White Trinity Church
White Trinity Church is one of the oldest churches in the Tver region and the oldest stone building in the city of Tver. The picturesque church rises on the left bank of the Tmaka River, in the historical neighborhood of Zatmachye, which in the old days was called Zatmatsky Posadom. The name “White Trinity” has existed for a long time. It arose because the walls of the cathedral were always painted white, and in ancient times it had a whitish roof. In architecture, the Tver church resembles the Moscow temples of the 16th century, but it was erected taking into account local artistic traditions.
Highlights
There are several urban legends about the ancient temple. According to one legend, there was an underground passage 250 fathoms long at the White Trinity Church. Here were stored valuable church property, and in case of an enemy raid could hide local residents. The mysterious dungeon has been tried many times, but no one has managed to find it yet.
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In the cathedral four thrones are consecrated and stored valuable icons of the XVI century, as well as ancient liturgical utensils. Here you can see a carved iconostasis of the XVIII century, paintings on the walls, made at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, and a casket with the relics of the revered Tver wonderworker Macarius of Kalyazin (1402-1483).
.More recently, the White Trinity Church has been restored. Nowadays it has the status of a cathedral of the Tver Metropolis and is governed by the ruling bishop. The doors of the church are open to pilgrims and tourists daily from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m., and services are held in it according to the schedule.
.History of the White Trinity Church
The first settlements in Zatmachye appeared in the XIV-XV centuries. The territory of the wooden settlement, which grew away from the ancient Tver Kremlin, was bounded by the right bank of the Volga River and the left bank of the Tmaka River. In the annals there are records of a big fire in 1483, from which more than 40 yards burned out on the settlement.
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The White Trinity Church appeared in the city in 1564. The money for its construction was allocated by a merchant from Moscow Gavrila Andreyevich Tushinsky, whom Ivan the Terrible sent to the Tver lands to collect trade duties. At the very beginning this church was three-domed and had a figurative podzakomarny covering. Each of the three apses was also covered with a separate hemisphere. In the XVII century the church was rebuilt and two more chapels were added.
At the end of the XVIII century, the White Trinity Church had a side chapel of Efremov, and the slit-shaped window openings were rasvesali so that there was more light inside. In 1812 near the church built a slender bell tower in two tiers, and by the end of the XIX century it was added a third tier and a high tent.
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In 1777 Zatmatsky Posad was redeveloped, as a result of which the White Trinity Church was on the outskirts of Tver, near Staritskaya outpost. It served as a “front gate” of the city for all those who approached Tver from Staritsa. Then a whole block of residential houses grew near the temple, and it became the central place in Zatmachye. At the crossroads of two streets laid side by side, Trinity Square was arranged, and the street leading towards the Tver Kremlin was called Troitskaya after the name of the temple.
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During the years of Soviet power, many churches in Kalinin, as Tver was then called, were closed or destroyed, so since 1962 the church in Zatmachye remained the only one in the city for a quarter of a century.
.Features of the architecture
The White Trinity Church is built of white stone and brick, plastered and whitewashed. Together with the dome and cross, it rises to 27.7 meters. Among the surrounding one-story buildings, the tall temple looks very majestic.
.Harmonious church complex consists of a cubic two-light temple, one-story refectory and three-tiered tent bell tower. The church itself is covered with a four-pitched roof, above which rise seven expressive helmet-shaped domes – one large in the center and six small around it.
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The architecture of the White Trinity Church is distinguished by the clarity and simplicity of forms, as well as restrained decor. The walls of the church are dissected by strict scapulars, and the upper part of the building is decorated with a three-part cornice.
.How to get there
The White Trinity Church stands in the center of Tver, at 38, Troitskaya Street. You can get to the church by trolleybuses № 2 and 4, bus № 20 or shuttle buses № 6, 7, 9 and 52. Get off at the stop “First City Hospital.”
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