The Church of Peter and Paul on Gorodyanka – is the oldest in Smolensk. It is small in size and unplastered. And in such a "naked" form immediately attracts the eye. This is what the church originally looked like. And preserved in its original form until the twenty-first century.
Church History
The Church of Peter and Paul on Gorodyanka (Smolensk) has controversial construction dates. Traditional - 1146 But scientists say that this date is incorrect, because the information about many temples is erroneous. And in 1964 it was proposed to consider the 1170s as the date of the appearance of the temple.
There is practically no information about the first 4 centuries of the temple's work in the annals. The church was built in a princely hunting reserve. This is evidenced by the type of temple - "patrimonial". Under the church, princely arches were prepared in advance for burial.
The well-known period in the history of the temple begins only in 1611 during the Polish intervention. The Poles, having captured the city of Smolensk, created an episcopate in it, the residence for which was chosen the church of Peter and Paul. Over time from the west to heradded additional rooms. And the church became a church. After the expulsion of the Poles, the Unitarian episcopate was liquidated. And a soda bell tower appeared next to the church.
Updates, recovery
Over time, the temple was completed, the floors were raised, and a new one appeared nearby - the Great Martyr Barbara. In 1812, the Church of Peter and Paul on Gorodyanka was badly damaged in a fire, even the bells were melted.
Only thanks to the priest Zubovsky partially managed to save the property. After the restoration, everything he took was returned to the temple. Repair and restoration of the building lasted until 1837. The ancient dome was replaced with a new one, but the base of the drum remained the same. After the revolution, the church was used as a museum, but at the same time services were going on in it. They only fought in the temple of Barbara, with which she was connected.
In 1924, the restoration of the building began again. But in 1936 the church was closed, and the ministers were repressed. The building was again used for other purposes. The archive is housed in the church. In the early 60s. the famous architect Pyotr Baranovsky took up the restoration of the church. He separated the temple from Varvara and returned to its former appearance, which was in the twelfth century. And now the city of Smolensk boasts the Church of Peter and Paul, which looks like 900 years ago.
Architecture and construction features
The Church of Peter and Paul is distinguished by strict proportions. The church has a single-domed cross-domed four-pillar church. The walls are built of plinth, some of them are patterned, for the arcade belt andsemi-column masonry. There are many embossed signs on the ends. Plastic clay was used as a binding material during construction. To facilitate the masonry, large ceramic golosniks were used. The floor was also originally made of plinth. Later it was replaced by colored majolica tiles. But over the centuries, it has not survived. Only separate fragments in the princely tombs.
The facades of the church are divided by shoulder blades. The middle ones are made in the form of semi-columns, which the corner ones do not have. The windows of the temple are semi-circular, wide, with single-stage niches. In the walls, unsealed canals from the forests have been preserved. On the facades at the level of the zakomar - a ribbon with a double curb, forming a kind of cornice.
The Church of Peter and Paul on Gorodyanka has preserved fragments of Romanesque architecture. These are semicircular portals with tympanums. But they are made very modestly and have only rectangular traction. In the interior of the temple there are powerful pillars in the form of a regular cross and connected with girth arches. Cylindrical vaults turned to the northwest.
The interior of the temple
Due to the architectural solution of the windows and niches made in the Church of Peter and Paul, one can observe an interesting lighting effect. The altar previously contained a seat for the clergy. Choirs with barrel vaults and transverse formwork are located only in the western part of the building.
The Church of Peter and Paul on Gorodyanka does not have a narthex. On the south side, the choirs are occupied by an isolated chapel. It is separated by brick walls. On thein the northern half of the church a staircase was built, illuminated by 2 slit-like windows. Under the choir stalls in the southern and northern parts there are 2 pairs of arcosolia.
Earlier, the walls and window openings of the temple were painted. To date, only fragments of the painting remain. But it was not possible to restore the plots, since the painting was almost completely lost. It partly existed at the beginning of the 20th century, but then almost completely disappeared.
Modernity
The Church of Peter and Paul on Gorodyanka (Smolensk, address: Kashen st., 20) is currently operating. Divine services have been restored in the church since 1991. In 1993, Alexy II, Patriarch of All Russia, visited the church. And in 1996, in honor of the anniversary (85th anniversary) of the temple, a scientific conference was held. From 1992 to 2000 the church was undergoing restoration.
