Description of the attraction
Shvivaya Gorka is the southwestern slope of Tagansky Hill, which is located in the center of Moscow at the confluence of two rivers - the Moskva River and the Yauza. In the upper part of this slope stands the Church of Nikita the Martyr. It was built just at a time when the southwestern slope was actively inhabited by artisan people who had been moved out of the city.
Craftsmen were expelled because of their occupations, which posed a great danger. Potters who dealt with fire, blacksmiths who made armor and cauldrons began to settle on Shvivaya Gorka in the 15th century, and the first chronicle mention of the Nikitsky temple was made in 1476. It is also known that in the first half of the 16th century the temple was already made of stone, and the development of Shviva Gorka continued into the 17th century.
The current building of the temple was built in 1595 by the merchant Savva Emelyanov, as evidenced by the inscription on the inset stone. In addition to the main altar, the temple has several chapels, consecrated in honor of St. Olga, the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, as well as the Monks Onuphrius the Great and Peter the Athonite. The temple is a courtyard of the Athos Panteleimon monastery, and its building is recognized as an object of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation. A feature of this temple is the Sunday services held at night, as required by the Athonite charter.
Over the next centuries, the temple was renovated several times: for example, in the second half of the 17th century, the bell tower and the chapel of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos were added. The chapel of Onuphrius the Great and Peter the Athonite was built in 1740, and the chapel of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga appeared only towards the end of the 19th century.
In the mid-30s of the last century, the temple was closed and could be destroyed. For many years, a warehouse was located in its former building, but at the same time, in the 50s, the building was even restored. In the 90s, the building was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church, and a year later the temple became the courtyard of the Panteleimon monastery, located on Mount Athos in Greece.
