Porzhensky Pogost/ churchyard is an abandoned village and a
wonderful architectural complex located in the Kenozersky National
Park of the Kargopol District of the Arkhangelsk Region. There is a
monument of wooden architecture, which is now directly called a
graveyard, but the concept of “graveyard” in the Russian North had a
somewhat different meaning. A graveyard is a union of several
villages or an administrative, cultural and commercial center.
Porzhensky churchyard, or rather, the church, which is now
called a churchyard, is located halfway between the large lakes
Kenozero and Lekshmozero on the shores of the shallow Porzhensky
lake. In general, the Porzhensky Pogost is one of the most
inaccessible architectural monuments in Russia.
The Porzhensky churchyard is located on
the top of a low hill in the center of the field, surrounded on
three sides by a forest, and on the fourth by Lake Porzhen. The
ensemble of the Porzhensky churchyard consists of a wooden St.
George church and a bell tower from 1640, surrounded by a chopped
fence with picturesque turrets of the 17th century, and is
considered a masterpiece of Russian wooden architecture of
pre-Petrine times. The Sacred Grove is located near the churchyard.
The Church of St. George the Victorious was built at the end of
the 17th century and belongs to a unique cage type. The stately
square quadrangle of the church is completed by a steep gable roof,
decorated with a ploughshare (oblong, slightly curved planks in the
form of a shovel or flat pyramid) with a cross head. A low refectory
is adapted to the temple, and behind it there is a high bell tower
with a tent. If you look from the inside, you can see 3 separate log
cabins, although from the outside the church looks like a single
building. The most ancient parts of the ensemble are the main frame
and the altar extension. In the interior decoration of the St.
George Church, a unique double heaven has been preserved: in the
altar and the prayer hall. The apostles are depicted in the altar,
the crucifix and archangels in the refectory. The "heavenly" frames
are painted blue with star decoration.
The church of the
Porzhensky churchyard is surrounded by a chopped wooden fence. It is
also of great interest, as it is one of three similar fences that
have survived in the Russian North. The log fence is under a gable
canopy. At the entrance and at the corners it is decorated with
picturesque turrets. The fence surrounds not only the churchyard
itself, but also the Sacred Grove with larch and fir trees. Some
trees are very tall. They stand out from the rest, are visible from
afar and, as if enchanted, attract the eyes.
The best photo
of the churchyard, and everyone who gets to this place is sure to
try to make it - from the wooden bell tower: wide open gates with a
gate cross and a view of the dense forest and lake. This perspective
especially vividly expresses the quiet solitude of the "wooden
castle" hidden in the Arkhangelsk forests. To Kargopol (the nearest
town) - about 150 kilometers, around - only swamps, spruce forest
and abandoned villages with difficult Finno-Ugric names. It is
difficult to get to the Porzhensky churchyard: part of the way you
will need to go along the gates. But the bottom line is worth the
effort and time.