The ''Kalozha'' church of Sts. Boris and Gleb (Belarusian: ''Каложская царква, Царква Св. Барыса і Глеба'') is the oldest extant structure in

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. It is the only surviving monument of ancient

Black Ruthenia Black Ruthenia ( la, Ruthenia Nigra), or Black Rus' ( be, Чорная Русь, translit=Čornaja Ruś; lt, Juodoji Rusia; pl, Ruś Czarna), is a historical region on the Upper Nemunas, including Novogrudok (Naugardukas), Grodno (Gardinas) an ...

n architecture, distinguished from other Orthodox churches by prolific use of polychrome faceted stones of blue, green or red tint which could be arranged to form crosses or other figures on the wall.

Architecture

The church is a cross-domed building supported by six circular pillars. The outside is articulated with projecting pilasters, which have rounded corners, as does the building itself. The ante-nave contains the choir loft, accessed by a narrow gradatory in the western wall. Two other stairs were discovered in the walls of the side apses; their purpose is not clear. The floor is lined with ceramic tiles forming decorative patterns. The interior was lined with innumerable built-in pitchers, which usually serve in Eastern Orthodox churches as resonators but in this case were scored to produce decorative effects. For this reason, the central nave has never been painted.

History

The church was built before 1183 and survived intact, depicted in the 1840s by

Michał Kulesza The Romantic painter Michał Kulesza (26 November 1799 – 6 November 1863) was among the first lithographers in the area of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, ruled by Russia for almost all of his life. His frequent theme, sites linked to th ...

, until 1853, when the south wall collapsed, due to its perilous location on the high bank of the Neman. During restoration works, some fragments of 12th-century frescoes were discovered in the apses by the architectural historian,

Vasiliy Griaznov Vasiliy Vasilievich Griaznov (Belarusian:Васіль Васільевіч Гразноў; c.1840, place unknown — 27 February 1909, Vilnius) was a Belarusian painter, art teacher and architectural historian. Life and work He graduated from ...

. Remains of four other churches in the same style, decorated with pitchers and coloured stones instead of frescoes, were discovered in Grodno and

Vaŭkavysk Vawkavysk ( be, Ваўкавы́ск, ; russian: Волковы́ск; pl, Wołkowysk; lt, Valkaviskas; yi, וואלקאוויסק; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#V, names in other languages) is one of the oldest towns in ...

. They all date back to the turn of the 13th century, as do remains of the first stone palace in the

Old Grodno Castle The Old Grodno Castle (also known as the ''Grodno Upper Castle'' and ''Bathory's Castle'') originated in the 11th century as the seat of a dynasty of Black Ruthenian rulers, descended from a younger son of Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev. History C ...

. In 2004, the church was included in the Tentative List of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

s."SS. Boris and Gleb (Kalozha) Church in the city of Hrodna"
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References

External links

{{coord, 53, 40, 41.32, N, 23, 49, 08.31, E, source:plwiki, display=title Churches in Grodno Buildings and structures in Grodno Region Landmarks in Belarus Eastern Orthodox church buildings in Belarus