Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/499

Rh Bk. IX. Ch. VII. KIEFF. 483 Though the Princess Olga was baptized in 964, the general pro- fession of Christianity in Russia did not take place till the reigB of Vladimir (981-1015). He built the wooden cathedral at Cherson, which has perished. At Kieff the same monarch built the church of Desiatinna, the remains of which existed till within the last few years, when they were re- moved to give place to a modern abomination. He also built that of St. Basil in the same city, which, notwithstanding modern improvements, ff;ij-^"Jj^i^ fooft*.'t?iin.' still retains its ancient plaii, and is nearly iden- tical in arransrement and form with the Cathol- icon at Athens (Woodcut No. 905.) The plan (Woodcut No. 938) gives a fair idea of the usual dimensions of the older churches of Russia. The parts shaded lighter are subsequent additions. A greater builder than Vladimir was Prince Yaroslaf (1019-1054). He founded the church of St, Irene at Kieff (Woodcut No. 939), the ruins of which still exist. It is a good specimen of the smaller class of churches of that date. His great works were the cathedrals of Kieff and Novogorod, both dedicated to Sta. Sophia, and with the church at Mokwi quoted above (Woodcut No. 918) forming the most interesting group of Russian churches of that age. All three belong to the 11th century, and are so extremely similar in plan that, deducting the subsequent additions from the two Russian examples, they may almost be said to be identical. They also show so -r, .-> 939. St. Irene, Kieff. ^ ip. o ^ -■- intimate a connection between the places on the great com- mercial road from the Caucasus to the Baltic, that they ]>oint out at once the line along which we must look for the origin of the style. Of the three, that at Kieff ^ (Woodcut No.940) is the largest; but it is nearly certain that the two outer aisles are subsequent additions, and that the original church was confined to the remaining seven aisles. As it now stands its dimensions are 185 ft. from north to south, and 136 from east to west. It consequently covers only about 26,000 ft., or not half the usual dimensions of a Western cathedral of f»!ga MWt»s^'" y-10. Plau of Cathedral at Kietf. Scale 100 ft. to 1 ill. E ^ All the plans and iiit'onnalion re- garding the churches at Kieff are ob- tained f rona a Russian work devoted to the subject, prociu-ed for me on the spot by Mr. Vignoles, C.E.