The Wooden Churches of Khizi, with their glistening silvery aspen shingles and their setting (if you are lucky with the weather!) among green fields next to blue waters, provide one of the WHS list’s great “iconic” views (photo). Many WHS are just “representative” rather than being “uniquely outstanding” but Kizhi’s striking shapes, magnificent craftsmanship and wonderful location lift them way out “of the ordinary” from among the many Christian buildings on the List – they did not disappoint and fully met my criteria for “Worth a journey”!

The WHS consists of the “Pogost” or walled enclosure and gate containing the Summer Church of the Transfiguration (left), the Winter Church of the Intercession (right) and a bell tower. The small island of Kizhi (6 x 1.5 kms) on which they are situated lies at the northern end of Lake Onega (said to be the second largest lake in Europe). The island itself constitutes an “Open Air Museum” with a range of wooden buildings re-erected from elsewhere in the region (including 2 more churches, one of which is from the 14th century and is claimed to be the oldest wooden building in Russia). We were somewhat concerned that this would detract from the impact of the inscribed “original” churches (which date back to the 18th century). The UNESCO inscription was also worried about this aspect. In fact, for a number of reasons, we felt that the extension of the site beyond its historical scope was a successful use of the space available on the island, even though the relocated buildings at the southern end of the island could be seen from the Pogost.

First, whatever method of transport you use, it is quite a journey to get to the island and the Pogost by itself, wonderful as it is, can usefully be augmented by other sights. The buildings and their vernacular contents are of interest (if a bit too "perfect"!)and there are also the usual “peasants” in costume doing peasant-like things a la Skansen! Second, the site receives a LOT of tourists. Leaving aside the independent and local travellers who arrive on the 75min hydrofoil journey from Petrozavodsk (there is no tourist accommodation on the island), perhaps 5-10 cruise ships per day disgorge around 250 tourists each in a short space of time during the summer season as part of a tour of the “Golden Ring” between Moscow and St Petersburg. The open air museum buildings are conveniently “duplicated” – ie 2 (different) farmhouses, 2 (different) churches etc. Each guided group only visits one each and this diverts and splits up the numbers visiting the Pogost. They are also reasonably spaced apart and not too close to the Pogost. So, in general, we felt that the crowd management worked well. Unusually for us we too were “guilty” of arriving on a cruise ship (travelling from Astrakhan to St Petersburg in our case) and had 5 hours on the island. After taking part in the guided trip we had plenty of opportunity to schedule return visits to most of the buildings between group arrivals and thus achieve reasonable “solitude” both inside and out. Our trip was “inclusive” but I understand that entry to the island (for foreigners at least) is around 15 euros.

The larger Transfiguration Church is under restoration and has been closed to visitors since around 1980 with the project scheduled to continue until 2013. You can find a reconstruction of its Iconostasis on the

Kizhi Museum Web site. The documentation about the restoration process on that site describes what has been done and the many continuing technical and financial problems. At one time UNESCO even considered adding this building to the list of Sites in Danger. Whether the new wooden ramp and gateway (just visible at bottom left in my photo using Internet Explorer 7.0 zoom!) indicate any imminent reopening for the public during the project or are to provide improved access for equipment and materials needed to carry out the restoration I know not.

The Church of the Intercession is open. It is much smaller and simpler than the “summer” church which provided for more people travelling from long distances. It contains a number of Icons and an altar. It was nice to get inside and contrast its more simple expressions of faith with the exuberance of the exterior but the real glory of the site is to be found in the external views. The shape of the buildings and the open water/countryside location, together with the changes in sun and sky, provide new interest at every step and turn. You will need a lot of space on your digital card!.