Archaeological discoveries confirm the existence of log structures as early as 747 BC in a pre-Slavic early Iron Age settlement in Poland. Extensive remains found in excavations in medieval Novgorod in Russia also reveal widely used forms of timber construction.
A uniform method of processing timber can be observed in eastern Europe. The trees are felled either in winter or spring before the sap rises. They are then left lying on the ground until the following spring before being worked. In the north of Russia with its huge forests, the tradition of timber construction remained alive until well into the 20th century. One remarkable aspect is the great skill of Russian master builders and carpenters with the axe. It was used to fell trees, to remove the bark, to shape beams and planks, and even to form fine decorative details. Saws were used only when this was unavoidable, since they open the grain and expose the wood to the extreme climatic conditions. An axe, in contrast, leaves the grain intact and seals the surface.
In Russia, the foundations for log construction usually consist of four round boles (“srub”) laid overlapping at the ends. In the farmhouse type (the “isba”) especially, this form of construction is still used in its original form. The typical “isba” is two storeys high, with an external staircase serving the living areas on the upper floor. On the lower level are working spaces. This layout allowed farming operations to be carried out even when deep snow lay on the ground. Farmhouses were usually small. Under certain circumstances, though, they could be of considerable size, as, for example, in the house in Oshevnevo (ill. 6), which today stands on the island of Kishi. The upper storey was supported on solid piers that could be individually replaced if required without endangering the stability of the structure as a whole.
Russian Orthodox church building certainly had its origins in Byzantine architecture. Translated into timber construction, this meant a building consisting of three block-like units or “sruby”. The eastern section houses the altar, and the central section the main nave. The western part, the “trapeznaya”, was the narthex in the ecclesiastical terminology of the eastern church. With the pointed polygonal roof, a characteristic form evolved that found its apogee in church construction. As a rule, the roof was crowned by a small tower. The principle of the polygonal roof over a central tower – a distinguishing feature of timber architecture – may also have influenced masonry construction in Russia. Examples of this can be seen in the Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed in Moscow (1555) and, even more clearly, in the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye (1532). In the Dormitio Church in Kuritsko, Novgorod (1595), the central nave is surrounded by a large narthex. Here, too, a polygonal tower rises over a square plan in a form similar to that of the Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, dating from 1539, from Peredki (ill. 3), which today stands in the Vitoslavlitsy Museum for Timber Architecture in Novgorod. Erected to a cruciform plan, the church has a number of ancillary spaces covered by steep, polygonal roofs.
In the course of the church reforms of 1653, polygonal, tent-like roofs were prohibited. As a symbol of correct belief, only the cruciform-dome church was permitted (oriented to
Byzantine forms and with five domes). The schisma this caused in the Russian-Orthodox Church led to the secession of the Old Believers or Old Ritualists (“raskolnild”), who fled to the north, where they continued to construct polygonal-roofed towers.
The largest church of this kind, however, was erected much later, in 1774 on the shores of Lake Onega. This was the Church of the Ascension in Kondopoga (ill. 1), which has a narrow nave block, two apses at the sides instead of a transept, and a huge tower with a polygonal roof rising to a height of 42 metres over an octagonal plan.
Of the many multi-towered churches built under Peter the Great, the Church of the Transfiguration of Christ by master builder Nestor is the only one to have survived (ills. 4, 5). It was erected from 1714 onwards on the island of Kishi in the middle of Lake Onega in Karelia. The many towers of this cathedral mark a long tradition. The structure is in the form of an octahedron set on top of a Greek-cross plan. Above this are further octagonal structures that rise in tiers and support the largest of the 22 domes right at the top.
Further down, the towers have the typical “bochka” or ogee-shaped roof form that
Nestor unusually combined with the onion dome. The five tiers of towers are perfectly integrated into the pyramidal overall appearance, a popular form in the north of Russia.
As a rule, cathedrals were located in a discrete, partly fortified complex of their own, known in Russian as the “pogost”. The “pogost” of the Transfiguration Church also contains the Church of the Protection and Intercession of Mary (ill. 5). Constructed as a place of worship for the winter, it had a lower ceiling that allowed the interior to be heated more easily. From the outside, the winter church with its nine domes seems to mediate between the Karelian lake landscape and the immense height of the neighbouring cathedral.
Despite its great complexity, timber architecture in Russia suggests a state of folk-like simplicity. As a result, the enormous craft care with which it is executed is not always immediately apparent. Certain architectural forms were nevertheless developed to a very high degree by Russian builders through their use of timber. With a framed type of construction, it is much easier to control the shape of a building.
The advantage of log construction, however, lies in the scope it offers for creating arches and curves. The onion-domed tower, probably the most impressive architectural symbol of Russia, is erected in the same way as the load-bearing walls that support it. The sloping faces are then smoothed with an axe, although ultimately it is the covering layer of shingles that lends the impression of a curved surface. To achieve one of the most striking and complex forms of timber architecture, the simplest jointing techniques were used.
