Kizhi Pogost

About this place

Kizhi Pogost is a 17th-century historic site on Kizhi Island, in Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia. It is a fenced area holding two large wooden churches and a bell tower, the best known being the 22-dome Transfiguration Church. UNESCO listed it in 1990 for its beauty and long survival, even though it is built entirely of wood. It stands on a hill 4 metres above the lake, in the south of the island. Its basic unit is a round log of Scots pine about 30 cm across and 3 to 5 metres long. It is said to have been built without a single nail, with thousands of logs brought from the mainland, a hard task at the time. The altar of the Transfiguration Church was laid on 6 June 1714. You see it first from the boat, a dark line of domes above flat land and blue water. As you come closer the silvery wooden domes appear, piled in tiers up to the top, beside the nine-domed Intercession Church and a graceful bell tower. A timber and stone fence surrounds them, and the detail of boards and logs is the finest thing up close. It is about 56 km from Petrozavodsk in a straight line, reached by fast boat in summer, from June to September. In winter a visit is hard and limited. The island also has an open-air museum of wooden houses and mills, so allow a few hours. Bring a jacket, as the air on the lake is cold. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Russia, and non-Russian bank cards may not work, so read the current advice before you plan.