Description of the attraction
The construction of the Korsun chapel took place in 1931 near the Talavskaya tower, it was associated with the famous icon of the Korsun Mother of God - an Izborsk relic, which was kept in the Nikolsky Cathedral for many years.
A legend has come down to our time about how the city of Izborsk almost fell into the hands of the Germans. This event took place on March 22, 1685. At this time, enemy troops set fire to the settlement located in the Pechora monastery and planned to take over the Izborsk fortress. The news of this reached a certain widow Evdokia. She lit a candle in front of the Korsun Icon of the Mother of God throughout the night reading prayers with her daughter Fotinia. A sign happened that emanated directly from the image of the icon, and tears flowed from the eyes of the Mother of God. The widow told about everything she saw to the cleric Simon, who decided to take the icon to the Cathedral of Nicholas, while the voivode and the Holy Cathedral became new witnesses of the miracle when they saw streams of tears flowing from the eyes of the Mother of God. Without delay, the residents of the city reported the incredible miracle to the Pskov Archbishop Macarius. Macarius ordered to sing prayers in front of the icon for 40 days, after which the city of Izborsk got rid of the enemy invasion with the holy prayers of the Mother of God. From that time on, the Izborians understood who their heavenly intercessor was, and tried in every possible way to give her honor and their gratitude.
It is known for sure that in the 20th century the incredible saving power that came from the Mother of God was able to find confirmation in the real life of the citizens of Izborsk. The event took place at the end of the 1920s, when the wife of a former officer and merchant Kostenko-Radzievsky, who was sick with an incurable disease, was suddenly cured with God's help. Her husband was so shocked by the miracle that had happened that he decided to invest all his money in the construction of a chapel in honor of the icon of the Korsun Mother of God. This event became famous not so long ago, which largely complemented the history of the creation of a cult small building.
There was another no less interesting case that happened during the Great Patriotic War on July 30, 1944 - on that day, the city of Izborsk was liberated from the Nazi troops. A large shell hit the roof of the chapel, and the people hiding from the shelling remained intact, because the icon of Our Lady of Korsun took the entire blow, in the image of which a large number of fragments were found.
One of the few copies of the Korsun Icon was stolen in the spring of 1981, but the chapel stands in its place, completely intact. It is clear that the monuments of our time cannot compete with the culture of the ancient fortress, but nevertheless, the chapel fits perfectly into the background composition of the harsh walls and towers, harmoniously and smoothly combining its architectural appearance.
The construction of the chapel took place on an ancient burial ground, which was lined with crosses and stone slabs. On the wall on the east side there is an inscription that the project of the chapel was drawn up by the architect Vladovsky Alexander Ignatievich. There is an inscription on the next board with the date of the bookmark foundation, but it is very difficult to read. Most likely, the building was built in 1929, when the city of Izborsk belonged to the Republic of Estonia.
The chapel building is square in plan and covered with a roof with several slopes. The vault has a light drum with narrow windows on all cardinal points, as well as an elongated bulbous cupola and a cross located at the top. The base is folded with hewn granite. The entrance is decorated with an architectural portal and an icon case, and the corners are fixed with shoulder blades; Pskov ornament encircles the drum. Throughout the interior, the vault is visually supported by corner posts. In the western and eastern walls, there is an embedded cross and its part from a burial ground previously existing at this place.
