History and Culture: Restoration of the Church of the Transfiguration on Kizhi island completed

The Church of the Transfiguration with 22 domes will be opened after a large 11-year restoration on Kizhi island. It is planned that the first church service since 1937 will be held here on the day of the Transfiguration (August 19, 2020).

The iconostasis of the Church of the Transfiguration is one of the greatest monuments of the old Russian icon painting of the XVIII century in the Russian North. In 1980 the unique temple was in a critical condition and closed to visitors.

In 1990, Kizhi Pogost was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in Russia along with the Moscow Kremlin and the historical center of Saint-Petersburg. In 2009, its restoration was launched.

A technology of staged logs' removal was created especially for this object. It has no analogs in the world. The temple was divided into seven restoration parts, each of them could be removed from the log house without disturbing the rest.

During the restoration, the task was to avoid the loss of historical material. As a result, the new material was only 36%. The restoration was annually monitored by experts from the International Council on Monuments and Sites, who worked on behalf of UNESCO.

Now, a genuine iconostasis with 105 icons is assembled. The temple's interior reconstruction will be completed soon. The church will be ready to receive the first visitors in the summer of 2020. They will see the iconostasis in its historical place - in the main temple of the reserved island.