Kizhi is an island on Lake Onega, as well as a unique open-air museum of wooden Karelian architecture from the 15th through the 20th centuries.
I was sitting in the upper room of an old wooden Russian house on a wide wooden bench. Vera, the guide of the historical complex, was braiding ribbons into my hair and singing old traditional Russian songs. Her voice was flowing smoothly, like anointing oil; the tunes sounded like magical fortune-telling. According to her story, I am the housewife living in this hut, my baby is swaying in the cradle by the window, and those are my pots on the stove. Well, I assumed that I was married, if there was a cradle, and my dear husband was apparently mowing hay in the field.
Vera carefully put earrings with small river pearls in my ears, hung a pearl necklace around my neck, clicked the lock of a silver bracelet on my wrist and adjusted the red ribbon in my hair. So, according to Vera’s story, I am an ordinary Karelian woman from the village, plump and rosy-cheeked, who once lived somewhere near Kizhi. The daily routine of those past times is actually funny. I clearly understand that in this “past” I am awkwardly clumsy; I can’t even grab the pot in the right way; even the thought of milking a cow is nasty to me; I don’t know how to bake “kalitki” (little Karelian pies), and I don’t even know how to bathe in the traditional bathhouse.
As she dressed me in a long Russian dress, Vera told me a story about the women's traditional costume. While listening to her, I was thinking about how unfortunate it is that modern designers no longer use amulets in clothing design. We buy expensive dresses from famous designers, but without any amulets, some “evil” can easily take us off the path of a happily married woman…
The upper room is bright despite the heavy logs it is made of. In such rooms, people spun wool, embroidered fabric, had family dinners, slept, raised children. There were bedrooms too, of course. But almost all their time was spent in the upper rooms. Houses in Karelia have always been built large, with the living and farm areas under one roof.
I left Yakovlev’s house and walked to the shore of the lake. The domes of the recently restored Church of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour (Preobrazhenskaya Church) could be seen from afar as they glistened in the sunlight. Horse-drawn carriages passed back and forth. And if there had not been any groups of tourists, I would have easily drifted into the illusions of the past, which the museum’s employees have created so brilliantly. Women are sitting in small houses and embroidering, or weaving, or walking around the village. Men are ploughing the fields, fixing boats and carving wooden toys. Kizhi is all around me. By the way, the locals pronounce “Kizhi” with the stress on the first syllable. Anyway, both options are correct.
Orange Fact
Lake Onega, located mostly in Karelia, is the second largest lake in Europe. About 50 rivers flow into it, and only the Svir River flows out. Most of the islands (there are about 1700 of them) are in the northern part of the lake.
We arrived in Kizhi around noon: there was a storm on Lake Onega in the morning and the schedule of the Comet (high-speed hydrofoil) was changed. Usually, according to the schedule, only 4 hours are planned for a visit to Kizhi; then the hydrofoil departs for Petrozavodsk. Four hours is an extremely short amount of time for one visit. First of all, of course, it is recommended to look at the Kizhi Pogost Ensemble, the oldest in Zayonezhie, and then to see this miracle made of wood — the Church of the Transfiguration of Our Saviour, the Church of the Intercession and the bell tower.
The very first Transfiguration Church, along with neighbouring buildings, was burned to the ground by a lightning strike in the 17th century. There was nothing left to restore. New buildings were built in the same place. The Transfiguration Church was rebuilt in 1714 by a carpenter named Nestor, according to legend. They say he threw his axe into the lake so that nobody could repeat his masterpiece. But in fact, the real name of the architect, one of the Zaonezhsky artisan carpenters who built the only wooden church in the world with 22 domes, has been forgotten. This is a historical injustice.
At the heart of the design of the church are two octagonal log structures; the walls are made of pine logs; the 22 domes are covered with Russian wooden shingles. The height of the church is impressive for those times — 37 metres! The church was built from logs, without iron nails. But in fact, the guide says, there are wooden pegs that help to hold the domes together. Whoever the builder was, he thought very carefully about protection against moisture. A raindrop that falls from the cross of the central cupola rolls down the wooden roof tiles to the ground.
The parish existed until 1937. Two years before that, the village committees had voted to close churches everywhere. Despite the fact that only 80 people voted for closing and about 1,000 against it, the parishes were disbanded and the churches were closed. Priests returned to Kizhi only in 1994, when the first service was held.
At the end of the 19th century, the logs of the Transfiguration Church were covered with wooden battens and plastered, for some reason; the domes were finished with iron, and even painted bright green. Apparently, locals wanted to match the style of city cathedrals at the time. From a distance it seemed that the temple was built of stone. Nowadays, if you look at the church from the water, it looks like it is made of filigree pieces and covered with patina. The iron covering of the domes was fortunately dismantled in the 1950s, but in 1968 the church was declared a dilapidated building.
Recently, the old building was lifted by jacks; the ceiling and floor were dismantled; the iconostasis, 25 metres wide, with 102 icons, was removed, and all seven tiers of it were separated from each other; 3,000 logs were reinstalled. The long restoration of the Church of the Transfiguration is over, and the church is now included in the museum’s ticket programmes.
Orange Fact
On the day of the Intercession of the Theotokos on October 14, a festive service will be held in the Intercession Church, followed by a procession around the Kizhi Pogost. On this day, a historical icon of the Intercession of the Theotokos will be brought to Kizhi from Petrozavodsk.
Kizhi Pogost is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Go through the entryway, enter the altar area, look at the icons in the four-tier iconostasis, listen to church hymns. Despite the old icons, some of which were painted by professional icon painters, some by local peasants, the interior is very restrained compared with traditional Orthodox churches. Well, this is a northern temple, and also a rustic one. The basic ticket includes a visit to the Church of the Intercession and one peasant house. The Church of the Transfiguration is visited with an additional ticket or a complex ticket.
Before I dressed up in that Karelian traditional costume, I climbed the bell tower. I was lucky: only a bell ringer and I were upstairs. The bell ringer was chiming the bells inspiredly; his eyes were closed. I looked at the details on the domes of the Transfiguration Church: from the bell tower, they can be seen at arm’s length. The bell tower with its tented roof was built later than the rest of the architectural complex — in 1874. Right before that, the previous dilapidated building was completely dismantled by local parishioners. So, today the bell tower is just a little bit below the church — 30 metres high, and there is a wonderful view of the Kizhi surroundings from the belfry. And there, on top of the bell tower, you can feel the fresh and cold Onega wind, even on a fine day.
Right after the bell tower excursion, Vera and I ran to get dressed in Yakovlev’s house. Like many other buildings of the Kizhi architectural complex — huts, chapels, a windmill, barns and bathhouses — Yakovlev’s house was brought from another region of Karelia as part of the museum exhibition.
I adjusted the many layers of my skirt and took off my shoes (because it is much nicer to run on the grass barefoot). Then I walked along the shore to the footbridge, where there was a traditional Kizhanka boat docked. The layers of my skirt were tangling in the thistle and reeds — well, I am not in the habit of walking in such complicated clothes every day. The loud sound of a whistle reminded me that there was not much time left until the hydrofoil’s departure. I was a bit sad that I had to change my clothes, put the jewellery back in the casket, take off the ribbons… I gave a goodbye hug to Vera and rushed off to the pier. Well, as I said before, four hours on the island is totally not enough. Do not repeat my mistake and plan a longer trip!
Kizhi deserves much more time. The island is pretty small — it is only 5 km long and up to 500 metres wide, but on this little piece of land, there are almost 90 unique monuments of Russian wooden architecture, built between the 15th and 20th centuries. Believe me, you will be busy there! For example, you can go to the ancient villages of Yamka and Vasilyevo, climb Mount Vigovka, walk around all the buildings — the Church of the Resurrection of Saint Lazarus, the Chapel of the Archangel Michael (late 18th century) from the village of Lelikozero, the windmill, or just relax, ride a bike or take a boat. I recommend that you do not take the standard museum tours to see everything in three hours. Travel there independently, taking the earliest hydrofoil, and depart on the latest one. Also, I recommend hiring an individual guide; it's worth it!
The museum on Kizhi Island is open all year round. In the navigation season, from May 15 to October 15, the “Comet” and “Meteor” hydrofoils run from Petrozavodsk to Kizhi. The trip takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes one way. A round-trip hydrofoil ticket from Petrozavodsk to Kizhi costs about 5,000–5,200 roubles for an adult, depending on the carrier. Tour duration: 4 hours.
In the winter months, when Lake Onega is frozen, the Hivus hovercraft goes to Kizhi. Another option is a helicopter.
There are no accommodation options on Kizhi Island itself, because it’s a museum. But if you want to stay overnight, you can find housing on neighbouring islands. You need to book a transfer at the pier.
“The Four Seasons of Russia” project is supported by the Russian Geographical Society www.rgo.ru
The trip to Kizhi is recommended by the Russian Geographical Society.
More about Karelia:
Mountain park "Ruskeala": «Quarry stairs»
Valaam "Holy Island"
Karelia: Locations and Lifehacks
Translation: Irina Romanova
Travel reportage
Leave a comment