Description of the attraction
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior is located on the elevated shore of the lake called Vekhno. There is a cemetery along the entire perimeter. In the warm season, the church is literally buried in the green foliage of many overgrown trees.
The wooden church that previously existed on this site, located on the Vekhno churchyard, was built in the 13th century and was badly dilapidated. Throughout 1757, local parishioners and the Novgorod diocese submitted a request for the construction of a new stone church with the same name and the same three side-chapels. Soon after the petition, an order was received to the Novgorod diocese to demolish the dilapidated church with a chapel in the name of Varlaam of Khutynsky and to build a stone church with three chapels: in the name of St. John the Baptist, Our Lady of Kazan and the Monk Varlaam of Khutynsky.
The newly built church was consecrated in 1767, which is mentioned in the clerical records for the 19th century, which is why it is believed that it was in 1767 that the construction of the church took place. Major Ivan Mikhailovich Kokoshkin became the customer of the church. Records dating back to 1795 mention that a stone bell tower existed at the church. According to the information of the clergy statements, the church bell tower was built much later than the church. In the 19th century, there was a throne located on the mezzanine, which was consecrated in the name of the Monk Varlaam of Khutynsky.
The main component of the composition of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior was the volume of the church, represented by a powerful quadrangle, which rises above an octagon, a small light drum, an octagonal roof, as well as a metal dome and a cross. From the western part, the refectory room adjoins the quadrangle, equipped with window openings, which are located in two tiers.
From the west, a stone four-tier bell tower with a spire adjoins the refectory; it is the bell tower that brings the overall picture into balance, clearly emphasizing its vertical guides. On the east side, the apse adjoins the main volume, about half of its height. This composition has no side-altars, which makes it very strict and symmetrical; the planning structure of the composition is stretched from east to west in the sequence: apse, quadrangle, refectory room and bell tower.
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord is a pillarless temple, while the smooth transition from the four to the eight is made with the help of trumpets. The overlapping of the octagon is made by an octahedral closed vault, and on it there is a light octahedral drum with four window openings, which are located on all cardinal points. On the northern and southern walls of the quadrangle there are a pair of window openings located in the upper tiers, as well as one door and one window opening in the lower tiers. Not only window, but also doorways have arched arch lintels, as well as patterned forged lattices made of metal. The doors are made of wood and lined with iron. The church apse is slightly elongated to the east side; it is pentahedral and has two windows, as well as niche-cabinets on the south and north walls. The wall on the east side has a huge arched opening that leads to the altar; the iconostasis adjoins the same wall. There are still metal guides in the light drum. There is a large opening in the west wall that leads to the refectory, which is fitted with a flat ceiling.
All available window openings are decorated with platbands, while only the platbands of the second tier of the bell tower are decorated with figured endings. The decorative design of the facades is made with blades, which in the lower and middle tiers are completed with capitals; the church bell tower has inter-tiered rods.
The church iconostasis is decorated with carvings in the rocaille style. To a greater extent, the carving is concentrated within the very framework of icons, columns, royal doors and pilasters. On the northern and southern walls of the quadrangle there are icons dating from the 18th century, decorated in openwork carved frames. On one of the walls there are images of Prince Alexander Nevsky and the Great Martyr Catherine.
The church has never been closed, and now it operates.
