Description of the attraction
The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker built in Yaroslavl is better known as the Church of St. Nicholas Nadein. Its construction took place between 1620 and 1622. The church is notable for the fact that at one time it was the first parish in the entire city, which is why it has an interesting history.
The Church of St. Nicholas was built on the most ancient territory of Yaroslavl, where in the 17th century there were courtyards of noble merchants or, as they were also called, "sovereign guests". It is known that at that time the "sovereign guests" were especially revered and respected, while few merchants could receive this title, because it had to be earned. According to traditions, such a title gave many privileges to the merchants themselves and their families - they could not be subject to court, except for the sovereign court, they could not pay duties and had every right to acquire land outside the city. Merchants could perform a wide variety of functions, including even control over the royal treasury.
To date, the temple of St. Nicholas Nadein has come down to us greatly rebuilt and modified. Initially, it was a temple of amazing beauty, equipped with a five domed and displayed on a high basement. The church had four imposing apses, three of which were next to the main volume, and the last one in the side-chapel. On three sides, the building of the temple is surrounded by two-storey galleries with spacious open arcades. The arrangement of the bell tower is made asymmetrically, namely, from the north-western side of the temple, which was especially often used in Yaroslavl architecture. The Annunciation side-altar, considered to be the north, is arranged as a small, free-standing church, which served Nadi Sveteshnikov as a house-house - here he was present during services in the circle of relatives and guests. Notable is the tyablo iconostasis located in the side-chapel, which is richly decorated with patterned ornamentation.
When it comes to the decoration of the temple, it is important to note that it was borrowed from cathedrals and churches in Moscow. The decoration was not completely copied, but rather borrowed and modified. So, a large number of decorative elements - profiled round window openings, zakomaras - have become just decoration, due to the fact that they have completely lost their original functions. The construction of the temple was carried out by Novgorod and Pskov masters.
Numerous reconstructions significantly distorted the appearance of St. Nicholas Church. In the last decades of the 17th century, the openings of the galleries in the form of arches were laid, the bell tower was completed, and after a while, closer to the 18th century, the construction of the southern side-altar took place. To this day, unique frescoes have survived, which were placed on the walls of the temple. In the 19th century, the side chapters of the temple were dismantled, because the roof began to gradually sag. The pozakomarnoe coating that existed at that time was replaced with a four-slope one.
An important component of the church of St. Nicholas Nadein was the magnificent murals that appeared 20 years after the construction of the temple, namely between 1640 and 1641. 20 masters, who later became famous artists - Sevastian Dmitriev and Vasily Ilyin, took part in the painting. The leaders of the artel were well-known and experienced craftsmen - Ivan Muravei Lyubim, Ageev, Stefan Efimiev. Among the wall paintings, plots that are devoted to gold, money and miracles predominate to a greater extent. An important feature is that Nicholas the Wonderworker is also depicted with a bag of gold in his hands, from which he distributes money to the poor. Four rows of murals are dedicated exclusively to the life of Nicholas the Wonderworker, located in the main volume of the temple. In addition to the main plots, there are Russian legends about the most revered saint in Russia. All the frescoes show close attention to small details, as well as careful drawing of facial expressions and gestures. The temple is also distinguished by a beautiful baroque iconostasis dating back to 1751 (master F. G. Volkov).
