Kizhi pogost
Kizhi Pogost is a historical site dating from the 17th century on Kizhi island. The island is located on Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia. The Pogost is the area inside a fence which includes two large wooden churches (the 22-dome Transfiguration Church and the 9-dome Intercession Church) and a bell-tower. The Pogost is famous for its beauty and longevity despite the fact that it was built exclusively of wood.
In 1990, it was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. It was built without using a single nail and many thousands of logs were brought for its construction from the mainland.The Church of the Transfiguration is the most remarkable part of the Pogost. This church was built on the site of the old one which was burnt by lightning. The builders' names are unknown. A legend tells that the main builder used one axe for the whole construction which he threw into the lake when completed.
The church has 22 domes and 37 meters height and is one of the tallest wooden buildings in Northern Europe. The structure is covered with 22 domes of different size and shape which run from the top to the sides. The refectory is covered with a three-slope roof. In the 19th century, the church was decorated with batten and some parts were covered with steel. It was restored to its original design in the 1950s.The Church of the Intercession is a heated ("winter") church where services are held from October 1 until Easter. The church was the first on the island after a fire in the late 17th century destroyed all previous churches.
It was first built in 1694 as a single-dome structure, then reconstructed in 1720–1749 and in 1764 rebuilt into its present 9-dome design as an architectural echo of the main Transfiguration Church. It stands 32 meters tall with a 26×8-meter perimeter. There are nine domes, one larger in the center, surrounded by eight smaller ones. Decoration is scant. A high single-part porch leads into the four interior parts of the church. As in the Transfiguration Church, the altar is placed in the eastern part shaped as a pentagon. The original iconostasis was replaced at the end of the 19th century and is lost; it was rebuilt in the 1950s to the original style.
The fence serves no defensive purpose at all. It is a symbolic division between the holy ground and the outside world. It was reconstructed in the 1950s as a 300-meter-long log structure surrounding the two churches and the belfry. The structure rests on a tall boulder basement. The main entrance is 14.4 meters wide and 2.25 meters tall, and faces east near the Church of the Intercession. There are wicket gates at the eastern and northern sides and a small wooden tower in the north-western corner. The tower has a square base and a four-slope batten roof with a spire. The walls, gates and wickets are also roofed.