Description of the attraction
In the city of Valdai, Novgorod Region, there is the Iversky Monastery, which owns one of its most remarkable churches - the Church of the Archangel Michael, located above the inner gate of the monastery. The church was built in the 17th century, namely in 1685.
On one side, the Church of Archangel Michael is adjoined by a two-story stone Treasury building, built in the 17th century, and a massive stone tower equipped with a hexagonal hipped top, which is called "Nikonovskoy" and which is beautifully decorated with a single-headed gilded eagle, is attached to it. On the other side of the temple adjoins a stone two-storey building called "Nikonovsky", also built in the 17th century. It is known that Patriarch Nikon once lived in this building.
The Church of Michael the Archangel is a one-domed, pillarless, one-apse temple with original galleries located on three sides. The building of the temple is presented in a rectangular plan.
The whole church is part of a complex called the middle line of the monastery, which divides the existing territory into western and eastern. This urban planning solution was implemented in a wooden form and is the first stage of its creation. During the 1680s, Afanasy Fomin decided to realize the entire complex in stone form, adding three more objects: the Treasury building, the Holy Gate with the Mikhailovsky Church and the Mikhailovskaya Tower. The church and gate were originally completed in 1685. According to the existing agreement, Fomin was to build a five-domed temple, but somewhat lower in height than the first wooden temple. To date, there is no exact data on either the restructuring or the contract. The crowning part that exists today mostly refers to the middle or the end of the 18th century. One of the earliest axonometric images of the church dates back to the early 19th century and is represented by an engraving by A. Makushev.
From the very beginning of its construction, the church had a polychrome facade painting, made according to levkas, but over time, repeated work was carried out related to the establishment of a new painting. It is known that in the 19th century, beautiful and picturesque panels were introduced into the exterior decor system.
Over the course of the 19th century, not only the church, but also the adjacent gates were repeatedly reworked and renovated, moreover, the galleries located on the east side of the gallery received a developed cornice of a classical look. Also, some window and door openings were broken, and then re-laid and again hewn; some part of the facade decor made of bricks was lost and the compositional component of the staircase in the southern volume of the church gate was completely distorted.
In 1918, the Iversky Monastery was completely abolished and ceased to exist during the 1920s. During the Great Patriotic War, an evacuation military hospital was located in the previously existing monastery. Most likely, during these years, the volume of the Church of Michael the Archangel was divided by interfloor ceilings made of wood. After the post-war period, the church building was in a very poor condition, because not only the beautiful decor of the facade, but also the internal church interior decoration were lost.
In the course of the 1960s-1980s, extensive renovation work was carried out in the church, connected with partial restoration activities, during which the previously existing decor was restored, and the hipped-roof apse completion with a plank covering was completely recreated in the old footsteps. Also in the 1990s, a completely new metal roof was made on the church monument, and the apse that underwent restoration was covered with special galvanized iron.
Throughout 2007, full-scale restoration work took place in the Church of Michael the Archangel, related to the replacement of the stairs and ceilings, as well as places that were specially adapted for the implementation of church services.
