World Art Utopia

Church of the Transfiguration (Церковь Преображения Господня)

The wooden Church of the Transfiguration on Kizhi Island, Russia: a tall tiered church crowned with many dark onion domes covered in wood shingles, partly in scaffolding, beside a green field and a path
Artwork FileKizhi, Karelia, Russia

Church of the Transfiguration (Церковь Преображения Господня)

SeenJul 2021

Kizhi Pogost · Kizhi Island, Lake Onega, Karelia, Russia

Photo: Alexxx1979 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), 19 July 2016; resized from the SAU archive.

The Church of the Transfiguration on Kizhi Island is a 37-metre log church crowned by 22 wooden cupolas, built in 1714. It reopened in 2021 after a long restoration. Source Source Checked

Seen Jul 2021. Evidence date: 2021-07-16. Dated reporting on the reopening, not confirmation of present condition. Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. Twenty-two cupolasTiers of roofs carry 22 wooden cupolas. Source Checked
  2. Built of logsThe church was largely built of horizontal logs with interlocking joinery and rises 37 metres. Source Source Checked
  3. Restored tier by tierThe Kizhi Museum describes restoring the church in sections, with test assembly before each part went back. Source Checked
  4. Open againThe Art Newspaper reported the end of the restoration and the reopening in July 2021. Source Checked

📍 Where it is

Kizhi Pogost, Kizhi Island, Lake Onega · Republic of Karelia, Russia Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map pin is approximate; use the named site or address to locate the subject.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 201619 Jul

    Photo with restoration scaffolding

  2. 202116 Jul

    Reopening reported

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Built
1714 Source Checked
Height
37 metres Source Checked
Cupolas
22 Source Checked
Structure
Horizontal logs with interlocking joinery Source Checked
Heritage
Part of Kizhi Pogost, UNESCO World Heritage site Source Checked
Reopened
2021, after restoration Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Alexxx1979 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), 19 July 2016; resized from the SAU archive.

Last checked: 27 October 2026 · How we verify art