Located on a small island in the center of Lake Onega, the Kizhi Museum is considered a true monument of wooden architecture. Here you can count 82 architectural monuments, the most famous of which is the Kizhi Pogost ensemble - a real masterpiece of carpenters' skills.
Wooden architecture in Russia has always been of great importance and developed even in parallel with stone construction until the 20th century. Craftsmen have always appreciated the beauty of wood and used all its possibilities to create various designs and decorative elements.
The carpenters of the northern part of the country were famous for their special skill. For example, hundreds of joiners and carvers from Zaonezhie were involved in the construction of St. Petersburg. The true masterpiece of the Kizhi churchyard - the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord with 22 domes - arose against the background of the country's national upsurge after the victory over the Swedes and the end of the Northern War.
The picturesque island of Kizhi stretches for 4 kilometers. All its buildings, including the 7-meter pyramid of the temple, can be seen from afar. There are legends that the pine church was built without a single nail. According to legend, this cathedral was built by the master Nestor, who at the end of the work threw the ax far into the water.
The octagonal frame of the temple is supplemented on four sides by two-stage cuttings. On the ledges of all tiers, domes covered with wooden plates are arranged in four rows on "barrels". The cascade of chapters, which soars into the sky, forms a peculiar pattern. The builders of the temple implemented in their creation all kinds of artistic and technical techniques of wooden architecture.
To the south of the cathedral there is a tent-roofed bell tower and a 9-domed Intercession Church. In 1800, all the buildings of the churchyard were surrounded by a stone fence, which was later replaced by a log fence in the middle of the 20th century. All the buildings of the churchyard form an ensemble of amazing beauty, which fits very organically into the local landscape. In 1966 the Kizhi Pogost became the center of the Kizhi architectural museum, which was created to preserve the historical heritage of Karelia. All the monuments of wooden architecture on Kizhi are a real masterpiece of an entire era in Russian culture.
