Wooden Temple Construction of the Lower Poonezhye of the XIX - Early XX Century

Abstract

Wooden Church architecture of the XIX - early XX century is a little-studied part of the Russian architectural heritage, completely forgotten in Soviet times. Temple construction is studied on the example of objects in the area of the lower reaches of the Onega River. The research is based on archival sources identified in the state archive of the Arkhangelsk region, and materials from field surveys of objects. A significant volume of historical documents and projects is introduced into scientific circulation, revealing the specifics of the process of preparing and building wooden churches in the province. The article analyzes stylistic changes that occurred during the period under review - from eclecticism to the predominance of Russian motifs. Attention is focused on the use of model projects and their interpretations. Model projects were simplified, which was typical for all remote provinces of the country. The construction, carried out by peasant artels, further removed the result from the project and introduced the spirit of folk architecture into the building.

The paper considers objects that clearly characterize the main trends and features of wooden Church construction of the studied period. Elijah's Church in the village of Bolshoy Bor, built almost exactly according to the model project, was completed for convenience and improvement of the overall appearance. Trinity Church in the village of Mondino quite boldly interprets the solutions taken from their model projects, and at the same time inherits the forms of previously lost churches. The architecture of the late Elijah Church in the village of Kamennoe clearly has Russian style influences. The Church in the village of Kanzapelda is an example of the conversion of a chapel into a Church, which was often done in order to save construction resources.

In the wooden Church construction of the XIX century, despite the stylistic changes, there is clearly a continuity with the development of the architecture of previous centuries. The combination of new and traditional, stylistic, and folk forms the specifics of wooden Church architecture at the final stage of its development.