St. Paraskevi's Church

Church of St. Paraskevi, a small crossed dome church with three naves and four pillars, is one of Russia's oldest churches. It is currently a museum and on the UNESCO World Heritage list as a part of Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings.

The church was built in 1207 by Novgorod merchants and is named after Saint Paraskevi, who was the patron saint of the merchants. Previously, at least two different wooden Saint Paraskevi churches were standing at the same place, one constructed in 1156 and the second one in 1191.

The church was rebuilt several times. In particular, the dome was made in the 18th century. Between 1954 and the 2000s, the church was extensively restored, and the early walls were uncovered.

The walls are constructed of plinthite and limestone. The church does not close analogs with other contemporary Novgorod buildings, however, it is in many respects similar to the Saint Michael Church in Smolensk. It is presumed that the Saint Paraskevi Church was build by Smolensk masters. The decorative elements used in the design of the church were however taken over by Novgorod architects and became common in Novgorod ecclesiastical architecture of the 14th and the 15th centuries.

Address
ulitsa Bolshaya Moskovskaya 5Б, Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Established
1207