The Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel (russian: Часовня Параскевы Пятницы) is a Russian Orthodox Chapel, situated on the top of Karaulnaya Mountain, in Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is dedicated to

Paraskevi of Iconium Saint Paraskevi of Iconium (also known as ''Paraskeva Pyatnitsa'') is venerated as a Christian virgin martyr. According to Christian tradition, she was born to a rich family of Iconium. Her parents were Christian, and Paraskevi was named as ...

(Paraskeva Pyatnitsa).

History

Before the arrival of the

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

s, a pagan temple of the Tatars was located in the current place of the chapel. The Cossacks placed on the top of the mountain a watchtower to notify citizens about hostile raids. In 1805 a merchant named Novikov constructed a wooden chapel on that place out of gratitude for being saved from a whirlpool of rapids. Another version about the construction of the building states that the local inhabitants built the chapel due to the deliverance of their ancestors from their enemies. However this building became decrepit after some time. In 1852 the bishop of Tomsky, Afanasy, gave permission to the city Duma for the building of a stone chapel. Between 1852 and 1855 it was built by architects Ya. Alfeev and Ya. Nabalov from the funds of the prominent owner of gold mines and patron of art, Pyotr Kuznetsov. In 1887 the Russian scientist and radio inventor

Aleksander Popov Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

observed the

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

from the chapel. In memory of this in 1977, on the East front of the building a granite memorial plaque was placed. The chapel was abandoned during the Soviet era. Between 1973 and 1975 the building was restored with the projects of A.S. Brusnikin. In 2014 the chapel was recoloured to green, according to its historical colour.

The Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel Today

Since 1980 the building has been an architectural monument of local significance. It is in fact one of the major symbols of the city. The Chapel is today an important place of pilgrimage by citizens and visitors of Krasnoyarsk. A prominent number of brides and fiancées make their way towards the Chapel to make a declaration of love to each other. The Chapel, as a symbol of the city, decorates the 10- rouble notes. File:Russia August 2008 disk 2 433.jpg, Entrance to Paraskeva Chapel File:Russia August 2008 disk 2 424.jpg, Paraskeva Chapel at night File:Paraskeva Chapel 2008.jpg, Paraskeva Chapel mural

Sources

Official Site of the Administration of Krasnoyarsk
Churches in Siberia Krasnoyarsk Russian Orthodox church buildings in Russia Buildings and structures in Krasnoyarsk Krai Russian Orthodox chapels Cultural heritage monuments in Krasnoyarsk Krai Objects of cultural heritage of Russia of federal significance {{russia-EO-church-stub