Page:A History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 2.djvu/502

486 486 RUSSIAN ARCHITECTURE. Part II. tioiKs of en ery description, which humbled her pride, and inflicted ruin upon hei from which she never wholly recovered. Vladimir was after this the residence of the grand dukes, and in the beginning of the 14th century Moscow became the capital, which it continued to be till the seat of empire was transferred by Peter the Great to St. Petersburg. During these tliree centuries Moscow was no doubt adorned with many important buildings, since almost every church traces its foundation back to the 14th century; but as fires and Tartar invasions have frequently swept over the city since then, few retain any of the features of their original foundation, and it may therefore perhaps be well to see what can be gleaned in the provinces before describing the buildings of the capital. As. far as can be gathered from the sketch-books of travellers, or their somewhat meagre notes, there are few towns of liussia of any importance during the Middle Ages which do not possess churches said'to have been founded in the first centuries after its conversion to Christianity; though whether the existing buildings are the originals, or how far they may have been altered and modernized, will not be known till some archaeologist visits the country, directing his atten- tion to this particular inquiry. Although the Russians probably built as great a number of churches as any nation of Christen- dom, yet like the Greek churches they were all un- doubtedly small. Kieff is said even in the age of Ya- roslaf, to have contained 400 churches, Vladi- 111 i r nearly as many. Moscow, in the year 1600, had 400 (thirty- seven of which wei'e in the Krem- lin), and now pos- sesses many more. Many of the village churches still retain their ancient features ; the exam]ile liere given of one near Novogorod belongs probably to the 12th century, and is not later than the 943. Village Church near Novogorod. (From a Drawing by A. Duranii.)