Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary ( Latvian. Vissvētās Dievmātes Pasludināšanas baznīca ) is a wooden Orthodox church in the city of Riga ( Latvia ). Located in Moscow forstadt , at the crossroads of Gogol and Turgenev streets. The address of the temple is Gogol Street, 9.
| Orthodox church | |
| Church of the Annunciation | |
|---|---|
| Vissvētās Dievmātes Pasludināšanas baznīca | |
 | |
| A country |  Latvia |
| City | Riga |
| Denomination | Orthodoxy |
| Diocese | Riga |
| Reverence | Riga |
| Architectural style | classicism |
| Project Author | Theodore-Gottfried Schulz |
| Established | |
| Building | 1814 - 1818 |
| Chapels | St. Nicholas the Wonderworker; prp Sergius of Radonezh |
Content
History
The church was built in 1814-1818 according to the project of the Baltic-German architect Theodor-Gottfried Schulz , in the shape of an ark. The church itself is divided into three chapels (naves), each of which is located on the altar. The central altar is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the right nave is the altar of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker , and on the right side of the temple is an altar dedicated to St. Sergius of Radonezh . The church itself was originally named after its central side chapel, as the established tradition suggests - the Church of St. Nicholas, which for centuries has been the patron saint of commercial people (the church was erected on the territory of the Moscow suburb , at its very beginning, was based on funds allocated by Russian merchant names living in the suburbs). Then the church was renamed, as the name of the whole church was often used in the left side of the church - in the middle of the 19th century it got its modern official name (see the similar situation with St. Basil’s Church in Moscow ).
Architecture
Above the middle aisle of the temple is a dome, which is accented and supported by eight columns made in the Tuscan order . Around the central dome are four additional smaller domes. Above the main portal is a three-tier octagonal tower. The voluminous composition of the church building relates it to the Baroque style , the decoration of the church imitates stone forms. In the decoration, you can observe a number of elements that allow us to attribute this church to the model of classicism style. In particular, pediments , rustication and pilasters of a large order are made in this style. The church has an iconostasis dated 1859 (the oldest iconostasis in Riga in Orthodox churches), as well as rare icons and church books dating from the period from the 16th to the 18th century.
Communication with famous personalities
- Russian merchants, in particular, the family of Kuzma Ivanovich Mukhin , the grandfather of the sculptor Vera Mukhina, allocated funds for the restoration of the temple. The Mukhins House, whose hereditary occupation was the sale of hemp and its products, is located at 23-25 Turgenev Street, that is, in the immediate vicinity of the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin. Vera Ignatyevna herself was baptized in this church.
- The Church of the Annunciation was also visited by well-known writers of Russian emigration, Georgy Ivanov and Riga, Irina Odoevtseva , his wife, whose apartment was located nearby, on Gogol Street, in the apartment building of the parents of Odoevtseva (Geineke).