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Текст реферата The Archangel Cathedral

At the very edge of Borovitsky Hill there rises one of the finest edifices of the Moscow Kremlin. This is the Archangel Cathedral. As legend goes, back in the 13th century a wooden church stood in its place, one dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the recognized patron of the Russian princes in their military affairs. In 1333, a whitestone church was erected on its site to become the main princely cathedral. In 1340, Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan Kalita was buried here. From that time on, the cathedral served as a necropolis.
In the late 15th century, Moscow, now the capital of a powerful centralized state, underwent another round of reconstruction and embellishment. In 1505-1508, a new Archangel Cathedral replaced the old one. Its erection marked the completion of the ambitious construction project in the late 15th-early 16th century Moscow Kremlin. Built to the design of Alevisio Novy of Italy, the Archangel Cathedral combines typical features of the architecture of Venice of the Renaissance period, Byzantium and Early Russia.
The Archangel Cathedral, a five-domed six-pillared edifice, is built in brick, while its sockle and splendid decor are laid in white stone. It was for the first time in Russia that elements of the classical system were employed so extensively and consistently in the design of the facades. The intricately shaped cornices produce the effect of a two-storeyed structure, while double-tiered pilasters topped with carved capitals articulate the facades vertically, each articulation ending in a traditional Russian zakomara enclosing a carved whorl typical of Venetian architecture. The architect paid special attention to the western wall, accenting with whitestone portals the main cathedral entrance which recedes into a deep loggia. The portals were decorated with carved ornament running over a blue painted ground. In 1980, the carved ornament was cleaned and the original colour was restored.
The cathedral interior is austere and simple. Six cruciform pillars divide the space into three naves illuminated by two rows of slit-like windows and magnificent brass chandeliers made by Moscow masters specially for the Archangel Cathedral in the late 17th-early 18th centuries. Built into the western wall are additional four-storey premises, a chapel with wide windows looking out into the cathedral interior.
          The Archangel Cathedral had a considerable impact on the further development of Russia architecture. Many buildings were modelled on it in the 16th and 17th centuries.
          The Cathedral was first decorated with frescoes in 1564-1565. Some fragments of those painting have survived in the loggia of the western portal and in the chancel. In 1652, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich gave orders that “the Church of the Archangel Michael be painted up anew and the old paintings be scraped off”. The work was completed in 1666. Taking part in it were nearly a hundred artists from Moscow, Yaroslavl, Kastroma