Cheboksary is famous for its numerous marvelous churches. There used to be 25 churches and 4 monasteries, all of them represented examples of ancient Slavonic architecture.
Nowadays we admire the wonderful Holy Trinity Monastery and the Saviour Transfiguration Convent. The Holy Trinity Monastery was founded by the order of Ivan the Terrible in 1565-66. The monastery originally had both religious and protecting meaning. Nowadays it occupies rather a big territory on the bank of the Volga River. It is one of the oldest constructions in the city. The Saviour Transfiguration Convent was founded in 1716. From 1991 The Saviour Transfiguration Convent is situated on Vladimirskaya Hill. Two churches are located on its territory: the Saviour Transfiguration Church and the Church of Ioann Kronshtadtsky. The latter one was based at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the tomb of the merchant Yefremov. In 1926 the church was closed and opened only in 1991.
Not far from the Holy Trinity Monastery you will see the Dormition Church. It is a unique two-storied temple, founded in 1763. It was one of the richest churches in Cheboksary. In 1920s it was closed for praying. In 1930s its belfry served as a fire tower and for nearly 60 years the church was housing the Museum of Regional Studies. In 1977, while preparing the zone of the present bay for flooding, the ground floor was covered up with earth. In 1993 the church opened for a divine service. Basically, the building attracts attention by the variety of architectural details. The main relic of the temple is the icon made by U. A. Bubnov which is called An inexhaustible Cup.
The Michael-Archangel Church is one of the oldest buildings in the city. It was erected in 1702 in Sobornaya Street (now K. Ivanov Street) and was one of the best churches in those days. Its belfry had 9 bells. The largest one weighted 120 poods. In 1927-1929 the church belfry and fence were demolished. In 1996 it opened again and now it is a temple of the Spiritual school. The Church has 5 domes. Its peculiarity is that it has only 2 pillars inside (instead of 4 as a rule).
The Resurrection Church was built in 1758. It is simply composed. It has one big dome and two small ones. It has a belfry. The Church did not function from 1941 to 1990.
One of the youngest churches is the Church of Nativity. It was built in 1999 on the initiative of the president of the Chuvash Republic N. Fyodorov to commemorate the 2000th anniversary of Christianity. The project was presented by Moscow mayor Luzhkov. The money for the construction was donated by Chuvash and Moscow entrepreneurs.
The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin – Saint Tatiana the Martyr’s Temple is the youngest in Cheboksary. It was built and consecrated in 2006 by the Metropolitan of Cheboksary and Chuvashia Varnava with the participation of the President of Chuvashia N. Fyodorov. If you want to put out a candle for studying, you can go to Saint Tatiana the Martyr’s Temple. Besides, children are christened in that temple.
Nowadays on the territory of a former fortress you will find a number of historical buildings of the 17-18th centuries. Among them there is the first stone building in Cheboksary - the Presentation Cathedral. It is the most typical example of Russian church architecture. Built in the 17th century it looks fine and sparkles with its gold dome and snow-white walls.
We can not tell much about the former interior of the Cathedral today. The holy of holies was the Icon of the Virgin of Vladimir. The iconostasis with its small icons was not large. There were some valuable icons there. Among the things there were a lot of wooden crowns, a silver carved statue of an angel holding a coffer containing the saints' relics. But none of the things were preserved. Everything was taken by the great fire of 1649 that ruined almost the whole of the town.
A new wooden cathedral was to be built instead of the burnt one. But the Metropolitan of Kazan Simon (Serbsky, 1646-1649) suggested that there should be a stone cathedral - for the first time in the history of the town. Brick, earth and stone were used as the building material. The Temple was built by the brigades of local stonemasons under the Nizhniy Novgorod specialists. The Cheboksary Cathedral is a temple with a separate belfry. The cathedral is domed by five silver cupolas on large drums.
Many visitors come to Cheboksary with a special purpose to see our beautiful churches and cathedrals. They are really worth seeing.
CHEBOKSARY BAY
Cheboksary is rightfully called the Pearle of the Volga Region. It is recognized one of the most comfortable cities in Russia. When tourists come to the city by water they see a picturesque view of the Cheboksary Bay. The man-made bay in Cheboksary is the centre of cultural events and recreational activities of the city.
In 1995 the construction of the road from the Resurrection Church to the Presentation Cathedral started. It was called the Road to the Temple.
Marvelous buildings, churches and theatres surround the bay. The Holy Trinity Monastery is situated between the Volga River and the bay. The Holy Trinity Monastery was founded by the order of Ivan the Terrible in 1565-66. It is one of the oldest constructions in the city. It was closed in 1924 and opened only in 1993. The monastery was visited by the father of our famous countryman N. Y. Bichurin and Catherine II.
Next to the monastery is the Art School. Not far from it we can see the Dormition Church. It is a unique two-storied temple, founded in 1763. It was one of the richest churches in Cheboksary. In 1920s it was closed for praying. In 1930s its belfry served as a fire tower and for nearly 60 years the church was housing the Museum of Regional Studies. In 1977, while preparing the zone of the present bay for flooding, the ground floor was covered up with earth. In 1993 the church opened for a divine service. Basically, the building attracts attention by the variety of architectural details. The main relic of the temple is the icon made by U. A. Bubnov which is called An inexhaustible Cup.
On the top of the hill at the side of the bay is the Presentation Cathedral. It is the most typical example of Russian church architecture. Built in the 17th century it looks fine and sparkles with its gold dome and snow-white walls.
One of the most exciting monuments of the 18th century architecture is the house of Kuzma Kadomtsev, located not far from the Presentation Cathedral. However, it is only an exact replica of the house because the original house used to be at the place which is now the bottom of the bay. The house was built in the so- called Dutch style.
At the opposite side of the bay we can see wonderful buildings of Saviour Transfiguration Convent. The Saviour Transfiguration Convent was founded in 1716. From 1991 the convent is situated on Vladimirskaya Hill. Two churches are located on its territory: the Saviour Transfiguration Church and the Church of Ioann Kronshtadtsky. The latter one was based at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the tomb of the merchant Yefremov. In 1926 the church was closed and opened only in 1991.
There are also many modern and beautiful buildings; among them we notice two theatres: the Chuvash Drama Theatre and the Chuvash Opera House. The Chuvash Drama Theatre was built in 1961 under the project of the architect Maksimov. The Chuvash Opera House was built in 1985 under the project of the architect Begunin.
In 2003 a new monument appeared there. It is the new symbol of Chuvashia – Mother the Patroness. The pedestal of the monument is made from marble with beautiful fountains and lights. One can hear music which sounds from the monument.
KONSTANTIN IVANOV
K. Ivanov (1890-1915) is the Chuvash national poet. People in Chuvashia are proud of him and on May 15 widely celebrate the anniversary of his birthday. The Chuvash Republic treats the poet as the true national hero.
His poetry is consonant to people's aspiration. It is closely connected with their thoughts and dreams about freedom. His poetry called to light. K. Ivanov considered his literary work as his patriotic duty to restore the Chuvashes to new life.
He was born in the village of Slakbash in Bashkiria. His grandfather and father were literate people, so they tried to give education to all their children. At 8 Kostya was sent to the village primary school and 3 years later his aunt, a teacher, took him to her school. Kostya prepared for his entrance exams to the Simbirsk Chuvash Teachers' school and soon passed them successfully.
He read a lot of books of Russian writers, was keen on carving, painting and photography. All his further life was connected with the Simbirsk Chuvash Teachers' school. But in 1907 he had to interrupt his studies at school and return to his native village. Then he helped I. Yakovlev translate books into Chuvash and wrote some verses, e.g. Old Forest Thought, Autumn, The Hungry, some ballades, e.g. Two daughters, A Widow. He wrote the poem Narspi, in which he created a number of national characters such as Narspi and Setner.
We admire their tragic love, their sincere feelings to each other. The author sympathized with them; he penetrates deeply into heroes' souls and reveals their best qualities. He is a true humanist and realist, we believe him. In 1908 Ivanov published his first poems. At 19 he passed his exams and became a teacher of folk school.
In 1910 he began to work as a teacher of calligraphy and drawing in Simbirsk Two-Year Women College. At that time he collected popular folk songs, painted a lot and prepared for the entrance exams to the Academy of Arts. Buthis dreams didn't come true. He died on March 13, 1915, at the age of 25 from tuberculosis.
There is no person in Chuvashia, who doesn't know the greatest poem by Konstantin Ivanov, entitled Narspi.
Narspi is a name of the main character of the poem. She is very kind, smart, and beautiful; everybody in her village loves her.
Narspi was a daughter of a rich Chuvash peasant Mikheder. The father loved her, took care about her while she was a little girl. But when she grew up he "sold" her to another rich man, to Takhtaman.
But Narspi, whose heart belonged to a courageous, but poor young man Setner, didn't obey her hard fate; her soul arose against the terrible world, where the evil, money and wealth ruled. However in the unequal fight the girl and her beloved man died.
The tragic end of the strong and pure love of Narspi and Setner in the unequal fight with the dark forces points and stresses the deep humanistic idea of the author, and sounds like an appeal against dark and appeal for light.