What secrets of Russian architects are kept in Torzhok - a city where you can really feel the "Russian spirit"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

There are not many cities left in Russia where you can see ancient examples of architecture and feel the very "Russian spirit". The city of Torzhok, located relatively close to Moscow, has the right to be called such an open-air museum, because an incredible number of architectural monuments are concentrated in it. There are also wooden ones among them. Moreover, not far from the city there is a whole museum of wooden architecture.

From the first years of its existence until the second half of the 15th century, the city of Torzhok was part of the Novgorod possessions. In the XII century, the city was located on the southeastern border of the Novgorod Republic. The route from Novgorod to the southern principalities ran along the local river Tvertsa. Located at the crossroads of land and water routes, Torzhok was a major trading place. Hence - and such a name.

There are about 400 architectural monuments made of stone in the city, but it is no less interesting to find simple wooden buildings on its streets, and not only ordinary houses.

Tikhvin Church

Located on Gruzinskaya Street, the Tikhvin Church, which is also called the Staro-Voznesenskaya Church, is the only wooden church that has survived in Torzhok since ancient times. The building is very old - the first mention of it dates back to 1625. By the way, for almost half a thousand years of its existence, it was rebuilt several times.

Outside, the small temple has a very interesting appearance - like a pyramid, it consists of parts stacked on top of each other, tapering upward. And in architecture, such churches are called tiered.

The type of this temple is “an octagon on a quadruple” (there are three such octal figures here). There is a version that this particular church was depicted in his drawing by the Dutch geographer Nikolaas Witsen (1641-1717), who wrote the essay "Travel to Muscovy" based on the results of his trip from Pskov to Moscow.

The inner part of the dome is incredibly beautiful: the saints look at us as if from the depths of centuries.

Wooden tower

An important attraction (so to speak) of ancient Torzhok many centuries ago was its Novotorzhsky Kremlin. The first mention of these fortifications dates back to 1139, and over the long history of its existence, it withstood many enemy sieges. In 1742, the Kremlin burned down and was not rebuilt, since in those years it no longer played a defensive role. Only the rampart and the moat have survived from it. But now on the territory of the former Kremlin there is an exhibition and interactive complex of the same name (entrance fee is charged). Holidays and reenactments of ancient battles are often held here.

Once this Kremlin was surrounded by a wooden wall (its height reached four meters) with 11 towers. One of them, the Mikhailovskaya Passage Tower, built in the 17th century, has been recreated and presented to tourists.

Museum of Wooden Architecture

And very close to modern Torzhok, in Vasilev, where the former estate of the Lvov landowners is located, a unique exposition of wooden buildings has been collected, which were brought here from different parts of the Tver region. Among them - not only at home, but also in churches.

Particularly beautiful are the Znamenskaya Church (built in 1742) from the Vesyegonsky District and the Preobrazhenskaya Church (1732), which was transported to the museum from the Spas on Sozi churchyard in the Kalininsky District.

A wooden fire station with a tower brought from the village of Laptikha is also interesting, however, it was built much later - in 1912.

See also: Wooden masterpieces of Art Nouveau in the Russian hinterland.