Wooden Treasure: Russian Timber Building and the Klet Type Church

Anna Playskina
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2010
BA

Subject: Architecture
Country: Russia
Period: Various

10,000 words

This dissertation examines timber as building material, how it was used in Russian churches of the klet type, and their mutual relationship. The klet type was the first architectural style of Eastern Orthodox Russia, and is characterised by a simple rectangular, tripartite plan. This dissertation will argue that the elements of the klet type construction display a deep knowledge and understanding of the natural properties and qualities of timber. This study will also attempt to show that in some cases, it is the properties of timber that determine architectural elements of the church. This plays a vital role in the overall form of the klet churches. The main example used to display the point is the Church of the Deposition of the Robe from the village of Borodava, which despite being the earliest surviving example of the klet type churches, demonstrates a mastery and skill in timber construction unmatched in its time.

Irish Georgian Society

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Wooden Treasure: Russian Timber Building and the Klet Type Church