Church of Saints Boris and Gleb (Hrodna)
The Church of Saints Boris and Gleb ( Belarusian Царква Св. Барыса і Глеба ) is the oldest existing structure in Hrodna , Belarus . It stands at the early medieval settlement area Kaloscha and is therefore also called Kaloscha Church (Каложская царква). This historical church in Black Ruthenia differs from other Orthodox churches in the rich use of polychrome, faceted blue stones. These are provided with green and red tints and are arranged crossed. Sometimes there are also figures on the wall.
architecture
The church had a cross dome, which was supported by four square columns. The outside is emphasized by protruding pilaster strips , which, like the building itself, have rounded corners. In the front part of the nave there is the choir - gallery , which can be reached via narrow steps on the west wall. Two more stairs have been rediscovered in the walls of the side apses , and their meaning is still unclear. The church floor is covered with ceramic tiles that form a decorative pattern. The interior was once lined with countless built-in pitchers. Usually these were used as resonators in Eastern Orthodox churches . Here they served the decorative effect, and for this reason the main nave was never painted.
history
The church was built before 1183 and remained undamaged for a long time. It was pictured by Michał Kulesza in 1840 before the south wall partially collapsed in 1854. The reason was the location and proximity to the river bank of the Memel . During the restoration work that followed, fragments of a 12th century fresco were discovered in the apses. Remnants of four other churches in the same style, decorated with jugs and colored stones instead of frescoes, have been found in Hrodna and Vawkavysk. They can all be dated to the 13th century, as can the remains of the first stone palace in the old Hrodna Castle .
In 2004, the church was tentative list of UNESCO - World Heritage in Belarus added.
Individual evidence
Web links
Coordinates: 53 ° 40 ′ 42.1 ″ N , 23 ° 49 ′ 7.1 ″ E