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Church of St. Nicholas the Ratnoy (Kazan)

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Photos

  • Церковь Николы-Ратного (Казань). Photo 1

Description

The Church of St. Nicholas the Ratnoy, built in the second half of the 16th century in the southwestern part of the Kazan Kremlin, is one of the most ancient buildings in the city and an important architectural monument. The building was built from Volga limestone and was named in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. Popularly it received the name of Nikola Ratny due to the fact that the archers of the Kazan garrison made up the bulk of the parish.

The original building had thick walls made of large limestone blocks, reinforced with piles, and was reminiscent in its architectural form of a classic Novgorod single-domed temple. However, in 1815 the church was badly damaged by a fire, which partially destroyed the dome. In the same year, it was rebuilt according to the design of the provincial architect A. Schmidt, while the vaults were dismantled, the second floor was rebuilt in brick and covered with a box vault. In 1820, a chapel was built at the temple in the name of St. John Climacus.

During the Soviet period, the dome was lost, but in the 1990s, restoration work began under the leadership of the architect G. Gayazov. Thanks to these works, it was possible to preserve the white stone basement of the 16th century and part of the architectural elements of the church.

The Church of St. Nicholas the Ratnoy is part of the historical heritage of the Republic of Tatarstan and currently belongs to the Museum of Archeology. Its significance as one of the first stone structures in Kazan is emphasized by historical research and restoration efforts.

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