The Pleasure of Domes: Russia’s Towering Wooden Shrines

Russia Beyond ^ | 5/7/21 | William Brumfield

[marshmallow]

Historian and architecture expert William Brumfield discovers the soaring beauty of the Russian north’s remarkable churches.

Kizhi Island, church ensemble (pogost). West view from Lake Onega. From left: Church of the Transfiguration, bell tower, Church of the Intercession. July 13, 1993

The forests of northern Russia between Lake Ladoga and the White Sea were once dotted with ensembles of log churches.

In the summer of 1909, Russian photographer and chemist Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky conducted an expedition along the Mariinsky Waterway System, linking St. Petersburg with the Volga River basin. The first major component of the system was the Mariinsky Canal, which connected the Vytegra River (flowing into Lake Onega toward St. Petersburg) and the Kovzha River (flowing south into White Lake).

The most impressive landmark on this stretch of the waterway - indeed, one of the most impressive in the Russian North - was the wooden Church of the Intercession of the Virgin at Ankhimovo, located on the high left bank of the Vytegra River. Built in 1708 on the site of a former 16th-century convent, the Intercession Church was destroyed in 1963 by a careless bonfire nearby.

Ankhimovo village on the Vytegra River. Church of the Intercession (with 19th-century plank siding). Southwest view. Summer 1909, Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky

With this tragic loss, Russia was deprived of a defining cultural landmark. Fortunately, the monumental structure had been measured and photographed in the late 19th and 20th centuries. On the basis of this careful study, the Anikhimovo Intercession Church, with its multitude of domes, has now been reconstructed at a very different location near St. Petersburg.

Prokudin-Gorsky’s photographs of the Ankhimovo church, taken in 1909, occupy a unique place by virtue of their color. The photographs suggest that the Intercession Church might well have been the prototype......

[Paladin2]

I totally love onions, but recognize that dogs are allergic to same.

[Flick Lives]

“Hey Sergei. You know what would be better than one onion dome on that new church? 33 onion domes!”

[algore]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5w3s2T0VBug

To stand within the pleasure dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste anew the fruits of life
The last immortal man
To find the sacred river Alph
To walk the caves of ice
Oh, I will dine on honeydew
And drink the milk of paradise
Oh, paradise

A thousand years have come and gone
But time has passed me by
Stars stopped in the sky
Frozen in a everlasting view

Waiting for the world to end
Weary of the night
Praying for the light
Prison of the lost Xanadu
Xanadu

Held within the Pleasure Dome
Decreed by Kubla Khan
To taste my bitter triumph
As a mad immortal man

Nevermore shall I return
Escape these caves of ice
For I have dined on honeydew
And drank the milk of paradise
Oh, paradise

[Paladin2]

Putin is not nearly as bad as Xi and BiXiden.

[algore]

I remember when in one area of the world christanity was shunned, we laughed when they said ‘papers please’ in a funny accent, and the govt wanted to provide everything for everyone.

[Pontiac]

Someday I hope to know and understand the significance of the Onion Domes.

Why was it deemed necessary to have 25 Onion Domes on such a relatively small church.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

Bookmark

[dfwgator]

Reminds me of some of the beautiful wooden churches I saw in Poland.

[reg45]

Those churches are absolutely beautiful.

[Cecily]

They seem to use domes for their religious artwork (dome ceilings inside painted with Christian images) rather than stained glass windows.

[Jagermonster]

Makes sense in a frigid climate, to not let all your heat out through single pane stained glass.