Kizhi Island

We arrived at Kizhi Island on Tuesday morning after passing across Lake Ladoga, Europe's second largest lake.  The island contains settlements and churches dating back to the 15th century.  The population is tiny, and, in fact, few even winter here.  According to our local guide, the only way to get here in winter is by helicopter.

 😳😳

There are two churches on the island.  Both churches were built without using a single nail. Carpenters of that period knew that metal would rust and destroy the wood. The larger one, the Transfiguration Church, is not heated, so it is considered the summer church. It was in the process of being restored, so we could only view the outside. This church has twenty-two domes.

According to legend, the builder of the Transfiguration Church destroyed the ax he used to build the church, as "There was not -- and will not be -- another one to match it."

The summer church, the Intercession Church, has only nine domes.  We were allowed to enter the
Intercession Church and view its icons. We also were privileged to hear their male singers perform.

The island has a number of other sites, including a sauna, farm, dwelling, etc.  This is the baby swing that allowed the mom to keep the baby happy while she was working in the kitchen.

I found some of the crafts fascinating, especially the embroidery.  This young woman is doing a type of Russian embroidery that is the same on either side and there is no pattern! She makes it up -- having done counted cross-stitch, I am not only quite impressed, I'm in awe.

Not sure I'd do well growing my own food.....