Address: Russia, Yaroslavl region, Yaroslavl, st. Andropova, 8
Start of construction: 1889 year
Completion of construction: 1892 year
Coordinates: 57 ° 37'31.8 "N 39 ° 53'27.6" E
Content:
Compared to the ancient pearls of Yaroslavl - monasteries and churches with a long history, the chapel of the holy noble Prince Alexander Nevsky, as an architectural monument, is young. She appeared in the city at the end of the 19th century. This temple is located in the very center of the city and resembles a small tent-roofed bell tower. It attracts many with its laconicism, beauty, and rich and sophisticated decorations.
The history of the Alexander Nevsky chapel
The reason for the construction of the chapel was the rescue of members of the royal family during a train wreck near Kharkov. The tragedy took place in the fall of 1888, and the fact that Alexander III and his loved ones survived was perceived by many in Russia as a miracle.
View of the chapel from the northwest
The Yaroslavl residents chose the territory of the city Mytny market as the place for the construction of the new church. And the project for it was carried out by the restorer and architect Nikolai Ivanovich Pozdeev. The money came from a wealthy Yaroslavl merchant Konstantin Mikhailovich Ognyanov. The first stone in the foundation of the future building was solemnly laid exactly one year after the train disaster - on October 17, 1889. On this day, a prayer service and a large, crowded procession were held.
Exactly three years later, the chapel was built and consecrated in honor of the heavenly patrons of all members of the royal family. The new church was dedicated to Alexander Nevsky, George the Victorious, St. Nicholas, Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene, St. Xenia of Milasskaya, Holy Grand Duchess Olga and Archangel Michael. However, it began to be called simply a temple in honor of the holy noble Prince Alexander Nevsky. The merchant Ognyanov, who was seriously ill, did not live up to the opening of the chapel and died in 1890. And his son, Mikhail, had to participate in the completion of the construction.
Inside the church there was a beautiful iconostasis, carved from oak by the remarkable Rostov master Mikhail Dmitrievich Levozorov according to the sketches of N.I. Pozdeeva. The icons for him were painted by the famous painter from Palekh Fyodor Galanov. The walls of the beautiful chapel also had elaborate biblical paintings.
View of the chapel from st. Nahimson
Later, in Yaroslavl, it became a tradition to hold a big holy year every year in mid-October. On this day, people walked from the Assumption Cathedral in the direction of the chapel of the Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky and carried the icon of Nicholas the Wonderworker, taken from the Nikolo-Babaevskaya monastery.
In 1918, with the advent of the new government, the chapel, like many religious buildings, was closed. During the struggle between the state and religion, its beautiful porch was dismantled, and the domes were removed from the building. To prevent the premises from being “empty”, inside the church itself, a dry-cleaner and a “Pchelovodstvo” store were arranged. In the late 70s, when they began to build a three-story building of the Yaroslavl regional party committee nearby, the chapel was generally going to be demolished. However, it didn’t come to that.
In 1982-1984, at the insistence of the architect Viktor Fedorovich Marov, the previously destroyed porch was restored. And later the building was used as an exhibition hall of the city art museum.
The chapel was returned to the faithful in the 80s of the last century. It took a lot of restoration and restoration work to get it back to its original appearance. In the early 2000s, the masters of the Yaroslavl Icon school took part in the renovation of the chapel's interior - painting the walls and ceiling. And the consecration of the temple took place in December 2002.
Chapel entrance
Architecture and interior decoration of the chapel of Alexander Nevsky
This chapel has become a real encyclopedia of architectural techniques used by Yaroslavl architects in the 17th century. It is made in the traditional Russian style - an octagon on a quadrangle. The tent of the temple is covered with ceramic tiles, which in their gray shade and texture resembles an ancient aspen ploughshare. A golden dome is installed on top of a beautiful low tent. On the west side of the chapel is attached a hip-roofed porch with barrel-shaped pillars on the sides. And from the east - a semicircular altar apse, crowned with a miniature gilded cupola.
The building itself was built of red brick, and its decorative elements, made in the traditions of the second half of the 17th century, are white. The chapel is richly decorated in the style of retrospectivism - fly pants with intricate tiles, crenellated cornices and kokoshniks.
The current state of the temple and the visiting regime
Today, the chapel is a courtyard of the Tolga women's monastery and is a monument of cultural heritage. The restored, functioning Orthodox church is a real decoration of the city.You can get inside the building only in summer. There is a church shop and services are held here on holidays. And around the temple in the park you can admire flower beds and stands with photographs of old Yaroslavl.
View of the chapel from st. Andropova
How to get to the chapel of Alexander Nevsky
The chapel is located in Yaroslavl in the center of the city, on Andropova street, 8 (formerly - Krestyanskaya), next to the building of the mayor's office.
By car. The federal highway M8 leads from Moscow to Yaroslavl. Within the city limits, it is called Moskovsky Prospekt. On it you need to cross the Korotosl River over the bridge, and then turn right and go along Deputatskaya Street to the chapel.
By train. From Moscow to Yaroslavl, express train trains reach in 3 hours 16 minutes. The journey by regular train takes from 4 to 5.5 hours. From Moskovsky Train Station in Yaroslavl, the distance to the Alexander Nevsky Chapel is 3.2 km. You can walk to it or take a minibus taxi.
