Description of the attraction
In Yaroslavl there is a temple of the Beheading of John the Baptist, which is one of the most interesting temples in the entire city. The construction of the temple took place between 1671 and 1687. It was built on the territory of the Tolchkovskaya Sloboda. It is known that at that time wealthy strata of the population lived in the settlement, tanners, who decided that there was not enough temple in the local area. In the process of construction, the entire population of the settlement was accepted, which helped with money or labor.
The Church of John the Baptist is considered the largest parish church in Yaroslavl, and is also an outstanding monument of Yaroslavl architecture. During the construction of the temple, the most advanced methods of church architecture were used; the best cathedrals of the city were taken as a model.
The temple is especially similar to the temple of St. John Chrysostom in Korovniki, although its dimensions are much larger not only in height, but also in total area. The church wedding was carried out in the form of fifteen whole chapters, five of which are the largest, five are small, and the rest are small. The first time a project was carried out when there were so many chapters, however, even after this kind of projects were not implemented. It is important to note that the side-altars were the same height as the main volume - this was not new at all. Along the perimeter from three sides, the temple was girded with one-story galleries, creating a full-fledged feeling of even greater majesty of the main volume. Several porches, equipped with a house-like top with an unusual design of entrance openings, represented by semicircular portals decorated with arches, lead into the gallery space.
The decoration of the walls of the Church of St. John the Baptist is made in the form of patterns and tiles of figured bricks, so there is practically no smooth spot on the wall. It seems that the temple has been wrapped in a Persian carpet. The wall surfaces of the gallery do not lag behind the main volume, because they are decorated with patterns and tiles made of profiled bricks.
The painting of the temple was carried out between 1694 and 1695. Residents of the settlement did not spare money for painting, as a result of which it turned out to be simply magnificent. The head of the craftsmen's artel was Dmitry Plekhanov, who was famous for his good name of the flag bearer. In the first decades of the 1700s, the same artel painted side-altars and galleries. At this time, a talented master named Fyodor Ignatiev became a new assistant. It is important to note that the plots depicted on the walls are especially varied, because you can see a full-scale illustration of the Bible books, starting from the creation of the world.
At the end of 1708, a fire broke out in the Church of St. John the Baptist, as a result of which the wooden roof completely burned down. Soon the roof was replaced, making it even more steep and four-pitched: the zakomars were shifted and became slightly higher. As a result, the new roof completely hid the lower surface of the drum, which was decorated with tiles.
In the 18th century, the central dome was to be replaced, after which it acquired a fancy baroque shape. From that moment on, the temple was not rebuilt and has survived to this day without external changes.
At the turn of the 17-18 centuries, a bell tower was built next to the temple, the height of which was 45 meters. It is a powerful pillar, equipped with a pair of blank tiers and several open and decorated with graceful arcades. The belfry is made in the Baroque style, which became an innovation for Yaroslavl, but which perfectly suited the temple due to the fact that the tiers of both buildings are divided in the same way.
The Yaroslavl ensemble today is represented by the Church of St. John Chrysostom, the Holy Gates, built in the Baroque style at the end of the 17th century. The holy gates are very high and are similar to similar gates only in the Cowsheds. The ensemble has been completely restored and is under state protection as an architectural monument. The building of the Church of St. John the Baptist is part of the Yaroslavl Museum-Reserve.
