Description of the attraction
The Annunciation Cathedral is located in the town of Gorokhovets in the Vladimir region, it is the main Orthodox church in the city. It was built in 1770 to replace the old wooden church. The money for the construction of the cathedral was allocated by the local merchant Semyon Ershov. It was he who determined the external and internal appearance of the temple. In those days, among the merchants it was considered prestigious to build temples. This is how rich people gained fame and perpetuated their surname in Russian history.
The Annunciation Cathedral was made in a restrained austere style, with a minimum number of decorative elements, but at the same time its appearance is distinguished by its majesty and large forms. The cathedral was erected on the edge of the main square in the very center of the city. And to this day, the building of the Annunciation Cathedral is the tallest building in Gorokhovets.
In terms of the plan, the Cathedral of the Annunciation is a regular rectangle, which is covered with cross-domed vaults. Its walls are decorated with shoulder blades. The church is crowned with five domes, which are set on slender high drums. The monumentality of the temple is given by the considerable height of the walls. The massive pillars of the building are widely spaced and round.
Due to the large and clear forms of its architectural elements, the cathedral has a majestic and austere appearance. Ancient frescoes are still preserved in the temples. The peculiarity of the ornamentation of the apse of the temple attracts the eye.
A 37-meter-high bell tower with an octagonal base is attached to the temple. According to the traditions of those times, it is crowned by a high tent with dormer windows located above the belfry in three rows. At the top of the tent is a small dome topped with a cross.
Externally, the stone temple has remained practically unchanged for two centuries.
There are two altarpieces in the church: one of the Annunciation of the Theotokos, the other - the side chapel of Makarii Zheltovodsky (it was added in 1864 in honor of the side-altar of the same name, which still existed when the church was wooden).
The shrines of the temple are: ancient altar crosses: one of them - with the image of the martyr Paraskeva and Macarius Zheltovodsky, attached by G. I. Kuvaldin in 1653, the second cross - with particles of relics, transferred to the temple in 1704; an old icon of the Mother of God of Smolensk; silver vessels, transferred in 1685 by S. Ershov; gilded and silver vessels with enamel, donated by the posad man A. I. Kholkin in 1732; the silver ark, donated to the temple in 1710 by Avdotiy Shiryaev; chara in the form of a grape bunch, gilded silver, also transferred by Shiryaev; silver ladle with inscriptions.
Together with the Baptist Church, a chapel and a hipped-roof bell tower, the Annunciation Church constituted one complex.
Separate local churches were also attributed to the Annunciation Church as the main city temple: the wooden cemetery All Saints Church, the Sretenskaya Church of the Convent.
