The Times of Ancient Rus, cultural monuments: list, description

The times of Ancient Rus, whose cultural monuments are the subject of this review, is the most important period in the history of our country, since it was then that the foundations of statehood, social, political, economic and social structures were laid, which found expression in written, archaeological and architectural sources.

General characteristics of the era

The foundations of the state of governance developed during the times of Ancient Rus. Monuments of culture of this era are interesting because they reflected the ideological foundations of the young Russian society, which just adopted Orthodoxy. An important role in their creation was played by the initiative of the princes, who very often contributed to the construction of stone, the writing of chronicles, the erection of civil and defensive buildings. Subsequently, the initiative moved to the population, primarily to urban residents, who very often built churches and temples at their own expense. Great importance in this cultural process was played by Greek influence. Byzantine masters became builders of many monuments, and also taught many Russians who, having adopted their rules and traditions, soon began to create their own unique structures.

Type of temples

The times of Ancient Rus, whose cultural monuments are mainly represented by church construction, have traditionally been dated by the pre-Mongol period, from the 9th to the beginning of the 13th century, but in a broader sense, later centuries are applicable to this concept. Russian architecture took the Byzantine traditions, so the cross-domed temples of Ancient Rus, in principle, repeat their features. However, in our country, the distribution of white-stone rectangular churches was mainly spread, and the semicircular dome was replaced with a helmet-shaped one. Masters often created mosaics and murals. Especially the four-pillared temples were distributed, less often they met with six and eight columns. Most often they had three naves.

Early church

The times of Ancient Rus, whose cultural monuments are inextricably linked with the baptism and adoption of Orthodoxy, have become the era of the heyday of stone temple construction. In the list of these buildings it is necessary to distinguish the most basic, the erection of which became a landmark event in history and served as the beginning to further construction. One of the first largest and most significant churches was the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was also named Desyatinnaya in the people, since the prince specially allocated a tenth of his income to it. It was built under Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Saint, who baptized the Russian land.

Features

Archaeologists find it difficult to restore its original appearance, however some of the extant data, such as Greek stamps on bricks, marble ornaments, mosaic floor, indicate that the construction was carried out by Greek masters. At the same time, the preserved inscriptions in Cyrillic and ceramic tiles allow us to talk about participation in the erection of the Slavs. The church was built as a cross-domed structure according to the traditional Byzantine canon.

Temples of the 11th century

The times of Ancient Rus, whose cultural monuments prove the rapid spread and establishment of Orthodoxy in our country, have become a period of active construction of churches, different in size, composition and structure. The second important temple in this list is the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. It was erected at the reign of Yaroslav the Wise and was to become the main religious center of the new state. Its feature is the presence of large choirs. It has thirteen domes with windows. In the center is the main, below - four smaller, and then there are even smaller eight domes. The cathedral has two stair towers, a two-tiered and one-tiered gallery. Inside there are mosaics and murals.

Cross-domed temples of Ancient Rus were widely spread in our country. Another important building was the Assumption Church of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. It had three naves, a spacious interior and one dome. It was blown up during the Second World War and later restored in the traditions of the Ukrainian Baroque.

Novgorod architecture

Monuments of Russian culture are diverse in style and structure. Novgorod churches and churches have their own unique features that make it possible to distinguish this tradition as a special one in the history of Russian architecture. Separately in the list of ancient buildings should be allocated Sophia Cathedral, which for a long time remained the main religious center of the republic. It has five domes, a ladder tower. Domes are shaped like helmets. The walls are built of limestone, the interior is similar to the Kiev church, the arches are elongated, but some details have undergone a slight simplification, which later became a characteristic feature of the city's architecture.

Initially, the masters imitated the Kiev models, but later the architecture of Novgorod got its original appearance due to unique and easily recognizable features. Their temples are small in size, squat and easy to design. One of the most famous churches in this style is the Transfiguration Church on Nereditsa. It is very simple, but it has a very majestic look. It is small in size, it has no exterior decor, the lines are very simple. These features are typical for the Novgorod churches, the external appearance of which even differs in some disproportionality, which makes them unique.

Buildings in other cities

Monuments in Nizhny Novgorod are also included in the list of the most famous ancient Russian buildings. One of the churches is dedicated to the holy prophet Elijah. It was erected in the 16th century in memory of the city's escape from the invasion of the Tatars and Nogais. At first it was wooden, but later, in the middle of the 17th century, it was rebuilt in stone. In the 19th century, the church from the one-headed church was rebuilt into a five-domed church, which gave the name to the street in the city.

Monuments in Nizhny Novgorod occupy a prominent place in the history of Russian architecture. One of the most famous is the St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral, built in the 13th century. It was a white-stone church with 4 pillars and 3 apses.

So, the cities of other lands and appanage principalities also became centers of active architectural construction. Their traditions are distinguished by their original and unique features. The Church of St. Nicholas of Nadein in Yaroslavl is a unique temple of the 17th century. It was erected on the banks of the Volga River and became the first stone church on the city's land.

The initiator was the merchant Nadia Sveteshnikov, after which many traders and craftsmen also began to build churches. The base of the temple was raised on a high base, on top there were five domes on thin drum necks. The Church of St. Nicholas of Nadein has a unique iconostasis. It is made in the baroque style and replaced in the 18th century by an older one.

Value

Thus, the Old Russian architecture is unique in its features, style and interior. Therefore, it occupies a prominent place not only in the national culture, but also in the world art in general. In connection with this, the protection of monuments of history and culture is especially important at the present time. Many of them did not reach our time, some were destroyed during the war years, so modern archaeologists and restorers attach great importance to their reconstruction and renovation.