Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin at the Marketplace

The Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God on the Torga had also the names "on the Goat's Beard", "on the Goat Brod". Probably, the popular names are associated with the fact that there was a stream nearby with a ford, through which the goats were chased. The church was originally built wooden in 1133, and in 1135 the construction of a stone church began, which was built only in 1144. The construction of the stone church was associated with the unsuccessful battle for the Novgorodians on Zhdan Gora (in the south of the Yaroslavl region) in 1135. The battle took place during the conflict between the Mstislavichs (the sons of Prince Mstislav the Great and the grandsons of Vladimir Monomakh) with the younger Vladimirovichs (the younger sons of Vladimir Monomakh), that is, this is a conflict between nephews and uncles. The Novgorod prince Vsevolod Mstislavich fled from the battlefield, in connection with which, somewhat later, during the uprising, by the decision of the Novgorod veche in May 1136, he was deprived of the prince's table. This event is usually called the beginning of the Novgorod Republic. The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin is the last major princely temple building in Novgorod. It was a large enough temple. However, from the original building in the current structure, only the walls to a height of 1.2 meters have been preserved. Over the past centuries, the church has been rebuilt several times, which was caused by numerous fires. The annals mention about two dozen fires in the church. It is not known exactly when and how the restructuring took place. The church was on the market or on the market. In the 16th century, there was a "horse ground" near it, where horses were traded. The chronicle mentions the construction at the beginning of the 15th century of the stone church of the holy righteous Alexei the Man of God near the Church of the Assumption. It is unclear whether this was originally an extension to the Church of the Assumption or an independent building. Later in the 17th century, the church already had the side-chapel of Alexei the Man of God on the south side. On the north side was the chapel of Catherine the Martyr. In the 17th century, a chapel was added to the church in the name of Archbishop Nifont (the builder of the temple), it existed in 1685, but in the middle of the 19th century it was no longer there. During the Swedish occupation of 1611-1617, the Church of the Assumption was not damaged. In the years 1830-1860, a three-tiered bell tower with a porch was added to the church, through which there was an entrance to the church from the west. In the 1930s, the church was closed and, as was the custom of the Soviet regime, a warehouse was set up in it. During the war, the church was slightly damaged. The south side-chapel was preserved intact, and the north side-chapel lost its roof, but retained the walls and apse. After the war, it was dismantled. Until now, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin has come down in such a many times rebuilt form that nothing has remained of its original appearance. Actually, it is generally not known what this initial appearance was. Now the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin is a six-pillar, three-nave, three-apse temple. The apses are large, in the entire facade, of the same height, but the central one is larger than the lateral ones. The apse is also preserved at the south aisle. There was also an apse at the north side-chapel before it was dismantled. The temple has one dome, but it is possible that initially there were three domes and it was three-domed, like the St. George Cathedral of the Yuryev Monastery. The drum has four large windows and is decorated with a decorative runner and curb sash. The roof of the church is hipped. Initially, apparently, the roof was also different, possibly zakomarny, since the facades are divided by blades, united by arches of zakomar. Inside, the church seems to be two-story, there are cellars below. The church is not in very good condition, especially on the west side, where the porch collapses and the plaster is crumbling. As a result of the destruction of the northern aisle, although the southern one was abandoned, the structure looks somehow one-sided and asymmetrical. while the north side gives the impression of emptiness, as if something is missing there. In old photographs of the late 19th century, the Church of the Assumption looks undoubtedly more beautiful than it is now. What the church is now inside is unknown, because it is closed and it is impossible to get into it. One can only look at the exterior.

A historical place, few places where you can see the paintings of the 11-12 centuries. It's amazing how it has survived to this day. An extremely rare case when you can look in, albeit not active, but the altar. I really liked the inside, the exposure is good. But I would have worked on the media panorama, we expected to be shown what the decoration of the temple could have been during its construction. And they showed only the overview of the Kremlin, which was also interesting.

The memorial church of the era of princely feuds built in 1144 is dedicated to the Novgorodians who died at Zhdanaya Mountain in an unsuccessful campaign on Suzdal. Repeatedly underwent major restructuring. In 1458, a new church was completely dismantled and on the previous foundation. It is difficult to imagine how dense the ancient buildings of the Yaroslav's Courtyard remained, including the remains of civil engineering of 13-15 centuries. All this was systematically destroyed under the Soviet regime until the 1960s. The Assumption Church has lost the northern chapel and the bell tower. I don’t imagine what is inside, or when I haven’t seen it open.

Awesomely beautiful church, in my opinion. And not only in my, not without reason, in the warm season, young and not-so-old artists like to paint her.

A beautiful place where several old Churches are assembled. Part of the masonry is open for viewing. Previously, there was a trading place.