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On the bank of the Moskva River in the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve there is a miracle of medieval architecture: the Church of the Ascension of the Lord.

The temple was built for 4 years. From 1528 to 1532. As the rumor says, it was erected in honor of the birth of the son of Vasily III Ivan the Terrible. But this is more of a fiction, given that Ivan the Terrible was born in 1530, because it was problematic to complete such a project in two years. Most likely, Vasily laid the foundation for the building back in 1528, as a tribute to God, so that the Lord would send him a long-awaited heir. After all, for a long time the tsar and his wife remained a childless couple, which in the days of autocracy and the succession of power was a big problem.

In September 1532, her consecration took place, the entire reigning family took part in this ceremony - Grand Duke Vasily III himself, his young wife Elena Glinskaya and baby John.

Who built the temple

The name of the talented architect who built the temple has not yet been established. It can be assumed that the architect was an Italian. Most historians believe that the church was built by the then little-known architect Petro Annibale. In Russia he had many names - Petrok Maloy, Pyotr Fryazin. And his invitation by Vasily III to Moscow in 1528 makes this version the most convincing. It was the surname Fryazin that convinced many that this was a certain Pskov architect who built many architectural masterpieces in the Mother See. This is actually a nickname. Thus, all Italians in Russia were called.

Characteristics of the style and construction features

A building is simply a collection of several architectural styles. There are pilasters with capitals in the style of the Early Renaissance, and Gothic vimpergs, and classic Russian kokoshniks. Understand, what architectural style the architect adhered to is difficult.

Among the elements of the Renaissance, the following can be distinguished:

order;
portals with straight architrave openings;
drawing of gothic vimpergs.

The height of the temple tower is as much as 62 meters. By the standards of those times, this was an impressive figure. The building was the tallest Orthodox building. And due to the flying architectonics, the feeling is created that the building is soaring above the ground.

The building has no internal supports, as well as the usual altar apse. It is installed on a basement surrounded by a gulbisch, and although the walls are 2 to 4 meters thick, the church looks very light from the outside. On the east side, a stone throne has survived. The legs are made in the shape of a lion's paws, and the armrests are decorated with intricate arabesques. From here, the Moscow rulers admired the immense expanse that opened beyond the Moscow River.

The interior space of the building is not large, because it was the home of the princely church. Only members of the sovereign's family and the closest, trusted servants could pray here.

The temple was built like a summer one, unheated. There has never been a stove or any kind of heating. So it remains to this day. The Ascension Temple is considered the first tent-roofed stone temple. In addition, the church had the function of a watchtower. In the thickness of one of the walls, there is a narrow staircase leading up directly to the tent. There is a special observation deck used for signaling. If the sentinel who was there saw suspicious movements, movements of troops, then immediately fire was lit. At night it was a bright flame. During the day, the signal was given in smoke.

Gradually, with the loss of the Kolomenskoye village of the official status of the current royal residence, the temple lost its “house” status and became a parish church. It was a summer church, where they served from Easter to Intercession. And in Soviet times, concerts of sacred and classical music were held here, if it was interesting from a historical point of view. Now the temple has come to life: divine services are held here.

In the lower part of the temple there is a composition dedicated to the history and restoration of the church. From the street, the visitor enters the western tent. This room arose in the 17th century, when the space between the supporting pillars of the bypass gallery was filled with bricks. Here you can get acquainted with some of the structural features of the temple and the materials used in its construction, as well as old photographs.

The next room is a church basement or subchurch. The walls here are five meters thick. Usually the most valuable things were kept behind them. Perhaps there was once the treasury of Ivan the Terrible.

The inner volume of the temple is 42 meters open to create a feeling of ascension inside. The decoration of that time has not survived, only the shape of the galleries has its original appearance. One can only guess how everything looked here back in 1532, but according to the assurances of historians, the atmosphere was colorful and rich. And this is not surprising, because the temple was a house of prayer for the royal family.

The most interesting thing is that according to legend, somewhere in the temple there is a great library of Ivan the Terrible, which he inherited from a Byzantine grandmother.

Changes after repairs and restorations

Throughout the existence of the building, the following changes were made:

This is only a small part of the renovation work. Throughout its history, the building has undergone significant transformations.

Since 1994, the site has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and is protected by this organization. This indicates that even the world cultural community highly values this architectural structure.

The Church of the Ascension is an indisputable masterpiece of world architecture. Even after centuries, it never ceases to amaze with its perfect harmony and wonderful energy, which is saturated with everything around.

The Church of the Ascension in the village of Kolomenskoye, located on the Moskva River, is an amazing architectural monument, striking in its purity and aspiration upward. In addition, this is also the first stone tent-roofed temple on the territory of Russia.

It was erected in 1532 in honor of Ivan the Terrible. The architect is presumably the Italian Petrok Maly. The building traces features that were not previously characteristic of Russian architecture. Even the date on the column capitals is indicated in Arabic numerals according to the new chronology - at that time in Russia it was a wonder.

The Church of the Ascension, standing on the edge of a cliff over the Moskva River, gives the impression of lightness and purity. It's amazing how such grace could come from huge boulders. The height of the temple is 62 meters, and although the internal space is small, due to the absence of columns and pillars, it seems to be quite voluminous. The decoration of the church is rich and varied, while everything is kept within a certain framework, without excesses.

But the original interior has not survived. Throughout its history, the Church of the Ascension has undergone several renovations, as a result of each of which something new and changed have appeared. The last restoration took place in our time and ended in 2007. The basement tier of the temple is again open for visits, and numerous pilgrims now have the opportunity to inspect the church not only from the outside.

Back in Soviet times, the church was included in the complex of the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. And since 1994 it has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are many mysteries associated with the Church of the Ascension. Some of them have not been fully solved by scientists even now. So, presumably it is in Kolomenskoye that the missing library of Ivan the Terrible should be looked for. And in March 1917, a miraculous icon of the Mother of God was discovered in the church. Who knows, perhaps in the future, other interesting discoveries and finds will be associated with the Church of the Ascension.

One way or another, the village of Kolomenskoye is a unique place worthy of the attention of tourists and history lovers. In addition to the famous architectural ones (Tsar's yard, the Bell tower of the Church of St. George the Victorious, the Tower of the Bratsk prison, etc.), there are archaeological monuments on its territory. In addition, Kolomenskoye is also a natural landscape reserve with beautiful springs, picturesque ravines and groves.

Church of the Ascension of the Lord photo.

The Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye is a masterpiece of world architecture, included in the UNESCO list. It is considered the first stone tent-roofed temple in Russia. The building is made of large bricks; on the base in the shape of an equal-pointed cross stands a tall tent with clear edges. There is a gallery around the temple, to which three high porches lead; on the gallery near the eastern wall, a carved stone throne has been preserved.

The Church of the Ascension was built by order of the Grand Duke Vasily III in the village of Kolomenskoye on the steep bank of the Moskva River, right above the spring with healing water. Kolomenskoye was the royal residence, the church was intended only for the sovereign's family and did not have its own parish, therefore, despite the fact that the temple looks impressive from the outside, its interior is small. In the 16th century, a bell tower appeared next to the church (later it became).

In Soviet times, the Ascension Church was closed and transferred to the Museum of Russian Architecture. Now it belongs to the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve, the building has a permanent museum exposition. In 1994, in the Church of the Ascension, the Patriarch's courtyard was opened with the attached church of St. George the Victorious, in 2000 the church was re-consecrated. Since 2007, divine services have been held there on major church holidays.

Interesting facts about the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye

The original wooden iconostasis of the Ascension Church has not survived, but it was restored during the restoration in 2007 on the model of the preserved similar iconostases of the 16th century.
The church in Kolomenskoye was erected in honor of the birth of the tsar's heir - the future Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The place above the holy spring was not chosen by chance: according to legend, the water from this spring healed infertility, so women from ancient times went to Kolomenskoye to pray for the gift of offspring.
The Church of the Ascension is associated with legends about the missing library of Ivan the Terrible and about the treasures hidden in the dungeon.
During the construction of the embankment in the 1970s, ancient springs were covered with soil, and the shore under the Church of the Ascension began to crumble. The largest landslides occurred in 1981 and 1987, but no shore survey and anti-landslide measures were taken.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, large cracks were discovered that split the church building. During the restoration in 2001-2007, they were repaired without preliminary examination of the condition of the building, and the wooden roof structures were completely destroyed without taking photographs. Information about the restoration work is completely classified.

First mention 1532 year Construction - years Status Cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation № 7710007015 № 7710007015 Site Official site Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 55 ° 40′02 ″ s. NS. 37 ° 40'15 "in. etc. / 55.667222 ° N NS. 37.670833 ° E etc.(G) (O) (I)55.667222 , 37.670833

Temple Tower

Unesco mark

Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye- the Orthodox Church of the Danilov Deanery of the Moscow Diocese.

History

Legend connects the construction of the temple with the birth of Ivan IV, the long-awaited heir to the Grand Duke. From the legend, one can only glean that the temple was somehow connected with the birth of the heir, but they could not build a structure of such complex structures and a large volume in two years, which passed from September 1530 to August 1532. According to S. A. Gavrilov, the foundation of the church took place two years before birth and the church could not be laid in gratitude to God for the birth of an heir, that is, it could not be a vow. The temple was erected as a prayer house, to pray for the childbearing of the grand ducal couple.

Immediately after the end of the two-year term of the penance, begged by Basil III for cleansing from the sin of bigamy, the ambassadors of the Grand Duke came to the Pope. At his request, Clement VII released the architect Anibale to Moscow to build prayer churches in accordance with the prayer program. The architect arrived in Moscow at the beginning of the summer of 1528 and after 2-3 weeks he had already started work.

The site for the Church of the Ascension was chosen on a steep bank, at the base of which a spring, considered miraculous, was gushing. This corresponded to the Italian treatises on the choice of a place, according to which the key was attributed to especially healing ones, since it was located in the "winter east". Initially, they laid a "T" -shaped foundation for the temple without a basement, but with three altarpieces. A similar layout has been implemented in the villages of Ostrov and Besedi.

On the western side, a belfry was laid, similar to that of the Dyakovskaya. Foundations of different depths were laid under the volumes of different heights. According to the treatises, they were supposed to make up one-sixth of the height of the building's volumes. Based on the depth of the foundations, a hypothetical reconstruction can be made. The height of the main temple is determined at 42.5 meters, the height of the side-altars is 24.6 meters. The height of the western vestibule is 14.4 meters.

The foundation was probably completed in the fall of 1528. Upon completion of the foundation, the original plan was abandoned, since the church would have been hidden by a steep bank from the spring, and the spring would not be visible from the church. For visual communication, it was necessary to put the temple on a high basement. This entailed a radical redesign of the layout. In connection with the appearance of the basement, the side chapels and the western version of the belfry were abandoned. Ladders were required to enter the second tier. From the fall of 1528 to the spring of 1529, the layout was probably altered.

In 1529, a basement was made according to a refined plan. At the beginning of summer, they began to lay out the belfry, combined with the north porch, but they refused the second option, as well as the first western option. Perhaps the general layout of the estate has not yet been decided. By the middle of the summer of 1529, all general decisions had been made. The wooden clergy's church with the thrones of the Conception of John the Baptist, the Conception of Anna and Constantine and Helena was already almost finished (it was consecrated, the first of all prayer churches, until the end of 1529). Only from the end of 1529, when the first prayer church of the Conception of John the Baptist appeared, in which prayers for childbirth began to be performed, could one think about the appearance of an heir. The lower march of the southern porch of the Church of the Ascension was oriented to the diakovo church, turning the axis of the porch from the axis of the Church of the Ascension by 4 degrees. It was on this main axis that the belfry was finally installed.

Probably in 1530 they built a quadrangle. The next year they made kokoshniks and an octagon. In the final year of 1532, a tent was made. Probably, only at the end of the tent were the pillars of the second tier of porches with carved capitals erected, the porches were covered with plank roofs, a belfry was erected on the south porch, floors were laid in a rustic pattern from triangular ceramic tiles in the church and from square tiles on the porches. All these works were completed by the end of the summer of 1532: 62. According to chronicle sources, the consecration of the church took place on September 3, 1532 by Metropolitan Daniel in the presence of Prince Vasily III, Princess Elena and son Ivan: 65.

From the beginning of 1530, preparations began for the birth of an heir. In connection with the birth of Ivan the Terrible in August 1530, a "royal place" was created on a white-stone oval base. It was replaced in 1532 with the flooring of the porch. When installing the "royal place" for its carved back in the already finished wall of the quadrangle, it was necessary to make a recess in half a brick.

In the 17th century, the icons in the iconostasis and a small fresco on the eastern façade above the "royal place" were renovated. It is difficult to imagine from the references in different years what kind of painting was originally here. The images of the Ecumenical Saints, the Moscow miracle workers, the Sabaoth are mentioned. The painting remained intact until 1884, when the frescoes were destroyed, and in their place, on the wall covered with zinc sheets, an oil painting appeared.

The next major renovation was probably carried out simultaneously with the construction of the palace of Catherine II, the rebuilding and superstructure of the Front Gate ensemble under the direction and according to the drawings of Prince P.V. Makulov in 1766-1767. During this renovation, the Renaissance white-stone carved capitals were removed from the pillars of the second tier of the galleries, and parapets with flies were made (reconstructions of the "original" view of the church with these parapets are still being published). At the same time, a brick floor "in a fir-tree" appeared and the best preserved carved blocks from the capitals were laid upside down in the base of the canopy of the "royal place". On the Renaissance capitals, a new brick parapet was erected with white stone faceted posts and a flat lid that did not obscure the window opening above the "royal place".

In 1836, a barrel with a plaster eagle, a forged lattice and plaster details on the parapet appeared over the "royal place" by the drawing of the architect E. D. Tyurin. The barrel closed half of the window, hiding the original idea from us.

In 1866-1867, renovations were carried out under the direction of the architect N.A.Shokhin. Then, for the first time, a break was made in the southern face of the upper octagon and a door was made. The legend about the existence of the premises there in antiquity was not confirmed, but continues to be repeated in almost all publications on the Church of the Ascension. Under Shokhin, the original white-stone head was dismantled and a flatter metal head was made over an iron frame. The original chapter was made up of three rows of white stone blocks. It was more convex, but not much. According to Shokhin's measurements, the head was only about 30 cm higher. At the same time, the step-ladder was removed from the base of the cross and passed through a new breach into the upper octagon.

Under the architect NF Kolba in 1873, the walls of the basement were re-faced with new bricks (mark "ShM"), new floors were laid on the porches of large arshin white-stone slabs. At the same time, the roofs over the porches were redone. Planks and timber taken from the palace of Alexander I dismantled in 1872 were used as material. During the construction of the palace of Alexander I in 1825, material was used from the dismantling of the palace of Catherine II, which also included materials from the dismantling of the palace of Alexei Mikhailovich.

In 1840, the construction of the stone St. George Church began, and the iconostasis from the previous wooden one was placed on the western porch of the Church of the Ascension. However, the throne on the porch has never been here.

Architecture

Top view of the church complex

In the temple, along with the tent, wall pylons were used, which made it possible to construct a huge building of unprecedented proportions, with "flying" architectonics. The construction was carried out on a grand scale and significant material costs. In the history of Russian architecture, the temple remained a work, from the point of view of its formal perfection, the one and only.

The church is made of bricks with numerous white-stone decorative elements in the form of a centric temple-tower; its height is 62 meters. The plan is an equal-ended cross. The internal space of the temple is relatively small - just over 100 square meters. Around the temple there is a two-tiered gallery-gulbische with three high staircases-shoots. On the facades, the corners of the church are decorated with elongated flat pilasters with capitals in the spirit of the early Renaissance. Between the Renaissance pilasters, pointed Gothic vimpergs are made. An octagon is placed on the main cruciform volume of the church, in the lower part it is decorated with rows of large keeled arches in the traditional Moscow style, and above it is decorated with double Renaissance pilasters. The temple is covered with a tent with clearly defined ribs.

Was rededicated on December 8, 2000; since 1994, in ecclesiastical terms, it has the status of a temple of the Patriarchal Compound. At the end of 2007, the restoration was completed, and the basement tier of the temple was opened to the public.

Miscellaneous

In the basement of the church on March 2, 1917, according to the report of the Metropolitan of Moscow Tikhon to the Holy Synod, the icon of the Mother of God "Reigning" was found, which has been located in the neighboring Kazan church since 1990.

Notes (edit)

Literature

Gavrilov S. A. About the beginning of the construction of the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye
Gavrilov S.A. Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye - research of 1972-1990
Gavrilov S.A. Iconostasis of the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye - (based on the historical reference 1996, as amended in 2010)

The Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye is an Orthodox church located in Kolomenskoye, which was previously a village and residence of Russian princes, and today is part of the city limits of Moscow.

The Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye is a masterpiece of Russian and world architecture, possibly the first tent-roofed church in Russia.

History

According to legend, this church was decided to be built by the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III, who for a long time did not have a son to whom the throne could be transferred. Already in adulthood, Vasily III became the father of the future Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. In honor of the baptism of the long-awaited heir, the Grand Duke ordered to build a church in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow.

The Church of the Ascension is also referred to as memorial temples - built in honor of some event. The tradition of memorial churches in Russia appeared in the 16th century.

Features of the architecture

In the first half of the 16th century, Russian rulers invited Italian architects to build original churches and cathedrals, such as the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the Rurik family tomb of the Archangel Cathedral and the walls of the Moscow Kremlin.

The architect of the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye was Peter Franciszk Anibale, an architect from Italy, who became famous in Russia as Petrok the Small or Peter Fryazin. The Cathedral of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye was built in 1528-1532.

The unusual church amazes not only modern visitors to the museum-reserve, it was also unusual for people who lived in the 16th century. On the high bank of the Moskva River, a 62-meter white stone pillar rises on a powerful base of galleries. The main mood of the church is set by triple kokoshniks, reminiscent of flames, and a tent, the top of which is crowned with a golden cross. The slender silhouette of the Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye, directed into the sky, also refers to the images of defensive towers.

By its appearance, the temple speaks of a biblical event - the Ascension of Jesus Christ to God the Father.

The composition of the Temple of the Ascension is as follows: on the quadrangle, the lower base, there is an octagon, an octagonal pillar topped with a tent. The tent in this case is a pyramid of several faces, outwardly reminiscent of fabric camping tents.

The main building material is brick, white stone elements are present. Due to their original appearance, the soaring hipped-roof churches are also called "Russian Gothic", although later elements are also present in the appearance of the Church of the Ascension. Previously, not a single stone temple in Russia was decorated with a tent, only vaults and domes were used.

It is widely believed that the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye is the first Russian temple in the tent style. Historians have proven that the first tent-roofed church in Russia was built of wood near the Kremlin in honor of the birth of Ivan the Terrible, but has not survived to this day.

The interior of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord has not been preserved in its original form. The internal space is relatively small, since the church was used only by the princely family during their stay in their residence in Kolomenskoye. The Ascension Church is very bright thanks to the skillful and proportional combination of architectural techniques and materials. The modern iconostasis has been reconstructed on the model of the iconostases of the 16th century and later.

State of the art

For a long period of its existence, the church was practically not rebuilt, which is why the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the complex of buildings of the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. The modern appearance of the temple does not fully correspond to the original appearance.

The first consecration of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord took place in Kolomenskoye in 1532, the second one - in 2000.

At the beginning of the XXI century, a significant restoration of the temple was carried out, but the wooden structures of the ceilings over the galleries were completely destroyed, the cracks in the walls were not thoroughly studied and repaired. The current state of the church raises concerns due to its location on a landslide-prone beach.

Church services

Divine services are held not in the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye, but in the attributed church of St. George the Victorious on Sundays and some holidays.

Exposition of the temple

After the completion of the restoration in the basement of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye, there is a permanent exhibition “Secrets of the Church of the Ascension”. The basement itself is also of interest; some of its details are not entirely clear to researchers. It was in Kolomenskoye, in the basement of the Church of the Ascension, that they tried to search for the mysteriously disappeared library of Ivan the Terrible. Also in 1917 in the basement of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord was miraculously discovered the ancient miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Reigning", which is now kept in the church of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God.

The exposition, located here, in the basement rooms, presents rare materials from the collections of the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. In addition to photographs documenting the state of the Ascension Church in different periods, fragments of chronicles, a copy of the "Reigning" icon of the Mother of God, measurement drawings and projects of architects of past centuries are exhibited. Visitors can watch a film about the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye.

In the twentieth century, archaeological excavations were carried out in Kolomenskoye, revealing a large number of carved white-stone decorative details of the Ascension Church and other artifacts testifying to the life of Russian people in antiquity.

How to get there

First, you need to get to the Kolomenskoye estate, its official address is Andropova Avenue, 39.

Follow to the Kolomenskaya station along the Zamoskvoretskaya (green) line, then walk about 15-20 minutes along residential buildings to the entrance to the museum-reserve. Then follow the signs of the reserve, heading towards the bank of the Moskva River, where you will see the Church of the Ascension. Next to the temple are the St. George Church with a bell tower and the Vodovzvodnaya Tower.

You can also enter the museum-reserve from the other side, where the palace of Alexei Mikhailovich is located. Head to the Kashirskaya metro station along the green Zamoskvoretskaya line or the turquoise Kakhovskaya line. From the metro you need to walk about 300 meters to the entrance to the museum, and then follow the signs to the Temple of the Ascension.

Use ground transport to get to the Kolomenskaya stop near the metro.

It is convenient to get to Andropov Avenue by car; there is a large number of parking spaces near the Kolomenskoye estate. Be careful, there are often traffic jams on this road.

For comfortable trips in Moscow, use the services of Uber taxi, Yandex taxi, Gett Taxi, Maxim and others.

Church of the Ascension of the Lord in Kolomenskoye

Panorama of the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye