Wooden treasures in the Leningrad wilderness, which no one knows

This church is considered the oldest wooden church in Russia, which is not transported to the museum, but stands in its place. She is the third oldest of all Russian wooden churches.

It is located in the village of Rodionovo and stands on a hill on the shore of Lake Yuksovsky.

Eye not to tear, right? By the way, next to it is another wooden church - the Presentation of the Lord, built in the 19th century. Honestly, for some reason she was now painted in a vigorous-canary color, and at first I unknowingly even mistook her for a remake and did not take pictures. Therefore, a photo from the Internet.

But let me show you all the same, and other wooden churches of Podporozhye. Want to?

Here is one of my favorites. More precisely, this is a whole complex of two churches - Nicholas the Wonderworker and Elijah the Prophet in Soginitsy. Both churches of the late 16th - early 17th centuries of construction. Both operating, but, as I understand it, opening only for the duration of the service.

Of course, these churches are not in such perfect condition as the church in Rodionovo, but nevertheless on one of them we noticed scaffolding. I hope that the restoration will continue there.

Do you know what another amazing moment? Around these and all the other old rural churches that we later saw in Podporozhye, there are always cemeteries that still exist. There is a whole story in these cemeteries. There are graves of the 18-19 centuries and pre-revolutionary - the beginning of the 20th century, and during the Great Patriotic War, and post-war, and completely new. People are buried for generations, lying next to each other, with the same surnames ... You look and understand that these are real family stories.

This is the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kurpovo on the banks of the Vazhinka River.

The fate of the church is amazing. It was built in the 16th century, then it burned down. What to do? Rebuilt. From the original construction then the main ten-sided log house on the basement survived. During the repair, it was blocked in the 19th century by a dome. Well, in the Soviet years, this church, like many others, was closed, and the building was transferred to the collective farm club.

An interesting thing happened during the Great Patriotic War. This territory, including the village of Kurpovo, was occupied by the Finns. And what do you think? They opened the church and even renovated it a bit. In general, from 1942 to 1944 she was acting!
However, after the war, the Soviet government did not begin to escalate. The Council of Ministers in 1946 decided to officially resume worship in this church. Why is that? I do not know! But, despite the "godlessness" propagated everywhere, there was such a fact (by the way, not the only one).

And in the 1990s, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Kurpovo was the only one operating throughout the northeast of the Leningrad Region.

Another stunning temple complex is the Gimoretsky Pogost ensemble. It consists of a wooden church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a bell tower, built in the late 17th - early 18th centuries.

On the fence of the churchyard of the same time of construction there is even a sign stating that this ensemble is a monument of architecture and is protected by the state.

But alas, the guys, the sight is sad: both the church and the bell tower are pouring in front of our eyes. :(

While we walked around there, we met one family who came to the cemetery at the church right from Moscow, and talked with them. It turned out that they are former local. The woman told us that there used to be a large village of Gimreka near the graveyard. Now in the vicinity of the church there is not a single house left. And up to 7 years she lived in this village with her grandmother. Grandma’s house was right next to the churchyard. And in the 1970s, they came here to make films about wooden temples. Gimoretsky churchyard also had to be removed. The filmmakers and cultural workers, under whose auspices this film was supposed to be released, had a lot of money. And my grandmother’s house was also old and wooden. In general, they bought this house from her.

Photos from the Internet.

And a woman told us that services in the Christmas Church are no longer conducted either. But someone in the neighboring village, some man whose house is next to the store, has a key to the church and the bell tower. And he gives it, if necessary. But we, unfortunately, had very little time, so we did not begin to look for this man. If you are in those parts, keep in mind the information about the key. And if you visit a church or a bell tower, tell me later how it is.

Well, we went to the neighboring village of Shchelyiki. And there another wooden church awaited us - Demetrius of the Solunsky Myrrh-streaming built in 1783. Perhaps she surprised us more than others.

The fact is that the church was more than in perfect condition, completely renovated and updated, even with fire extinguishers on the porch and at the bell tower.

True, my friends, maybe I’m wrong - after all, I’m not a specialist in wooden architecture, but it seemed to me that they had overdone it with the restoration. Despite the fact that the tablet on the wall still spoke about the antiquity of this church, this impression did not develop at all. The tree looked brand new! Well, and as a result - I could not feel the whole charm of this church.