Kolomenskoye (Russian: Коло́менское) is a former royal
estate situated several kilometers to the southeast of the city center of
Moscow, Russia. The 390 hectare scenic area overlooks the steep banks of the
Moskva River and it became a part of Moscow in the 1960s.
The original
Kolomenskoye village was developed as a favourite country estate of grand
princes of Muscovy. The earliest existing structure is the exceptional
Ascension church (1532), built in white stone to commemorate the long-awaited
birth of an heir to the throne, the future Ivan the Terrible. It is the first
stone church of tent-like variety and is sometimes referred to as the
"White Column" . This church
represents a break from the traditional (Byzantine) way of building churches.
The church reaches toward the sky from a low cross-shaped
podklet (ground floor), followed by a prolonged chetverik (octagonal body) and
then an octagonal tent, crowned by a tiny dome. The whole vertical composition
is believed to have been borrowed from hipped roof-style wooden churches of the
Russian North. Recognizing its outstanding value for humanity, UNESCO decided
to inscribe the church on the World Heritage List in 1994.
There are of course other structures in Kolomenskoye
notably the reconstructed Alexis I palace.
This postcard came from Anna (6 January 2015)
Postcrossing.
No comments:
Post a Comment