The history of the Kostroma church dedicated to the Most Merciful Savior begins in the 17th century. The brick church that has survived to this day is one of the most interesting religious buildings in the city. And although this temple was built during the reign of Catherine II, its architecture continued the traditions of Russian architecture of the 17th century. The old church and the high gate bell tower fit perfectly into the architectural ensemble of Gostiny Dvor and are significant sights of the central part of Kostroma.
Church history
The first mention of a wooden church on the trading square in the New Town, as this part of ancient Kostroma was then called, is attributed to the scribal book of 1623-30. This place was known as an old marketplace near the Kostroma Kremlin.
Bird's eye view of the Church of the Savior in Ryady
A stone temple appeared here in the 60s of the 18th century, and a wealthy merchant Stefan Semenovich Belov donated money for its construction. While in iconic architecture Moscow and St. Petersburg in those days the baroque reigned, the Savior Church was erected in the traditions of the 17th century. And it was consecrated in 1766. It is interesting that the first dedication of the church was made in honor of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. But local residents, according to old memory, called her Spasskaya.
When in the early 90s of the 18th century a large-scale construction of the architectural complex of Gostiny Dvor began, the stone temple was in the very midst of the shopping arcade. They were called Reds because they sold "red" goods - furs, smart clothes and shoes, leather goods and books. During this period, the famous architect in the city, Stepan Andreevich Vorotilov, became the author of the project for a high bell tower, which rose above the gates leading to the Volga. In place of the temple, this bell tower has become the high-rise dominant of the entire shopping complex.
View of the church from the Volga
At the beginning of the 19th century, a side-altar appeared near the church, dedicated to the Orthodox holiday of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. In it, unlike the temple itself, it was possible to hold services in the cold months. And fifty years later, the temple territory was separated from the Red Rows by a brick fence.
The beginning of the 20th century brought many changes. In 1929, by a decision of the authorities, services in the church were stopped, and the building itself was closed for believers. Then an anti-religious museum was set up here, and in the 1930s the five-domed church and the high bell tower were dismantled. Later, the museum exposition was replaced by warehouses. This was not motivated by economic needs, but rather by political considerations fueled by the state's anti-religious campaign. Indeed, in the nearby shopping malls there were quite enough premises for storing goods.
View of the Church of the Savior in Ryady and the bell tower from the side of Ostrovsky street
In the middle of the last century, the city began to restore the lost architectural monuments. It took a long time. The temple was recognized as needing restoration only in the 1970s and was transferred to the city's historical and architectural museum for introduction. Since the mid-1980s, the building of the temple began to be used as an exhibition hall.
The bell tower and the five-domed church were returned in 1974-1984. Restoration and restoration work was carried out under the leadership of L. S. Vasiliev and V. S. Shaposhnikov. Their main difficulty was that no project or description of the bell tower has survived. Therefore, experienced architects painstakingly restored the old building using numerous measurements and two photographs taken in 1908.
View of the church bell tower
In the spirit of Soviet times, crosses were not installed on the restored domes. This was done only in 1992. Then the bells were returned to the bell tower. Since then, a melodic bell ringing has been heard every day at noon in the central part of the city. The museum was in charge of the church until 2007, and then the church was returned to the parish community.
Architecture and interior decoration
The stone pillarless temple has one altar apse and five onion domes mounted on octagonal drums. It is brick-built and plastered. The large refectory is partly built into the Red Rows. On the north side, it is completed by a chapel crowned with a small cupola.
View of the church from the side of the Trade Rows
The four-tiered bell tower is composed of three quadruples and a dome with cut round lucarnes. Passage gates are made in its lower tier. The tall building (42 m) is crowned with a spire on an octagonal base - a lantern. The picturesque bell tower was built in the traditions of classicism, but has elements of the late Baroque, which was typical for provincial Russia at that time.
The facades of the temple are decorated with semi-columns, cornices, curb belts and kokoshniks. The window and door openings of the church are very unusually decorated - they are made in the form of frames of semi-columns and triangular pediments.
Church frescoes, painted at the end of the 19th century, have only been partially restored to date. The main part of the work on the restoration of the murals was carried out on the vault of the temple.
The current state of the temple and the visiting regime
The church is active and you can get into it every day from 8.00 to 16.00. Divine services in the church are held on Sundays and holidays at 9.00 and 16.00. Patronal holidays are celebrated on August 14 and October 14. A Sunday school has been set up at the church for the children of parishioners.
View of the domes of the Church of the Savior in Ryady
How to get there
The church is located on the street. Red Rows, 129.
By car. The road from the capital to Kostroma takes 4.5-5 hours (346 km) and runs along the Yaroslavl highway and the M8 highway (Kholmogory). In Kostroma on the road bridge you need to move to the left bank of the Volga and immediately turn left - on the street. Lower Wild. On it you need to get to the Central Park and go around it along Chaikovskogo and Sovetskaya streets from the north. The temple is located in the complex of the Kostroma trading rows, not far from the monument to Ivan Susanin.
View of the northern facade of the Church of the Savior in Ryady
By train or bus. From the Yaroslavsky railway station in Moscow to Kostroma, trains reach in 6.04-6.35 hours. In addition, from the Central Bus Station of the capital, located near the Shchelkovskaya metro station, you can get to Kostroma by regular buses (7 trips a day). This journey takes 6.50 hours. The Kostroma bus station is 1 km away from the railway station. You can drive up to the temple in the city by buses No. 1, 2, 6, 7, 14, 20, 21, 26, 101 and trolleybuses No. 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 (stops "Voskresenskaya Ploschad" and "Susaninskaya Ploshchad") ...
Attraction rating:
