Deserts of the Trinity-Sergius: photo, architecture. What does the Trinity-Sergius desert look like?

An outstanding monument of Russian history - the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage (Russian patterned architecture) - today is protected by the state. However, the monastery had to endure difficult times, as a result of which part of the buildings were irretrievably lost. Today not every resident of Russia knows what the Trinity-Sergius desert looks like. This is the true heritage of Russian culture, and it deserves to be known to every Russian.

Foundation of the monastery

In 1734, the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna decided to transfer lands 10 versts from St. Petersburg, which previously housed the seaside duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the elder sister of the empress, her confessor. Archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra Varlaam wanted to retire, it was for this shelter that a new land was intended. Thus appeared the deserts of the Trinity-Sergius, by the name of the monastery, in which Varlaam used to serve. The word "deserts" meant "a place of solitude, reclusiveness", later "monastery". Varlaam also received permission to move a small wooden church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin from the estate of Queen Praskovia Fedorovna to the new abode. It became the first temple of the monastery, which was consecrated in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh on May 2, 1735. Deserts, thanks to the authority of the abbot, quickly becomes famous, its weight in the religious life of St. Petersburg is rapidly increasing, but for 30 years the monastery remains a small secluded place near the Gulf of Finland.

Years of heyday

Under Elizaveta Petrovna, the deserts of the Trinity-Sergius acquire a new status. The Empress decided to create an "ideal" monastery on the basis of the monastery and undertakes a number of actions for this. The daughter of Peter the Great was very fond of building, in her reign Petersburg gained many worthy structures: the Winter Palace, the Smolny Convent Cathedral , the Great Peterhof Palace, the Tsarskoye Selo Great Palace.

Having decided to transform the Trinity-Sergius desert, to which she had special feelings: in the chambers of the abbot of the monastery she waited for the outcome of the fateful coup d'état and here the first service was held in honor of the happy end of this event, Elizaveta Petrovna begins with construction. The Empress orders architect P.A. Trezzini project of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. The architect takes as a basis the initial version of the Smolny monastery project Rastrelli and creates a new image of the future temple.

In 1756 the cathedral began to erect, after that the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh was built in 1758, stone cells for monks, watchtowers and walls were built. In 1764, the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage in Strelna receives independence, it no longer obeys the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, and its own archimandrite stands at the head of the monastery. But Elizabeth no longer saw this transformation of her beloved desert, for which the most successful period does not come. The post of archimandrite is often occupied by new persons who simply do not have time to do something serious for the development of the desert.

Only in 1834 the period of the true heyday of the Trinity-Sergius desert begins. At the head of the monastery there is a very interesting man - Ignaty Bryanchaninov, a brilliant graduate of the Engineering School, a strong poet, a nobleman, who abandoned fascinating social life and gave his strength for the prosperity of the monastery. Nicholas the First gave him a covenant - to make a sample of all monasteries from the Trinity-Sergius desert. For twenty years the abbot sought this goal, and very much he succeeded.

One of the frequent guests of the monastery was the emperor himself, who often asked for advice and blessings from the archimandrite. Ignatius established rather strict orders in the monastery, creating a canon by the type of Optina Desert. His successor, Ignatius Malyshev, for the next 40 years continued the work of developing and strengthening the monastery. During this period, the Trinity-Sergius Desert, a photo of which today is only given part of its grandeur, is built up with new structures: temples, residential buildings, farm buildings, a library that numbered more than 6,000 books. The monastery becomes a real small town, it opened several schools, a wheelchair, a hospital for poor people, a hotel. A plot of 50 acres was added to it, where the monks grew their crops and vegetables. The Trinity-Sergius Desert becomes a prestigious and authoritative place, people come here to pray to know, many famous and famous people rested in its cemetery.

The last abbot of the monastery Sergius was the confessor of the great princes Dmitry and Konstantin Romanov. Before the revolution, the monastery played an important spiritual role in the life of the state, it was a notable cultural and economic center.

Years of loss

Everything changed after the revolution. In 1919 the monastery of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage was closed, although the services continued for some time. The bulk of the monks were sent into exile, some remained in the local labor commune. The property of the monastery was plundered, in 1921 the Bolsheviks exponentially shot the rector of Sergius. In 1931, a military school of retraining was opened here. During the war, the buildings of the monastery suffered greatly during the shelling. But the worst begins in the 60's. In 1962 the Trinity Cathedral was no longer considered a monument and demolished. The Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary was blown up in 1964, at the height of Khrushchev's anti-religious campaign. In 1968, the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was destroyed.

Monastery today

In 1993, the Trinity-Sergius Desert, a photo of which at that time represented a miserable sight, was transferred to the Orthodox Church. Slowly began the reconstruction work, monks once again settled in the monastery. In the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh regular services are conducted, the destroyed cemetery is being restored, restoration work is being carried out in the surviving buildings. Monks dream of ever recovering lost, but until the hands have reached it, there are still a lot of work in the monastery. But still the Trinity-Sergius desert, whose architecture is partially preserved and today is striking with the skill and talent of architects, pleases the visitor's eye with its buildings.

Architectural complex

The architectural style of the desert can be defined as traditional Russian patterned architecture. In the buildings of the monastery are combined the established architectural canons with innovative ideas. When the monastery was created, classical planning schemes were used, when the main temple and the square adjacent to it become the center of the composition, and the rest of the buildings are already located around it. The main building of the territory occurs in the second half of the 19th century. Here you can see the elements of eclecticism, which was relevant for the Russian and European architecture of the time. Also for the buildings of the monastery is characterized by the presence of Russian motifs.

The Trinity-Sergius Desert, whose patterned architecture became an example of the use of national motifs in the temple architecture, was built as a Russian monastery, the cathedrals and all buildings had to speak about it. The final appearance of the monastery was formed by the last quarter of the 19th century, the complex included more than 10 ceremonial buildings and several buildings for various purposes. Many famous architects worked here . P. Trezzini created a project of the Trinity Cathedral and a planning project for the development of the territory, Luigi Ruska built the Invalid House, A.M. Gornostaev built the Pokrovsky and Spassky Chapels, worked on the projects of the churches of the Intercession and Gregory the Theologian, according to Rastrelli's project, monastic cells were built. Of great importance was the monastery cemetery, where many famous sons of Russia are buried, today its historical appearance is gradually restored.

Temple of St. Sergius

The Trinity-Sergiyeva Desert was originally built around the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh. The first temple was wooden, it was transported from St. Petersburg. At the end of the 18th century, the first stone cathedral was erected in its place, which in 1854 was again significantly rebuilt. Architect Gornostayev builds a church in the Byzantine style, with five chapters and two chapels: Christ the Savior with the tomb of the Apraksins and the martyr Zinaida with the graves of the princes Yusupovs. The large two-storeyed temple houses up to 2 thousand people, it is decorated with windows with stained-glass windows in Romanesque style. The iconostasis is decorated with precious and semiprecious stones, the mosaic floor is made according to the sketches of the architect. The cathedral survived all difficult times and continues to operate today.

Architecture of the Trinity Monastery

The Trinity Monastery became the heart of the monastery. It was laid in 1756, the works were directed by the architect P. Trezzini. The five-domed cathedral made of stone was erected in four years. The temple was struck by rich interior decoration: moldings, murals and murals, a lot of light - all this created a sense of celebration. A small temple, with a capacity of 600 people, amazed with a magnificent view. In it, Trezzini embodied the best of Baroque architecture. A lot of details, stucco moldings, five freely placed domes with columns made the temple grand and luxurious. It became the standard for the construction of churches throughout Russia for a whole 20 years.

Temple of St. Martyr Valerian

Desert Trinity-Sergius was the last refuge of many great people, one of them became Count Valerian Zubov, an outstanding commander, conqueror of Derbent. On the site of his repose was built a two-story temple with an empire-style portico. The building has an unusual shape of the rotunda, which houses a semicircular iconostasis. The building is a single complex with an invalid house. Until today, the structure has survived, but in a highly distorted form due to the restructuring in the 40s of the 20th century, when the labor colony was located here.

Orthodox church of the Protection of the Holy Virgin

Deserts were built up due to well-known customers, so the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin became a building commissioned by Prince Kochubei in honor of his deceased wife. The project of the cathedral was created by R. Kuzmin, in 1859-1863 it was altered and completed by Harald Bosse. A small but very high temple was designed in the Renaissance style, formed the historical appearance of the monastery. The building was faced with a gray stone from Scotland and very much like the Florence cathedrals. The church was destroyed in 1964.

St. Gregory's Church

The church of St. Gregory the Theologian was built in 1855-1857 on the design of the court architect Alexander II. The Stackenschneider. It is sustained in the Russian-Byzantine style and is a small room with a two-tier iconostasis painted on a gold background and a white marble descent to the tomb of Count G. Kushelev. The Trinity-Sergius Hermitage today is working on the restoration of the interior of the temple, which has been preserved in a converted form, but does not work.

Church of the Resurrection

St. Petersburg Monastery Trinity-Sergius Hermitage has always been the embodiment of the Russian spirit. The most "Russian" building can be called a tent church in the name of the Resurrection of Christ. It was built in 1877-1880 by A.Parland, the famous author of the Cathedral of the Savior on Blood in St. Petersburg. Facades of multi-colored brick, stained glass windows, bas-reliefs with figures of Russian saints - all this made the Resurrection Cathedral like a beautiful toy. The interior decoration of silver, porphyry, bronze also struck magnificence. In 1968 the church was blown up.