. The pogost is famous for its beauty and longevity,
despite that it is built exclusively of wood. In 1990, it was included
in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites and in 1993 listed as a Russian Cultural Heritage site.
The Church of the Transfiguration (Russian: Церковь Преображения Господня)
is the most remarkable part of the pogost. It is not heated and is
therefore called a summer church and does not hold winter services. Its altar
was laid June 6, 1714, as inscribed on the cross located inside the
church. This church was built on the site of the old one which was burnt
by lightning. The builders names are unknown. A legend tells that the
main builder used one axe for the whole construction, which he threw
into the lake upon completion with the words "there was not and will be
not another one to match it".
The church has 22 domes and with a height of 37 meters is one of the
tallest wooden buildings of the Russian North. Its perimeter is 20×29
meters. It is considered that the 18-dome church on the southern shore
of Lake Onega - built in 1708 and destroyed by fire in 1963 - was its
forerunner. According to the Russian carpentry traditions of that time, the Transfiguration Church was built of wood only with no nails. All structures were made of scribe-fitted horizontal logs, with interlocking corner joinery — either round notch or dovetail - cut by axes. The basis of the structure is the octahedral frame with four two-stage side attachments (Russian: прируб,
"prirub" from "rubit" meaning "to cut wood"). The eastern prirub has a
pentagonal shape and contains the altar. Two smaller octagons of similar
shape are mounted on top of the main octagon. The structure is covered
in 22 domes of different size and shape, which run from the top to the
sides. The refectory is covered with a three-slope roof. In the 19th century, the church was decorated with batten and some parts were covered with steel. It was restored to its original design in the 1950s.
Date of Inscription on the List of UNESCO WHS: 1990
Thank you, Alexandra !
Sent on: May 20, 2015
Received on: June 1, 2015
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