Description of the attraction
There is a huge number of churches in Veliky Ustyug, but only the Ascension Church stands apart, which distinguishes it among other rich decorative decorations, which make it akin to the famous Church of the Nativity and Trinity Churches located in Moscow.
The stone Church of the Ascension was built in 1648 at the expense of a wealthy Ustyug merchant and Moscow guest Revyakin Nikifor. The church looked like a complex architectural structure at the turn of the 17th century. After some time, as a result of considerable reconstructions, the temple has undergone some changes.
The composition of the temple is built on a combination of a wide variety of volumes, which make up a picturesque complex asymmetric group. The main quadrangle of the church is slender and tall, with several tiers of kokoshniks at the end. In addition, the quadrangle is crowned with surprisingly beautifully arranged faceted heads, as well as openwork forged crosses. On the east side, a fairly low altar with three apses made in semicircles adjoins the main volume. Large window openings are framed in the form of elegant platbands made of relief polychrome tiles. The two-storey annex is located on the north side, which is located next to the warm church named in honor of the Epiphany of the Lord, as well as not far from the Exaltation of the Cross chapel on the first floor, the chapel of Tsarevich Dmitry and the Resurrection Church and the refectory on the top floor. A staircase leads to the second floor, located on the west side of the building and decorated with a high and colorful porch. The architectural silhouette of the temple is perfectly complemented by a tiered bell tower, which is completed by a spire made in the form of an angel figurine.
The amazingly picturesque view of the Church of the Ascension is in close connection with the special expressiveness of the artistic and architectural forms of the rich facade decor, which gives it a festive elegance. The facades of the walls are decorated with details typical of the 17th century, for example, small square caissons with niches (flies), crenellated cornices, paired semi-columns, and various curly window frames. It is all this variety and richness of forms that are complemented by glittering glazed tiles, which have found their application in cornices and beads, in kokoshnik tympans, as well as in the form of independent inserts.
An important artistic value is the interior of the Church of the Ascension, which contains a whole collection of monuments of icon painting and iconostasis art of Veliky Ustyug of the 18th century. The church iconostasis of the Ascension Church - a five-tiered carved one - was erected in the 40-50s of the 18th century. A cut-through flat-relief plant carving covers the curbstones under the local icons in an elegant pattern. The richest volumetric carving is found on the royal doors and dividing columns of the upper tier. The iconostasis ends in the form of a carved crucifix, on both sides of which there are paired figurines of angels, made in the 17-18 century according to the technique of flat-relief carving.
The gilded carved three-tiered iconostasis of the Resurrection side-altar looks especially rich and elegant. First of all, it is interesting because it is a collection of icons of the popular Ustyug icon painter of the early 18th century Stefan Sokolov, a famous representative of the family of hereditary Ustyug icon painters. In his work, he tried to follow the best traditions of the most famous "Ustyug messages", celebrating all the elegance of drawing, exquisite color, purity of lines, drawing details and addiction to miniatures. The date of the creation of the majestic iconostasis in the Resurrection Church was restored only from the signed icons of Sokolov, namely the icons "The Mother of God Odigitria of Smolensk" and "The Resurrection of Christ", dating from 1718-1719.
In 2009, the Museum of Old Russian Art was opened in the Ascension Church, the creation of which took place as part of the program of the Severstal society. The museum perfectly presents monuments of icon painting of the 15-17th centuries of Veliky Ustyug, as well as works of facial sewing, old printed and handwritten books.
