Description of the attraction
Porkhov is one of the most ancient cities in the Pskov region. Porkhov was founded in 1239 by Alexander Nevsky. Throughout its history, the city has been repeatedly attacked by Germans and Lithuanians. In the old days, the Porkhov Fortress was a timber-and-earth structure, later in 1387 the wooden walls were replaced with stone ones.
In 1412, a temple was built in the Porkhov fortress. The Nikolsky Church got its name in honor of Saint Nicholas, a saint and miracle worker popular in Russia. In 1428, during the storming of the fortress by Vytautas, the Lithuanian prince, the church was badly damaged, and in 1497 the church was damaged again by a fire in the fortress.
Time passed, and the temple became more and more dilapidated. In 1766, the Metropolitan of Novgorod and Velikie Luki ordered to dismantle the dilapidated building of St. Nicholas Church and build a new one. In 1770, the building was built with funds raised by the townspeople. Seven thousand rubles were spent on the construction of the new church. Colonel Voronov supervised the construction of the new church. The consecration of the temple was conducted by Archbishop Gabriel of Novgorod and St. Petersburg. The new temple was erected on the foundations of the old one. In the passageway of the Nikolskaya tower, a chapel was added, which also received the name of St. Nicholas. From the south-west, a chapel was added to the church in honor of the Archangel Michael, and a bell tower was installed on the fortress wall opposite the chapel. However, at the beginning of the 19th century, the bell tower was moved to the Nikolskaya tower, where it is still located.
The Nikolsky temple has four feet, has one apse. Window openings are decorated with platbands with columns on the sides. At first the church was cathedral. On the building of the temple, before the rebuilding in 1770, there were 5 chapters. But after the Trinity Cathedral was erected on the left bank of the city in 1783, St. Nicholas Church lost its former significance and became a parish. At the end of the 19th century, the narthex was built, as well as the side-altar, consecrated in 1908 and named Znamensky.
Several relics, such as the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, painted for the construction of the temple, especially revered by the inhabitants of Porkhov, a small cross cast from silver in 1717, with the relics of Kiev saints, a missal donated by the Porkhov military commander, were kept in the church until the revolution.
The cult of Nicholas the Wonderworker, as a defender and intercessor in all troubles and misfortunes, was inherent in Russian society. The church built of wood in the old fortress also bore the name of Nicholas. Due to the fact that the old church was wooden, it has not survived to our time. The modern stone St. Nicholas Church operated until 1961. Even during the occupation of the city by the Germans, divine services were held in the church, the service was conducted by Father Pavel. In this difficult time, St. Nicholas Church was almost a safe house for scouts from the underground: intelligence data was regularly delivered to the house of clergy located next to the church and from there they were sent to their destination. In general, during the Great Patriotic War, the church was significantly damaged: the main dome and bell tower were lost.
In 1961, restoration work began in St. Nicholas Church, they continued until 1968. Since 1963, a local history museum has been located in the temple. The temple was returned to the Church in the early nineties, today the temple belongs to the Orthodox community and is active.
