Description of the attraction
The Church of the Intercession is located in the western part of the famous Kremlin and is located close to the eastern facade of one of the Kremlin walls, as well as the Intercession Tower. The first mention of the church in chronicles dates back to 1305. At this time, Semyon Klimovich, who was a mayor, exhibited a church built of stone on the gate from Prusskaya Street. Thus, the temple turned out to be over the gate and was attached to a wooden tower. Throughout 1389, by order of the mayor Grigory Yakunovich, the former church was dismantled, and a completely different from her new temple was built on the place where it stood.
During 1692-1693, the Church of the Intercession was significantly rebuilt: new window openings were made through, new drums were made, a two-story extension located in the south was built. It is worth noting that all types of work were carried out under the guidance and design of the famous architect Semyon Efimov. It was from this time that this church became one of the most important and beautiful churches in the Kremlin. She also served as a house church for the Novgorod governors.
At the end of the 18th century, unforeseen events awaited the church: the Pokrovskaya Tower was turned into a prison, and the church became a prison temple. Many scholars believe that at this time a special passage was built, which was intended for communication between the tower and the temple. In 1832, the Church of the Intercession was assigned to the Church of Florus and Lavra, which was located on the Sofia side. In the 19th century, namely in the 60s, the Church of the Intercession and the tower were adapted as an archive, which belonged to the nearby provinces. In 1889 the tower and the Church of the Intercession were transformed into an almshouse. The chapel of the Nativity of John the Baptist was the southern limit of the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos; the northern side-altar was called the limit of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a three-span wall-shaped bell tower adjoined the southeastern side of the church, which has not survived to our days and was completely destroyed during the war. The famous monument was seriously damaged - the roof was torn down, the chapter and some part of the cupola were lost. Soon the building collapsed.
The monument belongs to the type of one-apse, pillarless, one-domed temples. The church quadrangle from the south and north is surrounded by side-altars, and from the west there is a refectory. The central part of the Church of the Intercession, made in the form of a cube, carries a regular octagon, which is crowned with an octagonal drum with a head. From the north and south, the refectory is adjoined by another two-storey building, which is located parallel to the entire Kremlin wall. The facades of the church are decorated quite modestly and simply. The octagon of the church at the corners has flat blades connected by ledges. Large and rectangular windows are located between the blades.
The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos is truly an architectural monument not only of the 16th, but also of the end of the 17-19th centuries. It refers to churches that have the type of "eight on a four". In addition, the Church of the Intercession is one of the churches of this type that have survived in Veliky Novgorod.
