Address: Russia, Pskov region, Pskov, Oktyabrsky prospect, 5
First mention: 1337 year
Start of construction: 1413 year
Completion of construction: 1415 year
Coordinates: 57 ° 48'55.1 "N 28 ° 20'08.6" E
Cultural heritage site of the Russian Federation
Content:
The Orthodox Church in honor of St. Basil the Great stands on the right bank of the Great, in the Middle City, surrounded by a green Children's Park. The ancient temple is covered by the crowns of overgrown trees, and therefore it is visible only from a close distance. The very first church on Vasilievskaya Gorka was wooden, then it was replaced by a stone church. Today it is the oldest religious building that has been preserved in Pskov since the 15th century. Today the church has been restored and is open to believers and tourists.
View of the church from the side of Oktyabrsky prospect
Church history
The place where the temple stands occupies an exalted position. This was a hill above the swampy right bank of the Great, and at its foot flowed a small stream Zrachka - the right tributary of the river. Today the stream cannot be seen, since its floodplain has long been filled up, and Pushkinskaya Street runs here.
The first wooden temple on an elevated island above the swamp was erected in 1337. The funds for it were allocated by the merchant Christopher Karel Dol, a German by birth. He came to the city from his fiefdom - Gdova, in Pskov he was baptized, taking the name Vasily, so the newly felled church was consecrated in honor of the Archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia, theologian, Saint Basil the Great. By order of the pious Dol, the southern side-altar of the temple was dedicated to the heavenly patron of the merchant's son - Alexy the Man of God.
Pskov occupied a border position and guarded the north-western borders of Russia, therefore, the construction of defensive structures was constantly carried out in the city. In 1375, a fortified wall of the Middle City was erected along the shore of the Pupil, and the Vasilievskaya tower with a belfry was built opposite the wooden church. This was the place where a large "spoloshny" bell hung, informing the Pskovites about the fires and the enemy's advance. In 1581, the alarm sound of the Vasilievsky bell warned the townspeople that the army of the Commonwealth was approaching Pskov under the leadership of King Stefan Batory.
By the beginning of the 15th century, the wooden church was dilapidated and was replaced by a stone one (1413). Over the next century and a half, the temple was supplemented with annexes and a gallery, and at the beginning of the 16th century an unknown Pskov iconographer painted the image of the Tikhvin Mother of God. The face of the Mother of God on the icon was surrounded by stamps - small rectangular images that tell about the events of her life. The icon was placed in the iconostasis and began to be revered as the main temple shrine.
At the same time, a basement or lower floor was added to the church. In 2002, during the renovation work, surprised builders found a small coffin in the church basement - a "house". It contained the remains of a two-year-old child, who died, presumably, in the 16th-17th centuries. The child came from some wealthy family, as he was buried in elegant leather shoes with curved toes.
In 1533, by order of the church elders and the Pskov governor, the first bells were cast for the church. They weighed 15 and 20 pounds and were on the bell tower until 1920, when they were not dismantled. The further fate of the ancient Vasilievsky bells is not known. Most likely, they were sent to be melted down.
View of the church from the street. Soviet
In the 17th century, the successful pages in the history of the Vasilievsky Cathedral ended. The times of troubles became a period of hardship and hard times, and many Russian lands lay in desolation. Pskov ceased to play an important role in the defense of the Russian state, and the treasury practically did not allocate funds to maintain urban development. There were almost no parishioners left at the Vasilievskaya church, so it was assigned to the nearby church of St. Nicholas from Usokhi.
As time went on, the church fell into decay. She lost her iconostasis and carved choir. In 1820, the architect Franz Jacobs drew up a report to the Pskov governor and urged him to demolish the Vasilievsky temple. The architect pointed out that the scaly roofs on the quadrangle and the side-altar were rotted, and one of the walls was so dilapidated that it could collapse just about. And so it happened - after 10 years, the side-by-side church in the name of Alexy the Man of God could not resist and collapsed.
However, in the middle of the 19th century, the city authorities nevertheless found funds, and they made repairs in the temple. During it, the outer walls were strengthened, the dome was altered and additional windows were broken through. In addition, a wooden staircase covered with a vestibule appeared near the temple bell tower.
In 1875, the Vasilievskaya church was bought by the abbot of the Krypetsk monastery, and it began to be used as a monastery courtyard. Only once a year, believers walked around the ancient temple with a procession of the cross, and the rest of the time it stood empty.
In 1921, church services in the church were stopped, and it became a warehouse for archival documents. Two years later, Velikolutskaya Street, passing next to Vasilyevskaya Gorka, received a new name - Sovetskaya.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Pskov was occupied by the Germans. Under the new government, services were resumed in some city churches. The Vasilievskaya church was given to the community of Old Believers who were part of the so-called Old Orthodox Pomor Church or the Church of the Pomor Concord. In 1944, when Pskov was liberated from the Nazis, the old temple was damaged during the bombing. The most significant damage was sustained to the north aisle. The explosion destroyed the walls and lost a small dome.
Church services in the Vasilievskaya church were held until 1947, and then it was again closed to believers. The city authorities made repairs in the ancient temple and transferred it to the regional archive. Since 2000, the Vasilievskaya church was left without security and signaling, so homeless people began to live in it, and there were fires.
View of the southwest facade of the church
The return of the Vasilievskaya Church to parishioners took place in 2003. Regular services began to be held in the temple, and after 4 years new bells appeared in the temple. On the largest of them, which weighs 530 kg, you can see the cast faces of Christian ascetics. A large-scale restoration took several years. During it, the podzakomarny covering of the main volume and the northern side-altar was recreated, the central office was replaced, the interiors were repaired and the temple grounds were landscaped.
Architectural features of the temple
The one-domed three-abside temple was built of cut stone on lime mortar. It rests on four supporting round pillars and has raised supporting arches. The main quadrangle is adjoined by three aisles - the main one and two side chapels located from the north and south. The outbuildings appeared at different times and served for holding church services and storing valuables and goods. They give the temple a complex, asymmetrical shape, making it look like the old Russian mansions.
In the beginning, the main volume was covered with a podzakomarny covering. Then it was replaced with a more practical hipped roof. And with the last restoration, carried out quite recently, the covering of the quadrangle and the north side-altar was returned to its original shape.
The external decor of the Vasilievskaya Church speaks of the clear influence of the traditions of Moscow architecture. The altar absides and the drum are completed with ornamental friezes, in which Novgorod motifs with triangles and hollows are used. However, these ornaments go with triple ribbons, as is customary in the Moscow architectural school.
Current state and visiting regime
Vasilievskaya church is active, and every day divine services are held in it. The doors of the temple are open to pilgrims and tourists from 8.00 to 19.00. At the same time, the church shop is open. The ancient icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God (16th century) today belongs to the Pskov Museum-Reserve.Vasilievsky Church has been well restored; inside it you can see a rich iconostasis. Currently, work is underway to paint the interior walls.
Since 2005, a Sunday school has been opened at the church, which is attended by the children of parishioners. Classes are conducted in two age groups: preschool (from 3 to 7 years old) and school (from 7 to 14 years old). The Vasilievsky Church also has its own icon-painting workshop and an art forging workshop, where you can order icons, forged crosses, railings, fences and bars.
View of the church with a bell tower
How to get there
Vasilievskaya Church is located in the center of Pskov, on Oktyabrsky Prospekt, 5. From the city railway station (station "Pskov-Passenger") it is 2.4 km away. This distance can be covered on foot, as well as by bus or taxi. If you get to the temple by buses and fixed-route taxis, then you need to get off at the stop "Children's Park".
Those who want to drive up to the temple in a private car, from the southeastern outskirts of Pskov, should turn off the Leningradskoe highway onto the A 212 highway leading to Izborsk, and go towards the city center.
