Macro Monday - Russia's Kizhi Island

On my recent river cruise in Russia we arrived at the most spectacular sight on the trip after three day's cruising from St. Petersburg.  On Onega, the second largest lake in Europe we stopped at tiny Kizhi Island (4 mi long, 3/4 mi wide) to visit open air museum of northern wooden architecture with several historic timber buildings that have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site including the Transfiguration Cathedral, several farm structures, peasant houses, and a windmill.  Throughout the week I'll be sharing photos of this amazing place for Macro Monday, Barn Charm, Wordless Wednesday, Nature Footstep Watery Wednesday, and Friday Fences.  Yes, this small island has it all!

For today's Macro Monday I'll focus on Transfiguration Cathedral built in 1714 to commemorate Peter the Great's victory over Sweden.  This church was built out of aged pine with not a single nail.  It is capped with 22 different cupolas, all covered in over 30,000 carved aspen shingles.  Depending on the light, the shingles shimmer like silver.  We visited in the rain so the low light made them appear a deep, rich purple.

Here's a closer look at the church before we disembarked from the cruise ship.  Unfortunately, for photography there was some repair going on on the front facade, but you can still appreciate the fantastical shapes of the classical Russian Orthodox onion domes and cupolas, and the belltower:

Then here are some closeups of aspen shingles:

Here's a good sideview of the cathedral and bell tower:

And then the back view:

Luckily, we were able to go inside the church and see the interior construction and this treasury of church icons dating back to its establishment in the early 1700s. The worship area was incredibly small with the altar and priest's area taking up most of the space. In Russian Orthodoxy, worshippers stand for the very long services. There were a couple of "grandmothers' chairs" for the old and frail who couldn't last for three hours!

So, come back tomorrow if you'd like to see the farm house/barn/farming implements and then later in week for some truly beautiful water scenes and fences.

For more closeups from all over, or to enter your own macros, be sure to check out Lisa's Chaos here every Monday.