Russia Volga Lago artificiale e radiotelescopio

The Kalyazin Bell Tower (russian: Калязинская колокольня) is a Neoclassical

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

rising to a height of over the waters of the

Uglich Reservoir Uglich Reservoir or Uglichskoye Reservoir (russian: У́гличское водохрани́лище) is an artificial lake in the upper part of the Volga River formed by the Uglich Hydroelectric Station dam. It was built in 1939 in the town ...

on the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

opposite the old town of

Kalyazin Kalyazin (russian: Каля́зин) is a town and the administrative center of Kalyazinsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, northeast of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: ...

, in

Tver Oblast Tver Oblast (russian: Тверска́я о́бласть, ''Tverskaya oblast'', ), from 1935 to 1990 known as Kalinin Oblast (), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Tver. It was named after Mikhai ...

, northwestern Russia.

History

The steepled belfry was built in 1796—1800 as part of the

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of St. Nicholas, with a pentacupolar

katholikon A ''katholikon'' or catholicon ( gr, καθολικόν) or ''sobor'' ( Slavonic: съборъ) refers to one of three things in the Eastern Orthodox Church: * The cathedral of a diocese. * The major church building (temple) of a monastery corre ...

dating from 1694. Of its 12

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

s, the largest weighed some 1038

pood ''Pood'' ( rus, пуд, r=pud, p=put, plural: or ) is a unit of mass equal to 40 ''funt'' (, Russian pound). Since 1899 it is set to approximately 16.38 kilograms (36.11 pounds). It was used in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. ''Pood'' was first ...

s (17,000kg). It was cast in 1895 to commemorate the coronation of

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

. ;Submersion When

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

ordered the construction of the Uglich Dam in 1939 to form the

, the old parts of Kalyazin, including several medieval structures, were submerged under the reservoir's waters. This included the

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-da ...

Monastery and Troitsky Makariev Monastery. The katholikon was dismantled, while the campanile was left, a landmark towering above the water.

Present day

The campanile became the main destination of tourist interest in eastern

. The structure's islet was shored up underneath, and has a small

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

for boats.

Orthodox Christians Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...

hold a Divine Service in the belfry several times a year.

References

External links

{{commons category, Bell tower of Saint Nicholas Church (Kalyazin) Christian bell towers Towers in Russia Towers completed in 1800 Buildings and structures in Tver Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Tver Oblast Neoclassical church buildings in Russia

History

Present day

See also

References

External links