The ensemble of the Porzhensky churchyard: the church of St. George the Great Martyr (1782) and a wooden fence (1854-1855)

In the heart of Kenozero National Park near the border of the Kargopol and Plesetsk sectors there is one of the most inaccessible, but at the same time, one of the most remarkable and attractive monuments of wooden architecture of the Russian North - Porzhensky churchyard. The architectural ensemble of the Porzhensky churchyard of the 18th century is one of the best pages of the wooden architecture of Kenozero.
The center of the ensemble of the Porzhensky churchyard is the church of St. George the Great Martyr, with a wedge-shaped roof - very rare for Kenozero, built in the 18th century. The laced fence, standing around the church and the cemetery, with chopped tent towers was built at the turn of the 19th – 20thcenturies.
On November 22, 1938 St. George's Church was closed. However, in the middle of the 20th century, according to the testimony of local residents, services were conducted in the church, a procession was held on Easter.
In 1958 the monument was measured by the architect V.A. Krokhin. A partial measurement of the church fence was made by the architect A.V. Opolovnikov in 1946. In 1984-1985, the student group Atheist of the Arkhangelsk State Pedagogical Institute of M.V. Lomonosov carried out restoration work. In 1986-1987 the Institute Special Project Restoration completed the restoration of the entire Porzhensky complex. Additional studies and adjustments to the 1987 project were made in 2005–2006.
In 2009 emergency restoration work was carried out by carpenters of Kenozero National Park. In 2011 repair and restoration work began.
In 2013 by direct order of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, funds were allocated for the restoration of a unique monument of wooden architecture. After 3 years, the restoration of the ensemble was fully completed.
The painting of the heavens, over the main hall of the St. George Church, was created in the middle of the 19th century.

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