Description of the attraction
Porzhensky Pogost is an abandoned village and a wonderful architectural complex located in the Kenozersky National Park of the Kargopol District of the Arkhangelsk Region. There is a monument of wooden architecture, which is now directly called a graveyard, but the concept of “graveyard” in the Russian North had a somewhat different meaning. A graveyard is a union of several villages or an administrative, cultural and commercial center.
Porzhensky churchyard, or rather, the church, which is now called a churchyard, is located halfway between the large lakes Kenozero and Lekshmozero on the shores of the shallow Porzhensky lake. In general, the Porzhensky Pogost is one of the most inaccessible architectural monuments in Russia.
The Porzhensky churchyard is located on the top of a low hill in the center of a field, surrounded on three sides by a forest, and on the fourth - by Lake Porzhen. The ensemble of the Porzhensky churchyard consists of a wooden St. George church and a bell tower from 1640, surrounded by a chopped fence with picturesque turrets of the 17th century, and is considered a masterpiece of Russian wooden architecture of pre-Petrine times. The Sacred Grove is located near the churchyard.
The Church of St. George the Victorious was built at the end of the 17th century and belongs to a unique type of cage. The stately square quadrangle of the church is completed by a steep gable roof, decorated with a head with a cross covered with a ploughshare (oblong, slightly curved planks in the form of a shovel or flat pyramid). A low refectory is adapted to the temple, and behind it there is a high bell tower with a tent. If you look from the inside, you can see 3 separate log cabins, although from the outside the church looks like a single building. The most ancient parts in the ensemble are the main frame and the altar extension. In the interior decoration of the St. George Church, a unique double heaven has been preserved: in the altar and the prayer hall. The apostles are depicted in the altar, the crucifix and archangels in the refectory. The "heavenly" frames are painted blue with a star decoration.
The church of the Porzhensky churchyard is surrounded by a chopped wooden fence. It is also of great interest, as it is one of three similar fences that have survived in the Russian North. The log fence is under a gable canopy. At the entrance and at the corners it is decorated with picturesque turrets. The fence surrounds not only the churchyard itself, but also the Sacred Grove with larch and fir trees. Some trees are very tall. They stand out from the rest, are visible from afar and, as if enchanted, attract the eyes.
The best photo of the churchyard, and everyone who gets to this place is sure to try to take it - from the wooden bell tower: wide open gates with a gate cross and a view of a dense forest and a lake. This perspective especially vividly expresses the quiet loneliness of the "wooden castle" hidden in the Arkhangelsk forests. To Kargopol (the nearest town) - about 150 kilometers, around - only swamps, spruce and abandoned villages with difficult Finno-Ugric names. It is difficult to get to the Porzhensky churchyard: part of the way you will need to walk along the gates. But the result is worth the effort and time spent.
