There are ancient, wooden, stone churches, built on the island or on the city square. But there are few churches that can boast a trip to Paris. But the gate church of Michael the archangel from the Holy Cross Monastery can. Pathway
Paris and back was not easy. The church was built in 1610 from centuries-old logs. Its purpose was not only religious, but also defensive. That’s why they made 2 facades. One, external, looks like a watchtower, with narrow windows-barrels. The second, on the inside of the fence — with a porch and a porch.
Although the church was small, gateway, it was richly decorated. Tradition says that there were also gilded salaries on icons, handwritten Gospels. Decoration embroidered with gold and silver. Especially light, pleasant and cool was the air permeated with the aromas of the tree. The roof was designed so cleverly that moisture did not penetrate at all. The tree inside remained dry in any weather. And yes, not a single nail was used.
Despite this, the temple eventually deteriorated. In the 19th century it was renovated, hiding its natural beauty. They made a tin roof, the walls were sheathed with a tether.
The temple was discovered by accident. After the Holy Cross Monastery was closed, some church items were demolished there. A school was opened on the territory, and so that the boys did not climb, the building was sheathed with boards and safely forgotten about it. And only after the war decided to ask what is behind the boards. In 1958 it was restored. Remove the cloth, restore the roof.
The beautiful church so impressed restorers, scientists and architects that in 1973 she was sent to Paris for an exhibition. To do this, the church had to be dismantled on a log, loaded on 30 trucks and sent on a long journey. The exhibition was called “Russian wooden decorative plastic from ancient times to the present day”. Our church stood near the Champs Elysees, striking the French and visitors with its unusual architecture. The organizers of the exhibition even wrote a letter to the mayor (then this position was called differently, but not the essence). Thanked for the opportunity to admire and could not contain feelings about the lack of nails.
After the tour, it was decided to put the traveler in the center of the city. The case was entrusted to the usual construction team, who did not hear about the method “without nails”. There are dozens of them to give stability. The floor was covered with a new teso. It’s a good window.
I left it to look at the old logs. Now there is a museum in the building.
Charitable Foundation Holy Land
Russian Temples and Monasteries
