The Natural Landscapes of Karelia and Khizi
Karelia is a region that lies between two Nordic countries, Russia and Finland. The region is noted for its stunning natural landscapes filled with forests and lakes.
Karelia has access to both the White Sea and the Gulf of Finland. Here are two of the largest lakes in Europe, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega.
The republic of Karelia is located in the Russian part of Karelia. This region has its own language, like Finnish, and an ancient culture.
Some of the highlights of the region include some traditional villages and towns. Pegrema is an abandoned village that is located on the shores of Lake Onega. The old wooden houses are still standing. All these houses are made of hardwood, and its windows have views over the beautiful lake. There is even a small chapel dating from 1770.
This region is also the famous island of Kizhi. The island, located near Lake Onega, is quite small but notable for its unusual architecture and open-air museum. This can be seen in Kizhi Pogost, some churches dating from the seventeenth century. In the 1950s, some structures that were previously scattered throughout the region were transported to the city to keep them.
The open-air museum of Kizhi was opened in 1951. There are Kizhi Pogost and 87 structures, all built without nails, using hardwood on a stone base. Therefore, the region now has more than 80 wooden structures and is a sort of outdoor museum, and was recently named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The Kizhi Pogost a historical site dating from the seventeenth century. All buildings are wood and were built without using a single nail. Emphasize the two main structures.
The first church is the church, or Tserkov Preobrazheniya Gospodnya is considered a summer church, since there is no heating. The altar of this unique wooden church dates from 1714. Inside the church there are about 102 icons, and the oldest dating from the seventeenth century. This church has 22 domes and is about 37 meters high.
The second church is known as Pokrovskaya Tserkov, and is considered the winter church, because here there is heating, which allowed celebrating Mass during the colder months. This church was first rebuilt when a fire wiped out all the original structures in the seventeenth century. This church, 32 feet high, has nine domes and not a single nail.
There is also a bell tower was built in 1862 on the ruins of the old bell tower. The tower is 30 meters high and was rebuilt twice more since the wood was deteriorating rapidly.
The Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus fourteenth century is also located within the Pogost, and is one of the oldest churches in the country. Formerly, the church was part of the Murom Monastery.
There are still remnants of the old wall that was built in the seventeenth century to protect the region from Polish and Swedish invasion. Party was rebuilt last century. The wall is located near the two oldest churches, and the bell tower. At the entrance of the wall is a big tower.
In the Museum there are several exhibitions on the ancient icons of saints, which date from the XVI and XIX. Some galleries display everyday objects that were used from the sixteenth century, in addition to old drawings and photographs that represent both the more traditional side as the most modern Khizhi and the region.
Kizhi is located near Kem. Kem is a small historic town of Karelia is situated on the banks of the Kern River and the White Sea. In this charming town with beautiful scenery are also several wooden structures that date from centuries past. Kem Cathedral stands dating from the early eighteenth century and is full of elaborate seventeenth-century icons.
On the island of Kizhi is also home to several species of birds, fish and animals. There are great forests full of different types of trees, and landscapes from the small nearby islands are breathtaking.
The lands of the region are used for agriculture, but even today retain some of the farms as part of the open-air museum. Other activities typical of the region are making hand-made wooden toys and production of jewelry and handmade embroideries.
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Europe | Author | July 22, 2010
architecture, famous island, Finland., hand-made wooden toys, handmade embroideries, Karelia, Kizhi, Kizhi Pogost, Lake Onega, natural landscapes, Nordic countries, open-air museum, Russia, World Heritage Site
