According to healthinclude, izhi Island is located in the northern part of Lake Onega near the Zaonezhsky Peninsula and is part of the Republic of Karelia. It is 68 km away from Petrozavodsk. You can get to the island in the summer from Petrozavodsk on one of the comets that go here every day, and from Moscow and St. Petersburg – on a cruise ship. In winter, they get to Kizhi from Petrozavodsk by helicopter. Kizhi Island known throughout the world for its architectural ensemble, consisting of monuments of Russian wooden architecture. Tradition says that all buildings were erected without a single nail, only with the help of an ax. Previously, the Kizhi churchyard was located here, which in the 17th century was surrounded by a wooden wall with towers. In 1945, the Kizhi Pogost was declared a nature reserve, and in 1969, the State Historical, Architectural and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve “Kizhi” was formed on the territory of the Kizhi Skerries (rocky islands). Now it is an open-air museum of wooden architecture. In 1990, part of the museum – the Kizhi Pogost – was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The museum has over 1500 sq. m of exposition area, as on the island of Kizhi and on nearby small islands. It includes works of wooden architecture from all over Karelia and consists of several exposition sectors, two exposition villages and individual monuments of the Veps, North Karelians and Lyudik Karelians. The expositions and exhibitions of the museum acquaint visitors with the traditional culture of the peoples of Karelia in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. Museum collections include ethnographic items, early printed and handwritten books, icons from the temples of Obonezhye, cult copper-cast plastic, bells, drawings and photographic negatives made during the examination of wooden architecture monuments in the 1940-1980s. In total, there are 87 monuments of folk wooden architecture on the territory of the museum-reserve.
The central place in the museum-reserve is occupied by the ensemble of the Kizhi Pogost. The main monument of the churchyard is the twenty-two-domed Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. It was built of pine in 1714 on the site of an older church that burned down from a lightning strike. Its height is 37 m. The domes of the church are placed in 5 tiers, and the domes of each tier have a different size. The first and second tiers consist of four chapters, the third – of eight, the fourth – of four, the fifth contains one dome. The last dome is located above the altar of the church. Inside the church there is a multifaceted pyramidal ceiling with the remains of paintings, which is called “sky”. The ceiling increases the vertical space of the church. The four-tier church iconostasis dates back to the middle of the 18th century. It is composed of 102 icons, the two oldest icons – “Transfiguration” and “Protection” – belong to the end of the 17th century. The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord was a summer church, services were held here only on special occasions.
Not far from the Church of the Transfiguration in 1764, a warm winter church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was erected, which became an addition to the main church of the Kizhi churchyard. It has 9 domes – at each corner of the building there is a chapter, they surround the main ninth chapter, located in the center. Such an arrangement of domes is not found in any building of Russian wooden architecture. The iconostasis of the church contains Zaonezhsky icons of the 17th – early 18th centuries. The Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos is still a functioning temple. In 1874, a hipped bell tower was erected next to the church.
After the Great Patriotic War, several wooden houses were transported to the island, and later buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries were delivered – churches, chapels, huts, mills, barns, a barn, a smithy and baths.
On the island Kizhi is the oldest wooden church in Russia – the Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus from the Murom Monastery. It stands next to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Tradition says that it was built by the monk Lazarus in the 14th century. The church became the first building of the Murom Monastery, which was erected on the eastern shore of Lake Onega. Inside, the iconostasis has been preserved, consisting of 17 icons of the 16th – 18th centuries.
Several architectural monuments of the museum-reserve are located in Petrozavodsk.
Visit Kizhi Island can only be accompanied by a guide. Staying on the island for several days is possible only with the permission of the management of the museum-reserve. In the summer, evening visits to the museum-reserve are very popular, when the time of white nights comes.
In addition to excursions to the main architectural sights of the island, tourists are offered excursions during which they can get acquainted with peasant crafts and crafts, see folklore rites and listen to performances by a bell music ensemble.
In 1976, a department of nature protection was established in the museum-reserve. Its goal was to study and preserve the natural complexes and historical landscape of the Kizhi skerries, which are also a landmark of the museum-reserve. In addition, numerous archeological monuments are interesting on the nearby islands – ancient settlements dating back to the Mesolithic era (6th millennium BC) and settlements of the 10th-20th centuries.
