Chesme Church~ Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Chesme Church (Church of Saint John the Baptist at Chesme Palace), is a small Russian Orthodox church at 12 Lensoveta Street, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was built by the Russian court architect Yury Felten in 1780, at the direction of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia. A memorial church, it was erected adjacent to the Chesme Palace (damaged during the Siege of Leningrad and restored in 1946) between Saint Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo to commemorate the anniversary of Russias 1770 victory over Turkish forces in Chesme Bay in the Aegean Sea during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. The church and Chesme Palace were the earliest Neo-Gothic constructions in the St Petersburg area. Considered by some to be St Petersburgs single most impressive church, it is a rare example of very early Gothic Revival influence in Russian church architecture. The church, built in Gothic Revival style faces southwest. Painted pink and white, the church appears like a candy cone, with long, vertical white stripes (embossed vertical string cornices drawn together with figured horizontal fascias) giving the impression that it’s rising straight up from the earth like a mirage and shooting upwards. The church was built by Yury Felten who was the court architect to Catherine the Great.[citation needed] The inspiration for adopting the pseudo-Gothic style of architecture was a symbol of the exoticism of the Turkish architecture but also reflected the Anglomania that significantly influenced the design of Catherine’s palaces and the parks surrounding them. While the Chesme Palace was built on these lines, the Church of John the Baptist was also built in a similar style. This style introduced during Catherines time came in vogue in Russia in the subsequent centuries as well.[12] It is also said that the choice of the Gothic Revival architecture style was indicative of triumph for ancient northern virtues in the spirit of the crusaders.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 09:30:59 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015