Kizhi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kizhi Pogost* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| State Party |  Russian Federation |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, iv, v |
| Reference | 544 |
| Region† | Europe and North America |
| Inscription History | |
| Inscription | 1990 (14th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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Kizhi (Russian: Ки́жи) is an island on Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia (Medvezhyegorsky District), Russia with a beautiful ensemble of wooden churches, chapels and houses. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Russia and a World Heritage Site.
The island is about 7 km long and 0.5 km wide. It is surrounded by about 5,000 other islands, most of which are very small—some of them are about 2x2 meters, though some are as big as 35 km long. Kizhi Pogost, as the whole area is known in Russian, is an old settlement which united more than 100 villages in the 16th century.
The jewel of its architecture is the 22-domed Transfiguration church (1714), with a fine baroque iconostasis. The nine-domed Intercession church was built nearby in 1764, and a belltower was added in 1874. The most impressive thing about these structures is that they were erected without any nails or other metal ties--even the joints were made from wood.
A museum of Russian wooden architecture was created in Kizhi by Soviet authorities in 1960. Minor wooden structures were transported here from various parts of Karelia, notably the 14th century St. Lazarus church from the Muromsky Monastery, which is the oldest wooden church in Russia. Other notable specimens of Russian wooden architecture may be found in Kondopoga and Kem'.
[edit] External links
- Official homepage
- Orthodox shrines in Kizhi
- Russian page on Kizhi
- English Travel Guide to Kizhi
- Satellite picture by Google Maps
[edit] Images
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 Transfiguration church |
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 Wooden miracles in Kizhi |
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Central Sikhote-Alin · Curonian Spit (with Lithuania) · Ferapontov Monastery · Golden Mountains of Altai · Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye · Kazan Kremlin · Kizhi Pogost · Lake Baikal · Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent · Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings · Moscow Kremlin and Red Square · Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent · Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments · Cultural and Historic Ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands · Struve Geodetic Arc (with nine other countries) · Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad · Uvs Nuur Basin (with Mongolia) · Virgin Komi Forests · Volcanoes of Kamchatka · Western Caucasus · White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal · Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve · Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl |
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| Russian North |
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| Historical locations: Arkhangelsk | Belozersk | Berezovo | Kargopol | Kem' | Kholmogory | Kizhi | Kola | Kondopoga | Mangazeya | Pustozyorsk | Shenkursk | Solvychegodsk | Totma | Veliky Ustyug |
| Monasteries: Antonievo-Siysky Monastery | Ferapontov Monastery | Kamenny Monastery | Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery | Kiy Island Monastery | Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery | Pechenga Monastery | Solovetsky Monastery |
