Bogolyubovo’s Church of the Intercession on the Nerl
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Small, simple and off the religious highway makes this place my favorite among the Golden Cities.
The Church at Bogolyubovo, probably my favorite in Russia.
Away from crowded churches and cathedrals of the Golden Ring circuit is this little church in a little village of Bogolyubovo (Боголюбово / बोगोल्युबोवो). The church’s beauty lies in its simplicity, perfect symmetry, beautiful location (next to the river) and isolation (what a strange factor!).
The silence and the simplicity of this place is great!
It is said that this church was built during early days of Christianity in Russia, thus explaining pictures and carvings of birds and beasts on its walls and interiors. Interiors are even simpler and it is tempting to light a candle inside.
Elements from pre-Christian times incorporated in the architecture.
The hills, the birds, the water plus absence of cars, crowds and noise makes this place incredibly beautiful. During spring, the river floods the adjoining area, giving an illusion that the church is on an island. A single hut, habitated by the churchkeeper sells picture frames and lovely photographs of the church. There is also a ‘pay what you can’ toilet.
Factual information
Bogolyubovo can be reached by suburban trains from Moscow’s Kursky terminal (one station after Vladimir). Express trains from Moscow stop at Vladimir (2.5 hrs) from where there are regular buses to Bogolubovo. From the train / bus station, this church is about 1.3 km away, a pleasant walk through meadows. Infact, one can only walk to this church, making it feel somewhat like a pilgrimage.
Walkway. You can reach the church only on foot (or a horse, a bicycle), sortof a pilgrimage!
« Previous post: Blue domes of Bogolyubovo convent
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This is my type of daytrip. You know, the quiet countryside away from the big city, taking a not-short way to get there, not so frequent buses or trains, and then you find a place that is so bizarre and different that makes you gawk in awe. I like how atypical the church’s shape is. It looks more like a weird storage structure than a church.
↵Very true, and not just the shape, but the sculptures of animal and demon faces on the walls are intriguing too. The whole deal, the walk on cold windy paths, idyllic surroundings and being away from crowds, was wonderful.
↵In fact, it looked quite different originally, see the fourth pic here: http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/telegraph/history/588/
↵And demon faces on the walls are supposed to be King David playing music and animals listening to him (an episode from the Old Testament)
Thanks Evgeny, that was useful information and I kinda like the old dome more!
↵The Church at Bogolyubovo looks so strange! Never seen anything similar in architecture. Even for Russian churches.
↵Yep, very true. Only the onion dome is Russian, but you know what…. even that dome was installed only recently. Before that I believe the church probably looked more like a temple.
↵I like the fact that you have to walk to that church, it puts you in the right frame of mind.
↵Welcome to my blog Heather and thanks for the comment. Making you walk,… probably that explains why there are few visitors here.
↵Hi Priyank! Profiting from today’s holiday – the 99th anniversary of the Republic in Portugal – I’m happy to have some more time to surf the net and enjoy your blog!
↵This series is absolutely stunning. Not a surprise, knowing your former travelogues… Great work!!
Blogtrotter is showing you Antalya. Enjoy and have a great week!
Hi Trotter! I am happy you are liking the series, thanks for the feedback. I will zip right over to Antalya now!
↵Justback to blogging…loved the second pic..the simplicity just gives it a very beautiful feel
↵Welcome back Lakshmi! Simple things can be so beautiful, really!
↵simple, yet serene. Sorry I have been slacking off. Will visit more often
↵Welcome back Vamsee! We are all slackers, no worries.
↵the dome is such a contrast to the idea of a church! yes, it is such a bliss exploring countryside like areas…
i am amazed at the detailed travelogue you are putting up. its proving to be very hard to write at all at this point!
↵Hi Neeraja, Indeed, we’ve been fed with western christian church architecture so much that the onion domes seem weird.
↵Lovely!
↵So..did you light a candle in there?:D
I did light a candle somewhere, but I don’t know if it was this place or another place in Novgorod. But this is a good location, since the per-capita benefits of lighting a candle are much more here compared to some other busy church that have hundreds of candles (oh how MBA of me!).
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