Church of Simeon the Stylite description and photo - Russia - North-West: Veliky Ustyug (Topic)

Church of Simeon the Stylite description and photos - Russia - Northwest: Veliky Ustyug. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

One of the most remarkable architectural monuments of the Ustyug masters of the middle of the 18th century is located in the lower part of the city, far from the historical center. This is the Church of Simeon the Stylite - truly the only church preserved in Veliky Ustyug, in the architecture of which signs of Western European Baroque are noticeable.

At first glance, one can immediately notice the artistic completeness of forms, beautiful proportions and impeccable execution. Ornate platbands surround the windows, the walls are decorated with flat pilasters with tiled capitals. The capitals are the creations of the gifted Ustyug potters, giving the church an elegant and sublime look, pouring a fresh emerald color into the color palette of the temple. The facade on the west side is especially decorated. Round windows, open porch-terrace, luxurious pediment.

The construction of a stone church was started in 1725 on the site of the church of the same name, built of wood. The construction was completed in 1747. Almost ten years later, during a strong fire in 1757, the temple was extremely burned, and soon, with funds provided by the Ustyug merchant I.Ya. Kurochkin, the reconstruction of the temple began, which was completed in 1765. In 1771, the Ustyug master of bell affairs Matvey Bushkovsky cast a bell for the church of Simeon the Stylite, the weight of which was 154 pounds.

The composition of the church of Simeon the Stylite differs significantly from the other cathedrals of Great Ustyug. The church is two-story. The first floor - the summer church - was consecrated in honor of the Monk Simeon the Stylite with a side-altar dedicated to the holy Apostle James Alfeyev. The second floor - the winter church - was consecrated in honor of the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, with chapels in memory of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker and the Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. In the middle of the composition there is a quadrangle, on the east side the altar part adjoins it. Semicircular pediments complete the walls of the quadrangle and two side-chapels. Baroque platbands serve as decoration for windows.

The interior and iconostasis of the Church of Simeon the Stylite was created in 1765. The main room of the temple is decorated in abundance with all kinds of stucco. The summer temple was located on the lower floor. In various parts of the temple in the icon cases there were several ancient icons, which were decorated with pearls and silver. The interior of the winter church impresses with the unity of the baroque decoration and the extraordinary luxury of decoration. The most skillful moldings cover the walls and vaults of the temple. The hallmarks contain colorful displays of storylines from the New and Old Testaments. The majestic iconostasis is decorated with unusually beautiful and magnificent carvings. The images of the iconostasis were painted by Vasily Kolmogorov, a talented icon painter of the 18th century.

A tier bell tower rises a little to the west of the church, built in the same style as the church. The bell tower ends with a spire, which is traditionally inherent in Russian architecture of that time. The decor of the church and the bell tower is very similar in character, however, the multicolored tiled capitals of the pilasters on the facades of the bell tower are more luxurious and diverse.

In 1930, in February, the church was closed. Then they began to knock down the bells and destroy the iconostases.

Since May 2001, divine services have resumed in the temple of Simeon the Stylite. It is a fully functional temple these days, which also acts as an object of museum display. Thanks to the joint efforts of believers, as well as organizations and entrepreneurs, together with the city administration, the winter church was recreated. All work on the restoration of this rare architectural monument is carried out by the Museum-Reserve.

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Topic: Church of Simeon the Stylite description and photo - Russia - North-West: Veliky Ustyug.