🇷🇺KIZHI POGOST

 62°04'03.02"N 35°13'25.07"E

(from AirPano)

   At first glance it might look impressive, but once someone realizes that it is completely made out of wood, it turns out to be even more majestic. Kizhi Pogost, located in the homonym island at Lake Onega, is one of the few remaining well-preserved pogosts from Russia's prominent wooden architecture of the 18th century. The complex is conformed by two churches and a clock tower, yet, Soviet authorities transferred here even more ligneous constructions from throughout the country, transforming the island in a collection of wood structures. Nowadays, Kizhi reflects the stunning past rustic traces of a growing global superpower.

   To begin with, the first ever mention of Kizhi Pogost was in a chronicle of the 16th century --- long before it was built. This is so, because the current one is the sturdier successor of the one which burnt down after the strike of a lightning in 1793. Built twenty years later, it has endured this much due to a clever replacement technique; every time a part was shaky or went broken, it was immediately replaced. But the true carpentry heroes remain unknown, except if you believe the local legend: Master Nestor, a tough carpenter, built  the 37 meter high building without a single nail, just an axe; and once he finished, he threw the axe into the cold and tranquil waters of Lake Onega and said "There was not and will not be another one to match it". Believe the legend or not; Master Nestor was right. None did ever match it.

   Apart from creating 30 onion-cupolas only from wood dressed in silver shingles (the bigger one has 22 in ascending order, and the smaller one has 8 gathered around a dome) and adding some bochka and pyramidal vaults, the edifice has far more planning beyond its look. Because each church is designed for a specific season: summer or winter. The big Church of the Transfiguration is deliberated for summertime as the attendance is larger, while the little Church of the Intercession accommodates the tiny group of loyal devotees during wintertime. Then there is the bell tower, made out of an octagon over a cube and an onion-dome on top. Yet, besides all the planning and restorations, the site would lose significance and end up abandoned during the 1930s.

Iconography inside the Church of Transfiguration (from Atlas Obscura)

   Kizhi Pogost lived some estimate 35 years in decay, during which, the Church of the Transfiguration almost collapsed; officials could save it placing a steel scaffold. To be fair, it would still be deteriorated remains of the past if it wasn't because of Alexander Opolovnikov, an expert when it comes to Russia's timber architecture. On the 1st of January of 1966, he founded an open-air museum with Kizhi Pogost and other wooden structures from every corner of the country which would be transported, restored, investigated and exposed to the public. One main achievement was when laborers succeeded in completely restoring the Church of the Transfiguration, replacing every timber log with a new one. The museum even has its own website where you can learn further.

Bikanina Windmill, part of the Kizhi Museum (from Wikipedia)

Sources: UNESCO (1) and (2), Atlas Obscura, L'Antic Colonial, World Monuments Fund