The main architectural monument of ancient Rus'. Kievan Rus: where in Ukraine to find the oldest monuments of the past
The times of Ancient Rus', whose cultural monuments are the subject of this review, are the most important period in Russian history, since it was then that the foundations of statehood, social, political, economic and social structures were laid, which found its expression in written, archaeological and architectural sources.
General characteristics of the era
The foundations of the state administration were formed in the times of Ancient Rus'. Cultural monuments of this era are interesting because they reflected the ideological foundations of the young Russian society, which had just converted to Orthodoxy. An important role in their creation was played by the initiative of the princes, who very often contributed to stone construction, writing chronicles, and the construction of civil and defensive buildings. Subsequently, the initiative passed to the population, primarily to urban residents, who very often built churches and temples at their own expense. Greek influence played a great role in this cultural process. Byzantine masters became the builders of many monuments, and also taught a lot of Russians, who, having adopted their rules and traditions, soon began to create their own unique structures.
Type of temples
The times of Ancient Rus', whose cultural monuments are mainly represented by church construction, are traditionally dated to the pre-Mongol period, from the 9th to the beginning of the 13th century, but in a broader sense, later centuries are also applicable to this concept. Russian architecture adopted Byzantine traditions, so the cross-domed churches of Ancient Rus', in principle, repeat their features. However, in our country, the construction of white-stone rectangular churches was mainly widespread, and the semicircular dome was replaced by a helmet-shaped one. Masters very often created mosaics and frescoes. Temples with four pillars were especially common, less often they met with six and eight columns. Most often they had three naves.
early church
The times of Ancient Rus', whose cultural monuments are inextricably linked with baptism and the adoption of Orthodoxy, became the heyday of stone temple construction. In the list of these buildings, the most basic ones should be singled out, the construction of which became a landmark event in history and served as the beginning for further construction. One of the first largest and most significant churches was the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was also popularly called the Tithe Church, since the prince specially allocated a tenth of his income for it. It was built under Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Holy, who baptized the Russian land.
Peculiarities
Archaeologists find it difficult to restore its original appearance, however, some surviving data, such as Greek stamps on bricks, marble decorations, indicate that the construction was carried out by Greek craftsmen. At the same time, the preserved inscriptions in Cyrillic and ceramic tiles allow us to speak about the participation of the Slavs in the construction. The church was built as a cross-domed structure according to the traditional Byzantine canon.
Temples of the 11th century
The times of Ancient Rus', whose cultural monuments prove the rapid spread and establishment of Orthodoxy in our country, became a period of active construction of churches, different in size, composition and structure. The second most important temple on this list is He was erected during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise and was supposed to become the main religious center of the new state. Its feature is the presence of large choirs. It has thirteen domes with windows. In the center is the main one, below - four smaller ones, and then there are even smaller eight domes. The cathedral has two stair towers, two-tier and one-tier galleries. Inside there are mosaics and frescoes.
Cross-domed Russias have become widespread in our country. Another important building was the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. It had three naves, a spacious interior and one dome. It was blown up during the Second World War and subsequently restored in the traditions of the Ukrainian Baroque.
Novgorod architecture
Monuments of Russian culture are diverse in style and structure. Novgorod temples and churches have their own unique features that make this tradition stand out as a special one in the history of Russian architecture. Separately, in the list of ancient Russian buildings, one should single out which for a long time remained the main religious center of the republic. It has five domes and a stair tower. The domes are shaped like helmets. The walls are built of limestone, the interior is similar to the Kyiv church, the arches are elongated, but some details have undergone a slight simplification, which later became a characteristic feature of the city's architecture.
At first, the masters imitated the Kyiv models, but later the Novgorod architecture received its own original appearance due to unique and easily recognizable features. Their temples are small, squat and simple in design. One of the most famous churches in this style is the Transfiguration Church on Nereditsa. It is very simple, but has a very majestic appearance. It has a small size, it has no external decor, the lines are very simple. These features are typical for Novgorod churches, the appearance of which is even somewhat disproportionate, which makes them unique.
Buildings in other cities
Monuments in Nizhny Novgorod are also included in the list of the most famous ancient Russian buildings. One of the churches is dedicated to the saint. It was erected in the 16th century in memory of the deliverance of the city from the invasion of the Tatars and Nogais. At first it was wooden, but then, in the middle of the 17th century, it was rebuilt in stone. In the 19th century, the church was rebuilt from a single-domed church into a five-domed one, which gave its name to a street in the city.
Monuments in Nizhny Novgorod occupy a prominent place in the history of Russian architecture. One of the most famous is the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky Cathedral, built in the 13th century. It was a white stone church with 4 pillars and 3 apses.
So, the cities of other lands and specific principalities also became centers of active architectural construction. Their traditions are distinguished by their original and unique features. Church of Nikola Nadein in Yaroslavl is a unique temple of the 17th century. It was erected on the banks of the Volga and became the first stone temple in the suburbs of the city.
The initiator was the merchant Nadia Sveteshnikov, after whom many merchants and artisans also began to build churches. The base of the temple was raised on a high base, at the top there were five domes on thin drum necks. Church of St. Nicholas Nadein has a unique iconostasis. It is made in the Baroque style and replaced the older one in the 18th century.
Meaning
Thus, Old Russian architecture is unique in its features, style and interior. Therefore, it occupies a prominent place not only in national culture, but also in world art in general. In this regard, the protection of historical and cultural monuments is especially important at present. Many of them have not survived to our time, some were destroyed during the war, so modern archaeologists and restorers attach great importance to their reconstruction and renewal.
Russian State University I. Kant
History department
Surviving architectural monuments of Ancient Rus' XI - early XIII centuries.
Historical reference,
completed by a student I course
majoring in history
Dolotova Anastasia.
Kaliningrad
Introduction
The purpose of this work is to consider the preserved monuments of ancient Russian architecture, to give them a brief description.
When choosing architectural monuments for inclusion in the historical reference, the main criterion was the degree of preservation of the structure, because many of them have either come down to us heavily altered and have not retained their original appearance, or have retained only some of their fragments.
The main tasks of the work:
To identify the number of surviving architectural monuments of Ancient Rus' of the XI - early XIII centuries;
Give a description of their special and specific architectural features;
Assess the historical fate of the monuments.
Sophia Cathedral (Kyiv)
Creation time: 1017-1037
The temple is dedicated to Sophia - "The Wisdom of God". It belongs to the works of Byzantine-Kyiv architecture. Hagia Sophia is the main religious building of Kievan Rus during the time of Yaroslav the Wise. The construction technique and architectural features of the cathedral testify that its builders were Greeks who came from Constantinople. They built the temple according to the patterns and traditions of the capital's Byzantine architecture, although with some deviations. The temple was built using the technique of mixed masonry: rows of square bricks (plinths) alternate with rows of stones, and then covered with limestone coating - plaster. The interior of St. Sophia of Kyiv was less distorted and retained some of its original decoration. The earliest mosaics and frescoes have been preserved in the temple. They are also made by Byzantine masters. On the walls of the cathedral were found scratched inscriptions - graffiti. About three hundred graffiti testify to the political events of the past, they mention specific historical figures. The earliest inscriptions made it possible for researchers to clarify the dating of the interior decoration of the church. Sofia became the burial place of Kievan princes. Here are buried Yaroslav the Wise, his son Vsevolod, as well as the sons of the latter - Rostislav Vsevolodovich and Vladimir Monomakh. The question of why members of the same family were buried in different churches - in Sofia and in Tithes - did not receive a convincing answer from historians. Sophia Cathedral was assigned the role of the main temple of Kievan Rus and the stronghold of the new, Christian faith. For several centuries, St. Sophia of Kiev was the center of all-Russian ecclesia, the center of the political and cultural life of the country. Sophia was originally crowned with thirteen domes, forming a pyramidal structure. Now the temple has 19 chapters. In ancient times, the roof consisted of lead sheets laid on vaults. At the corners, the temple is fortified with buttresses - vertical supports on the outside of the wall, which take on its weight. The facades of the cathedral are characterized by an abundance of blades, which correspond to the internal articulation of space by supporting pillars. The outer walls of galleries and apses are decorated with numerous niches. From the western side, according to the Byzantine tradition, two stair towers adjoin the temple, leading to the choirs and a flat roof - a grove. During the service, the choirs were intended for the Grand Duke, his family and those close to him. However, they also had a secular purpose: here the prince, apparently, received ambassadors and discussed state affairs. The book collection of St. Sophia Cathedral was also kept here. Perhaps in a separate room there was also a scriptorium - a workshop for copying books. The inner space of the cathedral was an equilateral cross, with an altar apse in the east; from the north, south and west were two-tiered arcades. The central dome rose above the middle part of the cross. The main volume of the building was surrounded by two rows of open galleries. The issue of the interior decoration of the western part of the main nave acquires fundamental significance in connection with the study of the ktitor fresco depicting the family of Yaroslav the Wise, located on the western wall of the two-tiered arcade. The church has undergone many changes over the centuries. During the defeat of Kyiv by Batu in 1240, it was plundered. Subsequently, the temple burned repeatedly, gradually fell into disrepair, was subjected to "repairs" and alterations. In the 17th century, Sofia was “renovated” by Metropolitan Petro Mohyla in the Ukrainian Baroque style, and its appearance became very far from the original. The eastern façade with apses survived best of all, where fragments of ancient masonry were cleared away.
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral (Chernihiv)
Time of creation: about 1036
Mstislav Vladimirovich founded the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Chernigov. This five-domed cathedral was built according to the Byzantine model, and most likely by Byzantine stone craftsmen.
In plan, the cathedral is a large (18.25 x 27 m.) three-aisled church with eight pillars and three apses. The western pair of pillars is connected by a wall, which led to the allocation of the porch (narthex). The height of the walls reached about 4.5 m. The facades of the building were made of extremely elegant brickwork with a hidden row. The facades are also decorated with pilasters, flat in the first tier and profiled in the second. On the facades, the temple is dissected by flat blades. The middle zakomaras, in which there are three windows, are sharply raised compared to the side ones. The interior of the Spassky Cathedral is dominated by a strict and solemn combination of verticals and horizontals. Here, the elongation of the building is clearly accentuated, which is combined with internal two-tier arcades extending into the under-dome space. Along them originally there were wooden floorings of the northern and southern choirs, reinforcing the horizontal articulation of the interior. The floor of the temple was covered with carved slate slabs inlaid with colored smalt.
Saint Sophia Cathedral (Polotsk)
Time of creation: 1044-1066
Built under Prince Vseslav Bryachislavich on the territory of the Upper Castle. Information about the original appearance is contradictory: in some sources it is referred to as seven-headed, in others - as five-headed. The masonry of the eastern apse of ancient Sofia is mixed: along with flagstone bricks (plinth), rubble stone was used. The surviving fragments suggest that in the past this building was a centric structure. Its plan in the form of a square was divided into five naves, covered by a developed system of vaults. The allocation of three middle naves created the illusion of elongation of the inner part of the cathedral and brought it closer to the basilica buildings. The device of three apses, faceted on the outside, so typical for wooden churches, is one of the features of the Polotsk Cathedral. St. Sophia Cathedral is the first and still timid example of a building in which features characteristic of the art of the Polotsk land are manifested, where mainly in the XII century. Numerous buildings appear with an original interpretation of the cross-domed system.
Sophia Cathedral (Novgorod)
Time of creation: 1045-1050
The temple was built at the behest of the Novgorod prince Vladimir Yaroslavich. It is a huge five-nave temple dissected by pillars, to which open galleries adjoined on three sides. The cathedral has five chapters. The sixth dome above the round staircase introduced a picturesque asymmetry into the composition. The large protrusions of the blades reinforce the walls of the building vertically and delimit the facades in full accordance with the internal articulations. The masonry mainly consisted of huge, roughly hewn stones that did not have the correct square shape. The lime mortar, pinkish from the admixture of finely crushed brick, fills the recesses along the contours of the stones and emphasizes their irregular shape. Brick is used in small quantities, so there is no impression of "striped" masonry from regularly alternating rows of plinths. The walls of the Novgorod Sophia were originally not plastered. Such open masonry gave the facades of the building a peculiar severe beauty. In the first centuries of its existence, the temple was higher than today: the original level of the floor is now at a depth of 1.5 - 1.9 meters. The facades of the building also go to the same depth. In Novgorod Sofia there are no expensive materials: marble and slate. Novgorodians also did not use mosaics to decorate their cathedral church because of its high cost, but Sofia is richly decorated with frescoes.
Mikhailovsky Cathedral of the Vydubetsky Monastery (Kyiv)
Time of creation: 1070-1088
In Vydubitsy, the son of Yaroslav the Wise, founded a monastery under family patronage in the name of his heavenly intercessor - the Archangel Michael. Thanks to his support, the monastery cathedral was built. In the 11th century, St. Michael's Cathedral was a large (25 x 15.5 m) six-pillar church with unusually elongated rectangular proportions. The craftsmen who worked at that time in Kyiv were laying mostly bricks with rows of large unworked stones. The stones were at different distances from each other, the larger ones were used in the middle parts of the walls, laying them as backfill along with bricks (mostly broken). The brickwork itself was with a hidden row. With such masonry, not all rows of bricks are brought out to the facade, but through a row, while the intermediate ones are slightly pushed back and covered from the outside with a layer of mortar - opium. The outer layer of the solution was carefully smoothed, almost polished. Thus, the processing of the outer surface of the walls was carried out twice: first, roughing, and then more thorough. The result was an extremely picturesque striped surface structure. This masonry system also gave ample opportunities for the execution of decorative calculations and patterns. Initially, the church ended, apparently, with one head. From the west there was a wide narthex and a spiral staircase leading to the choir stalls. The walls of the cathedral were painted with frescoes, and the floor was tiled - slate and glazed clay. In 1199, the architect Peter Miloneg erected a huge retaining wall to protect the church from the river bank being washed away by the waters of the Dnieper. For its time, it was a bold engineering decision. But by the 16th century, the river washed away the wall as well - the bank collapsed, and with it the eastern part of the cathedral. The surviving western part of the church has survived to this day in the restoration of 1767-1769. Mikhailovsky Cathedral became the princely tomb of the family of Vsevolod Yaroslavovich.
Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Caves Monastery
Time of creation: 1073-1078
The cathedral was built by Byzantine architects. According to its plan, it is a cross-domed three-nave six-pillar church. In this monument, the desire to create simple volumes and laconicism in the interior prevailed. True, the narthex is still preserved, but not a spiral staircase in a specially attached tower leads to the choir stalls, but a straight staircase in the thickness of the western wall. The temple ended with zakomaras, the bases of which were located at the same height and crowned with one massive dome. The construction technique has also changed: instead of masonry with a hidden row, they began to use equal-layer plinths with all rows of plinths reaching the outer surface of the wall. According to written sources, one can conclude that there is one exceptional feature of the Assumption Cathedral: the overall dimensions of the temple were predetermined and the builders were forced to perform complex work on calculating the dimensions of the dome. Its diameter had to be increased to maintain the proportions of the entire structure. From 1082 to 1089, Greek masters painted the temple with frescoes and decorated with mosaics. Together with them, according to church legend, ancient Russian icon painters - the famous Alipiy and Gregory - worked.
In 1240, the temple was damaged by the Mongol-Tatar hordes, in 1482 - by the Crimean Tatars, and in 1718 the building was badly damaged during a huge monastery fire. In 1941, the Assumption Cathedral was blown up by the German troops occupying Kyiv. By 2000, the building was rebuilt in baroque forms of the 18th century.
Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral (Novgorod)
Time of creation: 1113-1136
The temple was erected by order of the son of Vladimir Monomakh - Mstislav. The cathedral was a palace temple: its clergy were subordinate not to the Novgorod lord, but to the prince. Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral occupies the main place in the architectural ensemble of the Novgorod Torg, where nine more churches are located. The St. Nicholas Church is a large front building (23.65 x 15.35 m) with five domes and high apses, which is a clear imitation of Sophia in the city Kremlin. The facades of the church are simple and austere: they are dissected by flat blades and completed with artless zakomaras. In terms of its layout, the temple is close to such a Kyiv monument as the Cathedral of the Pechersk Monastery: six cross-shaped pillars divide the interior space into three naves, of which the middle one is much wider than the side ones. In the western part of the church there are extensive choir stalls for the princely family and the palace surroundings. Soon after the construction, the Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral was painted with frescoes. Only small fragments of the painting have survived: scenes of the Last Judgment on the western wall, three saints in the central apse, and Job on the fester on the southwestern wall. Stylistically, they are close to the Kyiv mural of the early XII century.
Nativity Cathedral of the Antoniev Monastery (Novgorod)
Time of creation: 1117
In 1117, a stone cathedral was erected in the monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin. Stone craftsmen erected buildings from local cheap, roughly processed stone, bonding it with limestone mortar mixed with crushed bricks. The irregularities of the walls were leveled with brick layers of plinths. Structurally, the most important parts of the temple (vaults, girder arches, arched lintels) were laid out mainly from plinths using the laying technique with a hidden row. From the northwest corner, a cylindrical stair tower protruding from the total cubic volume was attached to the church, leading to the choirs, later hewn. The tower is crowned by a head. The cathedral has three chapters in total. The original appearance of the Nativity Cathedral differed from its modern appearance. On three sides, low porch galleries were attached to the ancient church. Inside the cathedral, mainly in the altar part, fragments of frescoes from 1125 have been preserved. The cathedral is brought closer to the princely traditions of temple architecture by the proportions of the plan, the tower with a spiral staircase adjacent to the northwestern corner, raised choirs and the overall overestimated volume of the building.
St. George's Cathedral of St. George's Monastery (Novgorod)
Time of creation: 1119
The temple was built through the efforts of Vsevolod Mstislavich. The name of the creator of the temple has also been preserved - he was "Master Peter". This is a six-pillar temple with choirs, which are led by a stair tower. The forms of the temple are simple and uncomplicated, but it looks very impressive. The cathedral bears three asymmetrically arranged domes. One of them is located on a square tower attached to the main building. The heads of the church are shifted to the west, which is completely uncharacteristic of Orthodox churches. The walls of the cathedral are built on a solution of tarp made of barely hewn stones, which alternate with rows of bricks. The accuracy of the rows is not maintained: in some places the bricks fill the irregularities in the masonry and in some places are placed on edge.
The top of the church was covered with lead sheets. The cathedral is actually devoid of decor, except for laconic flat niches. On the central drum they are inscribed in the arcature belt. The interior of the cathedral impresses with its grandeur and solemn aspiration of the temple space upwards. Cross pillars, arches and vaults are so high and slender that they are not perceived as load-bearing supports and ceilings.
Shortly after construction, the temple was richly painted with frescoes that have not survived to our time.
John the Baptist Church on Opoki (Novgorod)
Time of creation: 1127-1130
The church was initiated by Prince Vsevolod Mstislavich, the grandson of Vladimir Monomakh.
This is a six-pillared, three-apse church with one dome. New tendencies of Novgorod temple building appeared in the design of the temple: reduction in the scale of construction and simplification of architectural forms. However, the Church of St. John still retains the traditions of grand princely architecture of the early 12th century. Its length is 24.6 m, and its width is 16 m. It had a choir, which was climbed by stairs, apparently in a tower located in one of the western corners of the building. The walls are made of gray limestone slabs and plinths, that is, in a mixed masonry technique. The Church of John the Baptist in its upper part evokes associations with wooden architecture: it has a plucked (gable) form of zakomar. The upper part of the church was dismantled in 1453, and a new church was erected on the old foundation by order of Archbishop Evfimy. On the ancient temple there is a reflection of the historical struggle of the Novgorodians with princely power. Six years after the consecration of the church, in 1136, a massive popular uprising broke out, which led to the establishment of a feudal republic. The prince of Novgorod, church warden Vsevolod Mstislavich, was captured. The veche decided to send Vsevolod and his family out of the city. Prince Vsevolod was forced to transfer the church of St. John the Baptist on Opoki to wax merchants. Ioannovsky parish was made up of the richest merchants - eminent people. All-Novgorod standards of measures were kept in the church: “Ivanov’s elbow” for measuring the length of cloth, “ruble hryvnia” for precious metals, waxed skalva (scales) and so on.
Peter and Paul Church (Smolensk)
Creation time: 1140-1150
The Church of Peter and Paul is the oldest church that has survived in Smolensk. Apparently, it was erected by the princely artel. The original forms of the building were restored by P. D. Baranovsky. The church is an example of a cross-domed one-domed four-pillar building. Smolensk masters built from bricks. According to its external forms and proportions, the temple is static, austere and monumental. But thanks to the “flexible”, workable brick, the plastic of the princely church is complex and refined. The shoulder blades are turned into semi-columns (pilasters), which end with two rows of curbs and overhanging cornices. From the same double rows of the curb, belts were made at the base (heels) of the zakomar, below which an arcade was laid out. On the western façade, the wide corner vanes are decorated with a runner and relief crosses made of plinth. The entrance to the church is opened by promising portals, but they are still made very modestly - only from rectangular rods. The temple has powerful, far protruding apses. The head drum was dodecahedral.
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral (Pereslavl-Zalessky)
Creation time: 1152-1157
Prince Yuri Dolgoruky founded the Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Pereslavl-Zalessky founded by him. The upper part of the temple was completed by his son Andrei Bogolyubsky. The width of the temple is greater than its height. It is an almost square three-apse temple with four cross-pillars that hold vaults and a single dome. The side apses were not covered by an altar barrier, but freely opened to the eyes of the worshipers. Its forms are concise and strict. The massive drum and head give the building a military look. The narrow slit-like windows of the drum are associated with fortress loopholes. Its walls, divided by shoulder blades into strands, are completed with zakomaras, the central ones of which are larger than the side ones. The building is characterized by a very clear breakdown of the plan.
The temple is composed of carefully crafted white stone squares. The stones were laid almost dry, filling the gap between the inner and outer walls with rubble, and then filled with lime. A basement runs along the bottom of the building. The foundation of the building consists of large cobblestones held together with the same limestone mortar. The outer surface of the vaults, the dome and the pedestal under the drum are made of unhewn stone blocks. On the top of the drum there is a decorative belt, which has survived only in fragments: most of it was knocked down and replaced by restorers with a remake. Below is a crenate stripe, above is a runner, even higher is an ornamented half-shaft. A distinctive feature of the Church of the Savior is the minimal use of decor, which found its place only on the drum and on the apses.
Assumption Cathedral (Vladimir)
Creation time: 1158-1160
The cathedral was founded by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. For the cathedral temple, the most advantageous place in the landscape of the city was chosen, over which the five-domed bulk of the temple dominates. Its golden domes were visible from afar on the forest roads leading to the capital city. It was built in the form of a six-pillar, three-nave and one-domed building. It was conceived as the main temple of all Rus'. From different countries of Western Europe, masters of various branches of art were invited to paint the temple. In 1185, the temple was damaged by a severe and destructive fire, in which almost half of the city burned out. Apparently, immediately after the fire, Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest ordered the restoration of the cathedral. In 1189 it was re-consecrated. During the restoration, the temple was significantly expanded and made five-domed. The temple turned out to be surrounded by wide galleries from the south, north and west and received more extensive altar apses, a gilded central and silver-plated side domes, and its top received two tiers of zakomar. The walls of the temple were cut through with arched spans and turned into internal pillars of the new cathedral of Grand Duke Vsevolod III. Fragments of frescoes by unknown masters of the 12th century have been preserved. Assumption Cathedral served as a princely necropolis. The great princes of Vladimir are buried here: Andrei Bogolyubsky, his brother Vsevolod III the Big Nest, father of Alexander Nevsky Yaroslav and others. The cathedral, together with the St. George's chapel, is the main operating temple of the Vladimir-Suzdal Diocese.
Assumption Cathedral (Vladimir-Volynsky)
Time of creation: 1160
The cathedral was built by order of Prince Mstislav Izyaslavich, but not in a citadel, but in a roundabout city. For the construction of the cathedral, the prince brought Pereyaslavl architects to Vladimir, since before that he ruled in Pereyaslavl-Russian. The work of craftsmen from this city is confirmed by a special brick-forming technique. They are of very high quality: good firing and great strength. The church was built in the technique of equal-layer masonry. The thickness of the mortar joints is approximately equal to the thickness of the bricks. In the walls there are channels from rotten wooden ties. Assumption Cathedral - a large six-pillar three-apse temple. Its narthex is separated by a wall from the main room. For the sake of strict symmetry and balance of all masses of the building, it did not have any extensions and even a tower leading to the choirs. They, obviously, fell on a wooden passage from the princely palace. Powerful semi-columns on the facades correspond to the internal articulation of the space with supporting pillars, and the walls are completed by arches-zakomaras corresponding to semicircular vaults. The temple in Vladimir was built in the image and likeness of the cathedrals in Kiev. The cathedral was repeatedly damaged, it was robbed more than once. In the 18th century, during perestroika, it was greatly distorted. The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Mother of God in Vladimir-Volynsky is the largest temple of this type among all the monuments of the XII century.
John the Evangelist Church (Smolensk)
Creation time: 1160-1180
The temple was erected by the cares of Prince Roman Rostislavovich. It was located in the princely residence. Built, like many other churches in Smolensk, of brick, the church, in terms of its technical and design features, is in many ways close to the Peter and Paul Church. In the architectural composition of the monument, the arrangement of external aisles-tombs along its eastern corners is of interest. Two types of golosniks were used in the masonry of the upper parts of the building: imported amphoras and narrow-necked pots of local production. At the corners of the temple outside there are wide flat blades, and the intermediate pilasters were in the form of powerful semi-columns. The portals and embrasures of the windows have a two-stage profile. The dimensions of the temple are 20.25 x 16 m. The walls of the temple and galleries are made of bricks. Lime mortar, with an admixture of opium. The foundation is made of cobblestones and has a depth of more than 1.2 m. The church is a four-pillared three-apse temple. The princely Ioannovskaya Church was painted with frescoes, and the icons, according to the Ipatiev Chronicle, were generously decorated with enamel and gold. During its long existence, the church has undergone numerous restructurings and has come down to our time in a greatly altered form.
Golden Gate (Vladimir)
Time of creation: 1164
The date of laying the gates of Vladimir is unknown, but construction began no earlier than 1158, when Andrei Bogolyubsky began to build the city's defense line. The end of the construction of the gate can be accurately dated to 1164. The gates are made of beautifully hewn limestone squares. However, in some places, roughly processed porous tuff is used. In the masonry, holes from the fingers of scaffolding were left unfilled. The original height of the passage arch reached 15 m; the ground level is now almost 1.5 m higher than the original. The width of the arch is accurately measured by 20 Greek feet (about 5 m), which suggests that the monument was erected by builders from Byzantium.
St. George's Church (Staraya Ladoga)
Time of creation: 1165
The Church of George was probably built in honor of the victory in 1164 of the Ladoga and the Novgorod squad over the Swedes by Prince Svyatoslav or the posadnik Zachary. The area of this four-pillar temple is only 72 square meters. meters. The eastern side of the elongated cube is occupied by three high apses reaching to the zakomara. The cubic volume of the building is dissected by simple and massive blades. A light drum with a helmet-shaped dome crowns the total mass of the church. Its height is 15 meters. Instead of the choirs, a wooden flooring was made, connecting the two aisles in the corner parts of the second tier. The facades with semicircles of the zakomar are dissected by shoulder blades. The decor on the facades of the temple was extremely sparse and was limited to a jagged cornice along the contour of the zakomar (the cornice was not restored during restoration) and a flat arcade along the top of the drum. The foundation of the Old Ladoga monument consists of boulders and goes 0.8 deep meters. A leveling layer of bricks is laid on top of the foundation. The walls of the temple are made of alternating rows of limestone slabs and bricks, but slabs predominate. Masonry mortar - lime with opium. The frescoes of the drum, the dome, the southern apse and individual fragments in other places have survived to this day. In the old Ladoga church, we see a complete correspondence between the external appearance and the interior of the building. Its overall design is clearly and clearly visible.
Elias Church (Chernihiv)
Time of creation: about 1170
According to church tradition, the foundation of the monastery in the name of Elijah is associated with Anthony of the Caves, the first abbot of the Kiev Caves Monastery. In 1069, he intervened in the Kyiv dynastic feuds between the princes and fled from the wrath of Izyaslav Yaroslavich to Chernigov. Here, having settled on the Boldino Mountains, Anthony "dug a cave", which was the beginning of a new monastery. The Ilyinsky temple is well preserved, but its original forms are hidden under the stylistic layers of the Ukrainian baroque of the 17th century. Elias Church is located on a small area under the slope of the mountain and is connected by an underground passage with the cave Eliinsky Monastery. The northern wall was cut into the slope of the mountain, that is, it was, as it were, a retaining wall and, in the lower part, was laid close to the ground. Above ground level, its masonry is made, like the masonry of the rest of the walls, with careful jointing and one-sided trimming of the seams. For pilgrims, an entrance to the caves was dug in the northern wall, and for the clergy, the same entrance led from the altar. The church is pillarless, a separated porch (narthex) adjoins it from the west. Initially, the church had one dome, and the girth arches on which the drum rests were cut into the thickness of the walls. In terms of plan, the Ilyinsky Church is not very large in size (4.8 x 5 m) with one semicircular apse, a narrow narthex and a shallow Babin. Elias Church is the only surviving single-nave building belonging to the Chernihiv school of architecture from the era of political fragmentation.
Boris and Gleb Church (Grodno)
Time of creation: 1170s.
The church in the name of the ancient Russian holy martyrs Boris and Gleb was erected over the Neman. The names of the saints coincide with the names of the Grodno specific princes Boris and Gleb. Apparently, either they themselves or their father, Vsevolod, could have initiated the construction of the temple. Monumental construction in Grodno was carried out by craftsmen who arrived from Volyn. The cathedral is about 21.5 meters long and 13.5 meters wide. The thickness of the walls is not less than 1.2 meters. The temple was built of bricks using the technique of cement masonry. A paving brick was used. The composition of the cement was special: it included lime, coarse sand, coal and broken bricks. The masonry of the walls is equal-layered - all rows of bricks exactly face the facade, and the seams are approximately equal to the thickness of the brick. In the interior of the church, the patterned flooring of ceramic tiles and polished stones is of particular value. The walls built from plinth are decorated with complex ornaments of multi-colored granite stones, colored majolica tiles and even greenish glazed dishes and bowls. For a special acoustic effect, so-called “voices” are embedded in the walls - clay vessels like jugs. Polished stones of various shades are inserted into the wall. They are larger at the bottom of the wall and smaller at the top. Grodno Church - six-pillar and three-apse. The pillars of the temple are round at the base, and at a great height they acquire a cross-shaped shape.
Church of the Annunciation in Arkazhi (Novgorod)
Time of creation: 1179
According to legend, the temple was erected in memory of the victory of the Novgorodians over the Suzdalians in 1169, achieved thanks to the miraculous intercession of the icon of Our Lady of the Sign. The temple is square in plan with three apses on the east side and four rectangular pillars that supported a single dome. In the three-dimensional structure of the Annunciation Church, the trend of Novgorod architecture of the last quarter of the 12th century towards simplified architectonics, reduction of internal space and economy of building material is noticeable. The temple is cross-domed with one dome of light, which is supported by pillars of rectangular section. The eastern, altar side consists of three apses. Initially, the building had a pozakomarny completion. The Arkazhskaya church was built of limestone slabs fastened with opulence, and the most important places were made of bricks: vaults, a drum, a dome. In the left aisle, an ancient font for performing the sacrament of baptism has been preserved (similar in structure to the “Jordan”). In the stone floor was laid out a round reservoir, with a diameter of about 4 meters, designed, obviously, for adults. In 1189 the temple was painted.
Michael the Archangel Svirskaya Church (Smolensk)
Creation time: 1180-1197
The majestic church in the name of Mikhail is once the court temple of the Smolensk prince David Rostislavich. It is located on the western outskirts of Smolensk, on a hill overlooking the floodplain of the Dnieper. At the end of the 12th century, Smolensk masters developed the compositional schemes of brick construction characteristic of their time. The extremely high height of the main volume is emphasized by the massive vestibules subordinated to it and the central apse. The dynamics of the building is enhanced by complexly profiled beam pilasters. A distinctive feature of this church is the rectangular side apses. Massive narthexes are also unusual. In the church of the Archangel Michael, square holes were found in the masonry of the walls and pillars - the exit points of the once existing wooden ties that strengthened the upper part of the temple. Judging by these holes, the wooden beams were arranged in four tiers. The vaults of the temple were completely rebuilt in the 17th-18th centuries, but almost all the ancient arches that separated the vaults, including girth ones, have been preserved. The pedestal under the drum survived, as did a significant part of the drum itself. The Church of Michael the Archangel is unusual in its general architectural design, proportions, forms, which gives it an exceptional originality. The centric stepped composition of the temple became widespread in other local schools of architecture of Ancient Rus'. The Svir church echoes the Pyatnitsky churches in Chernigov and Novgorod.
Dmitrovsky Cathedral (Vladimir)
Time of creation: 1194-1197
Cross pillars are eaten to the height of the walls and hold the massive dome of the cathedral. Flat blades correspond to the pillars on the inner walls. On the western side are the choirs.
The temple was built by Grand Duke Vsevolod the Big Nest. The one-domed and four-pillar three-apse temple was originally surrounded by low covered galleries, and at the western corners it had stair towers with shoots to the choir stalls. The sculpture abundantly covers the entire upper tier of the cathedral and the drum of the dome, as well as the archivolts of the portals. In the arched frieze of the southern facade there were figures of Russian princes, including those of Vladimir. The sculpture of the upper tier of the southern facade also glorifies the wise and strong ruler. The predominance of images of a lion and a griffin in sculpture indicates the further development of grand ducal emblems. However, the strengthening of the symbolism and cosmology of the whole idea led to a decrease in the relief. In the central zakomaras there is a figure of a royal singer playing the psalter. The carving of the figure, especially the head, is distinguished by its great height and roundness of the relief. To the right of David, on the southern facade, is depicted "The Ascension of Alexander the Great to Heaven." On the left side of its zakomara of the western facade, King David is depicted, followed by Solomon. In the sculpture of the western facade, attention is drawn to the scenes of the exploits of Hercules. In the central strand of the upper tier, birds intertwined with their necks refer to the symbolism of an inseparable union. The northern facade facing the city expresses with its sculpture the idea of a strong princely power already directly, and not symbolically. Prince Vsevolod III himself is depicted in the left zakomara. The complex and varied turns of the figures, as it were, the apostles talking to each other, the free and at the same time strict drapery of the robes, and most importantly, the deeply psychological interpretation of the images betray the hand of a great master.
Church of the Savior on Nereditsa (Novgorod)
Time of creation: 1198
The Church of the Savior was built by Prince Yaroslav Vladimirovich. The murals, according to a tradition dating back to Soviet times, were attributed to local, Novgorod masters. Some finds really suggest that this master led the work on the creation of frescoes in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior. In its architectural appearance, the Spas on Nereditsa no longer differs from the parish churches of Novgorod. The political and financial position of the prince was so weakened that he did not claim to compete with the Cathedral Sofia in his construction. By his order, a small cubic type, four-pillar, three-apse, one-domed temple was erected. It is built with stone-brick masonry, traditional for Novgorod architecture. The internal space of the Church of the Savior is simplified in comparison with the buildings of the previous period - the first third of the XII century. The princely choirs-polati looked rather modestly, where two aisles were located. There was no longer any stairs in the attached tower, it was replaced by a narrow entrance in the thickness of the western wall. During the construction of the building, the accuracy of lines and shapes was not maintained. The overly thick walls were crooked and the planes uneven. But well-thought-out proportions brightened up these shortcomings, and the temple made a worthy, solemnly majestic impression.
Paraskeva Pyatnitsy Church (Chernihiv)
Time of creation: 1198-1199
The time of construction of the Paraskeva Pyatnitsa church, as well as the name of its customer, are unknown. Most likely, merchants built it with their own money. The dimensions of the church are small - 12 x 11.5 m. The ancient church at the auction belongs to the typical small one-domed temples with four pillars. But this type of building, common in the 12th century, was developed by an unknown architect in a completely new way. He arranges the pillars unusually wide, pressing them against the walls, which allows him to expand the central premises of the temple as much as possible and to design the corner parts of the facade in a new way, in the form of half-mosquitoes, which he makes into a quarter of a circle. The transition to a high and massive drum is carried out with the help of elevated vaults and two rows of kokoshniks. The apse, small in volume, is slightly lower than the zakomar. The portals of the Pyatnitskaya Church are made with a profiled frame, with brows above them. Above is a frieze of a brick meander, even higher are decorative niches in which remains of plaster have been preserved. Above them is a belt of "runners". Triple windows complete the central strands. The skilful use of brick gives the construction a special expressiveness: two brick walls with filling the gap between them with stones and brick battle on the mortar. After 5-7 rows, the masonry was made solid, after which they again switched to the backfilling technique. The master decided to lay out the arches thrown over the pillars above the vaults. Thus, the drum, resting on the arches, rises significantly above the walls. The meticulous precision of the brickwork betrays the hand of the Byzantine master. Perhaps it was Peter Miloneg. Despite the small size of the temple, the master also builds a choir, but narrow, and the same narrow staircase in the western wall.
Paraskeva Pyatnitsy Church at the Market (Novgorod)
Time of creation: 1207
Most likely, the Pyatnitsky temple at the Market was built not by Novgorod masters, but by Smolensk ones, because. it has no direct analogies among the Novgorod churches, but is similar to the Svir church of Smolensk. The corners of the temple itself and the narthexes are decorated with wide multi-stepped shoulder blades, which are unusual for Novgorod. The same applies to the side rectangular apses. The church is a cruciform building with six pillars. Four of them are round, which is not typical for Novgorod construction. The temple has three apses, of which the central apse protrudes much further east than the others. Lowered vestibules (narthexes) adjoined the main volume of the church on three sides. Of these, only the northern one has survived, only small fragments have survived from the other two, and they were rebuilt by restorers. The building acquired its modern appearance as a result of restoration, during which many, but not all of its ancient forms were revealed. Now the temple houses a kind of museum of the history of Novgorod architecture.
Conclusion
So, we see that quite a lot of monuments of Old Russian architecture of the 11th - early 13th centuries have been preserved. - about 30. (It should also be taken into account the fact that many buildings were not included in the work, due to a significant change in their appearance during fires, wars, natural disasters or unsuccessful restorations) Especially a lot of them remained in the Novgorod and Kiev lands.
Temples were founded mainly by local princes in honor of their heavenly patrons, but often a cathedral could be erected in honor of some major victory. Sometimes the local merchant elite became the customer of the temple.
The architectural features of many monuments amaze with their splendor, and the skill of their execution deserves admiration. In the course of my work, I found out that foreign craftsmen, in particular Byzantine and Greek, were often invited for construction. But many churches were built through the efforts of Russian architects. Gradually, each principality develops its own architectural school with its own approach to construction techniques and building decoration.
By the XII century. Russian craftsmen mastered the technique of cement masonry, used bricks. Much attention was paid to the painting of temples with frescoes and decoration with mosaics.
The historical fate of many architectural monuments of that time is deplorable - they are irretrievably lost to us. Some were more fortunate - although they were significantly rebuilt, they can still give us some idea of the architecture of that era. Many structures have survived to this day almost in their original form, and it is they who give us the most complete picture of the architecture of Ancient Rus' in the 11th - early 13th centuries.
List of used literature:
1. Komech A. I., Old Russian architecture of the late X - early XII century. - M.: Nauka, 1987.
2. Rappoport P. A., Old Russian architecture. - St. Petersburg, 1993.
3. Russian temples / ed. group: T. Kashirina, G. Evseeva - M .: World of Encyclopedias, 2006.
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral of the Spassky Monastery in Yaroslavl
The Transfiguration Cathedral of the Spassky Monastery is the oldest stone church in Yaroslavl that has come down to us. Founded back in pre-Mongolian times, under Prince Konstantin Vsevolodovich, it was rebuilt in 1515-1516. The new cathedral combined the traditional forms of ancient Russian architecture with Italian influence, characteristic of Russian architecture of the late 15th - early 16th centuries. The names of the holy Metropolitan Macarius, the formidable Tsar Ivan IV, the liberators of Russia Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty Mikhail and the disgraced Patriarch Nikon are connected with the history of the cathedral. The acquisition of the famous poetic work of Russian literature "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is also associated by many researchers with this cathedral. The murals of the cathedral are one of the few fresco ensembles from the time of Ivan the Terrible that have survived to our time without significant loss.
Eleventh to twelfth centuries there was an upsurge in the development of the culture of the Kyiv state. Large cities become cultural centers, which have acquired the status of European centers due to reforms (Kyiv, Galich, Novgorod).
Excavations carried out in these lands have shown scientists that the people who lived at that time were for the most part literate (at least at a basic level). This was concluded based on the preserved business receipts, petitions, orders on business affairs and other documents.
In addition, it is known for certain that even before Christianity was adopted, Rus' knew writing. The first handwritten books surviving from that time are unique works of art. They were written, as a rule, on very expensive parchment, which was made from processed goat, calf or ram skin, and was decorated with excellent color miniatures.
Most of the books that have come down to us, which refers to this period, has a religious content(out of one hundred and thirty books, about eighty contain basic knowledge of Christian morality and dogma). However, along with this, then there was also religious literature for reading.
Perfectly preserved "Physiologist"- a collection of short stories about legendary and real-life stones, trees and birds (at the end of each story there was a religious parable associated with this creature or object). By the same time, researchers also attribute such outstanding literary church monuments as the “Sermon on Law and Grace”, attributed to the pen of Metropolitan Hilarion, as well as the sermons of Cyril of Turov. There were also “apocrypha” (from the Greek word “hidden”) - stories that unconventionally interpret biblical stories. The most popular of them is considered to be the “Walking of the Virgin through the torments”.
An outstanding literary monument is also Vladimir Monomakh's "Instruction", which is an instruction to princely children and contains instructions on how the offspring of warriors should behave in the world.
And finally, the most a significant colossus of ancient Russian literature is "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", the basis of which was the campaign undertaken by Igor Svyatoslavich against the Polovtsians. It is considered a huge loss that the only manuscript of this text burned down in Moscow during a fire (1812).
When visiting European countries, we are surprised - castles and churches can be over 1000 years old, they are well preserved and simply amaze from the outside. But where is our legacy of antiquity - the monuments of Kievan Rus?
Dozens, if not hundreds, of wars, time and indifference destroyed most of them. Many of the majestic cities of Kievan Rus have now become provincial towns, but often boast unique sights, others have become megacities and hide priceless treasures behind a palisade of skyscrapers. But even these few monuments are priceless for the Ukrainian people. So where can you find them?
Monument to the legendary founders of Kyiv - Kyi, Schek, Khoriv and their sister Lybid. Photo source: kyivcity.travel.
Kyiv
Saint Sophie Cathedral
The capital city has preserved the greatest heritage of those ancient times. Of course, the most famous attraction is, which was built during the time of Yaroslav the Wise. The main temple of the then Eastern Europe now has the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Historians have proven that the temple was founded by Vladimir the Great in 1011, and completed by his son Yaroslav in 1037.
After the Mongol invasion, the temple partially remained in ruins. The Kyiv metropolitans tried to maintain the temple in an adequate condition, but a large restoration took place already during the time of Ivan Mazepa. At that time, the temple acquired the appearance that we see now. At the same time, the bell tower was built, which is one of the symbols of the capital.
Photo source: obovsem.kiev.ua.
Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Cathedral
The architectural landmark of Kievan Rus became a victim of Soviet power. together with the majestic cathedral existed from 1108 to 1936, when the communists blew it up. It was built by the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise Svyatopolk Izyaslavich. In the 17th century, it acquired the forms of the Ukrainian Baroque. It was rebuilt only in 2000. Now it is a functioning monastery and temple of the UOC-KP.
This is how the cathedral looked in an 1875 photograph. Photo source: proidysvit.livejournal.com.
Mikhailovsky Golden-domed in our days. Photo source: photoclub.com.ua.
Kiev-Pechersk Lavra
One of the main shrines of Orthodox Christians, the spiritual center of the Ukrainian people, was also not spared the sad fate of the war - the main temple of the Lavra was destroyed in 1942. Historians are still looking for the culprits, whether the Soviet troops, or the Wehrmacht - is unknown. But the temple was restored only in 2000.
The Assumption Cathedral was built in 1078 during the time of the son of Yaroslav the Wise, Svyatoslav Yaroslavich. The monastery on this place existed all the time, until today. Now it is one of the main shrines of Orthodox Christians, it belongs to the UOC-MP.
Photo source: litopys.com.ua.
From that time until today, 2 more monuments of Kievan Rus have come, which are located on the territory of the Lavra - the Church of the Savior on Berestovo and the Trinity Gate Church. All of them were significantly rebuilt and acquired their modern look in the 18th century.
Church of the Savior on Berestovo. Photo source: commons.wikimedia.org author - Konstantin Burkut.
Vydubitsky monastery
Another decoration of Kyiv is. Its history begins in the 1070s, when St. Michael's Church was built, which is the oldest on the territory of the monastery. It was also repeatedly rebuilt and resurrected from the ruins, and acquired its present appearance after 1760.
St. Cyril's Church
One of the most interesting monuments of ancient Kyiv. Built in the middle of the 12th century. Around the temple there was the St. Cyril Monastery, which was destroyed in the 30s of the 20th century, and the church was turned into a museum. In the 17th century it was restored and acquired the features of Ukrainian baroque. In the same form, it has reached the present day. The highlight is the wonderful murals of the 12th century, which were restored by Mikhail Vrubel. Among the ancient frescoes there are works by masters of the Kyiv school of the 19th century - Nikolai Pimonenko, Khariton Platonov, Samuil Gaiduk, Mikhail Klimanov and others.
Golden Gate
This is the only monument of stone defensive architecture from the time of Rus', which has survived to this day, although partially. They were built during the time of Yaroslav the Wise, that is, they are about a thousand years old. Ruins have come down to us from an authentic building, around which they themselves recreated already in the second half of the 20th century. Today, one can only imagine the grandeur of old Kyiv by seeing their reconstruction.
Photo source: vorota.cc.
Most of the monuments of Kievan Rus have been preserved in Kyiv. Irreparable damage was done by the Bolsheviks with their mania for the destruction of churches. St. Michael's Golden-domed Church, the Church of the Virgin-Pirogoshcha on Podil, the Vasilyevskaya and St. George churches, the temple on the site of the ancient Church of the Tithes and some others - all of them were destroyed in the 30s of the 20th century, having stood for more than one century.
Church of the Virgin-Pirogoshcha in Kyiv. Today, a temple has been rebuilt in its place, similar in form to the original. Photo source: intvua.com.
Chernihiv
Chernihiv was one of the richest cities in Kievan Rus. To some extent, he competed with the capital. Even now, there are many monuments of Kievan Rus left in it.
Transfiguration Cathedral
One of the main shrines of ancient Rus' and the main temple of the Chernigov land. He is the same age as St. Sophia of Kyiv and is one of the oldest churches in Ukraine. Its construction began in 1035. The building was laid by the brother of Yaroslav the Wise Mstislav the Brave. partly rebuilt throughout its history, but today it is one of the well-preserved temples of Rus' on the territory of Ukraine. The interiors are partially preserved ancient paintings of the 11th century.
Photo source: dmitrieva-larisa.com.
Boriso-Gleb Cathedral
Not far from the Transfiguration Cathedral is another attraction of ancient Chernigov -. It was built between 1115 and 1123. It was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries in the Ukrainian baroque style, but during World War II it was hit by an air bomb that destroyed the vault of the temple. After the war in 1952-1958, the restoration of the cathedral was carried out, during which the temple acquired its original appearance. Today it houses a museum. Of its most valuable exhibits are the silver royal gates, made at the expense of Ivan Mazepa.
Photo source: invtur.com.ua.
Elias Church
A small ancient church with almost a thousand years of history. Located on the slopes - a picturesque tract in Chernihiv. The temple appeared as a church at the entrance to - the same age as the caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. According to legend, they were also founded by Anthony Pechersky. It was repeatedly rebuilt and acquired its appearance in the 17th century in the Ukrainian baroque style. Today it is a museum of the ancient Chernihiv reserve.
Photo source: sumno.com.
Assumption Cathedral of the Yelets Monastery
Chernigov. It was built in the middle of the 12th century. During the Tatar-Mongol invasion, it was partially destroyed, but then restored. Like many other temples, it was rebuilt in the Ukrainian baroque style, in which it has survived to this day. In the interior of the cathedral, small remains of murals from the time of Kievan Rus have been preserved.
Photo source: uk.wikipedia.org, author - KosKat.
Oster
A small provincial town on the banks of the Desna, it would seem, cannot attract tourists in any way. However, the ruins of the Yuryevskaya Bozhnitsa, the altar part of the ancient Mikhailovsky Church, which was finally dismantled at the end of the 18th century, have been preserved in it. The church itself was built by order of Vladimir Monomakh at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries. Unique murals of the 12th century have been preserved on its walls, but now the monument requires considerable attention, there is a threat of losing valuable murals due to inadequate conservation of the temple.
Kanev
In this city, quite unexpectedly, you can find an ancient temple of 1144 -. It was built by Prince Vsevolod Olgovich, the temple is very close in architectural terms to St. Cyril's Church in Kyiv. It was damaged by the Tatars and Turks in 1678, but was restored 100 years later in modern forms. The Cossack chieftain Ivan Podkov was buried there, who became a legend during his lifetime. The remains of Taras Shevchenko were in the Assumption Cathedral for two days during his reburial according to the poet's will. Today it is a functioning temple of the UOC-MP.
Photo source: panoramio.com, author - hranom.
Ovruch
The small town of Ovruch in the north of the Zhytomyr region may pleasantly surprise you - it has been preserved here, which was built around 1190 with the assistance of Prince Rurik Rostislavich. The temple was destroyed several times, but constantly rebuilt, until a large-scale restoration and restoration of the building in its ancient Russian images was carried out in 1907-1912. The ruins of the old church became part of the restored walls of the temple. Remains of the original painting have been preserved in the interior.
Photo source: we.org.ua.
Vladimir-Volynsky
Once a majestic city of Kievan Rus and the capital of the Volyn land, today a small town. He will tell you about the past greatness and glory, which is also called the temple of Mstislav by the name of its founder, Prince Mstislav Izyaslavich. The construction of the cathedral dates back to 1160. During its existence, it has undergone more than one destruction, but in 1896-1900 it was recreated in its original forms. Together with the episcopal chambers, it forms a castle - a fortified part of the old city.
Photo source: mapio.net.
Lyuboml
On the way to look at the provincial Volyn town of Lyuboml. It contains, which was laid in the early 1280s by order of the Volyn prince Vladimir Vasilkovich. Like many other temples of ancient Rus', it was repeatedly destroyed, but then rebuilt. At the end of the 18th century, the church acquired a modern look.
Photo source: mamache.wordpress.com.
Galich
One of the oldest cities of Kievan Rus, it was first mentioned in Hungarian chronicles as early as 898. He reached his greatest prosperity during the time of Yaroslav Osmomysl, who was sung in the "Word of Igor's Campaign". Although it is customary to call King Daniel of Galicia, it was he who moved his capital from Galich to Kholm. In the city and its environs, 2 churches, monuments of ancient Rus' in Ukraine, have been preserved. The brightest is in Krylos, a village near Galich. It is unique in that it combines the Byzantine style familiar to Rus' with Romanesque. It was built around 1194 by Roman Mstislavich, Daniel's father. In 1998, the temple was restored for the last time, then it acquired a modern look. Interestingly, the ancient medieval inscriptions on the walls have been preserved in the church. Some of them have been preserved since princely times.
Photo source: photographers.ua, author - Igor Bodnar.
Another ancient church of Galich is considered to be built in the second half of the 13th century. Information about the history of the church is very scarce. It was restored in the 18th century, and acquired its modern look after the last restructuring in 1906.
Photo source: hram-ua.com.
Lviv
As you know, Lviv was founded by Daniil Galitsky and named after his son Leo. However, since that time only 2 structures have come down to us - and. These are the oldest buildings in Lviv. Although the churches were not at all characteristic of ancient Ukrainian architecture, they were built in Lviv at the request of the wife of Prince Leo Constance, who professed the Latin rite. The approximate date of construction is 1260. By the way, the church is located not far from the center of princely Lviv. Now in the church there is a museum of the most ancient monuments of Lviv.
Regarding the Nicholas Church, historians disagree. It was erected between 1264 and 1340, approximately during the reign of Prince Leo, who donated land to this church. Whether it was a princely temple-tomb, or it was built at the expense of local merchants is unknown. Despite numerous reconstructions, the temple has come down to us in good condition.
Photo source: photo-lviv.in.ua.
Uzhgorod
A unique monument of the Middle Ages is located in Uzhgorod, more precisely in the suburb of Gortsy -. Scientists to this day argue who built it and when, since there are no reliable historical sources. However, there are good reasons to believe that it was built in the second half of the 13th century, when Transcarpathia was part of the Galicia-Volyn principality. Similar structures were also in Galich, Kholm, Kyiv and Vladimir, but most of them have not survived. Interesting in the Mountain Rotunda is the interior - the frescoes are made in the style of the Italian school of painting, possibly by Giotto's students.
Photo source: ukrcenter.com.
Unfortunately, much of our past has been turned into archeology. You can name the princely cities for a long time, but very little has come down to us from the then monuments of Kievan Rus. Therefore, we should appreciate and be proud of what we inherited from our ancestors!
