Description of the attraction
The cathedral bell tower is a landmark of the city of Kargopol, its original symbol. It is located on the New Trade Square. The bell tower building is three-tiered, topped with a four-sided dome with a spire and a cross. The total height is 61.5 meters. This is the tallest structure in Kargopol, which is visible from a distance.
In 1765, a terrible fire broke out in Kargopol, which destroyed many city buildings, and the inhabitants thought that the city would never be rebuilt. Novgorod Governor Ya. E. Sivere asks Catherine II for help to the victims of the fire (in 1727-1776 the Kargopol district belonged to the Novgorod province). Kargopol receives a significant amount of money, and Sivere, inspired by the empress's generosity, decides to build a stone column in the city, which will serve as a reminder to descendants that Catherine II revived the city from the ashes.
In October 1767, the governor ordered the construction of a stone bell tower in Kargopol, not a column. The architects were the merchant V. G. Kerezhin and the bourgeois F. S. Shusherin. Guided by the urban planning principles of those years, based on strict regular planning, they chose a place for the bell tower on the square. The vast span of its lower tier was clearly directed along the axis of Leningradskaya Street, along which the St. Petersburg Highway once passed. Interestingly, the cross was also oriented towards the tract, and not east, as was usually done. The violation of tradition was caused by the expected passage of the Empress through Kargopol, but the trip of Catherine II did not take place.
The bottom of the bell tower is made in the form of a high passage gate. Four significant abutments are so powerful that in the thickness of one of them there is a staircase leading upward. The lower tier is strict, stern, heavy. On the sides it is processed by strongly protruding massive pillars (pylons). A shield with the monogram of Empress Catherine II was installed above the arch of the lower tier, which faces Leningradskaya Street, but it was removed during the Soviet years.
The second tier of the bell tower is lighter, decorated with columns of the Ionic order. Together with the third tier (the bells of four churches hung here), it served as a belfry. The third tier is decorated with flat pilasters. Once upon a time, a chiming clock was installed here.
In style, the Kargopol bell tower differs from the Resurrection Church and the Church of St. John the Baptist, standing on the square, be that as it may, it is among them a unifying vertical and contributes to the creation of a magnificent architectural ensemble.
In 1993, bells were resumed at the Cathedral Bell Tower. Local bell ringer O. M. Panteleev, a teacher at the children's art school, received recognition throughout the country for the performance of bells. At the Yaroslavl Bell and Choral Music Festival in 1999, he was awarded a 1st degree diploma.
In July 2001, a misfortune happened in Kargopol. During a thunderstorm, lightning struck the bell tower and it caught fire. At the suggestion of the local population, a collection of folk funds for the restoration of the bell tower was announced. Through the efforts of the workers of the Kargopol Museum, with funds donated by local residents, by 2003 the building of the bell tower was restored, and a new gilded cross appeared on the dome.
Inside the Cathedral Bell Tower there is a narrow spiral staircase that leads to the observation deck. A magnificent view of Kargopol and its picturesque surroundings opens up from here.
