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The Church Of The Tithes was the first prominent building to be made of stone in the 10th century. The earliest Kiev an churches were built and decorated with Fresco es and Mosaic s by Byzantine masters. A great example of an early Russo-Byzantine church was the 13-domed Saint Sophia Cathedral In Kiev (1037-54) but unfortunately much of its exterior has been altered with time. Saint Sophia Cathedral In Novgorod (1044-52), on the other hand, is a purely Russian structure. Its austere thick walls, small narrow windows, and helmeted cupolas have much in common with the Romanesque Architecture of Western Europe. Even further departure from Byzantine models is evident in succeeding cathedrals of Novgorod: St Nicholas's (1113), St Anthony's (1117-19), and St George's (1119). By the end of the 12th Century the centre of political life had moved from Kiev to the northern principality of Vladimir-Suzdal . The local churches were built of white stone by Romanesque masters of Friedrich Barbarossa , whilst their wall statuary was elaborately carved by craftsmen from Georgia . These churches mark the highest point of pre- Mongolian Russian architecture. The most important Vladimir churches are the Assumption Cathedral (built 1158-60, enlarged 1185-98, frescoes 1408) and St Demetrios' Cathedral (built 1194-97). Another miraculously preserved church is the graceful Intercession Church On The Nerl (1165), one of the most charming images of medieval Russia. Celebrated as these structures are, the contemporaries were even more impressed by churches of Southern Rus, particularly the Svirskaya Church of Smolensk (1191-94). As southern structures were either ruined or rebuilt, restoration of their original outlook has been a source of contention between art historians. The most memorable reconstruction is the Pyatnitskaya Church in Chernigov (1196-99), by Peter Baranovsky . Secular architecture of Kievan Rus is scarcely known. Up to the 20th century, only the Golden Gates of Vladimir , despite much 18th-century restoration, could be regarded as an authentic monument of pre-Mongolian period. In the 1940s, the archaeologist Nikolai Voronin discovered the well-preserved remains of Andrei Bogolyubsky 's palace in Bogolyubovo , dating from 1158-65. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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