Church of the Intercession on the Nerl

Diminutive church dominating the area by virtue of its siting and proportions.

Another view of the church, showing its location along the river

The Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin on the Nerl River (Russian: Церковь Покрова на Нерли, Tserkov Pokrova na Nerli) is an Orthodox church and a symbol of mediaeval Russia.

The church is situated at the confluence of Nerl and Klyazma Rivers in Bogolyubovo, 13 km north-east of the ancient capital of Vladimir.

The church was commissioned by Andrei Bogolyubsky. According to some sources in the literature, it was built in 1165 to commemorate Andrei's slain son Izyaslav. But Izyaslav died in autumn 1165, and the church could not have been built before the winter. The actual date of the church's construction, based on the analysis of ancient Russian Chronicles by Prof. Zagraevsky, is 1158.

The monument is built in white stone, and has one dome and four columns in the interior. Its proportions are elongated on purpose to make its outline seem more slender, although this architectural solution made its interior too dark for holding divine services.

For centuries, the memorial church greeted everyone approaching the palace at Bogolyubovo. In spring, the area would be flooded, and the church appeared as if floating on water. The church itself has not been touched by later generations; only the dome's shape has been slightly changed, and porch-galleries were added in the 12th-century, rebuilt in 18th-century and then demolished. The walls are still covered with 12th-century stonecarvings.

In 1992, the church was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the site White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal.

Literature

• Prof. Sergey Zagraevsky. On the Question of the Construction and Date of the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin on the Nerl. Chapter from the book New Research of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum’s Architectural Monuments. Moscow, 2008.

External links

• Media related to Church of the Intercession on the Nerl at Wikimedia Commons
• Views of the church
• A short description and photos (Russian)