Suzdal church damaged by fire will be Rebuilt
Vladimir, July 22, Interfax – The general director of the Vladimir-Suzdal museum and nature preserve Svetlana Melnikova has promised to rebuild an 18th-century wooden church that caught fire after being struck by lightning.
The fire, which hit the Church of the Transfiguration located on the premises of the open-air Wooden Architecture Museum in Suzdal on Thursday, did not destroy the primitive frescoes at the church’s lower tier, and all of the valuable items kept inside the church were transferred to the museum’s storage facility, she said.
“Multiple lightning strikes hit the church’s cross, which collapsed inside the building. The church’s small central dome was destroyed as well. But it is possible to rebuild this architectural monument of the 18th century,” Melnikova said.
“We have all of the blueprints, photographs and design documents needed to reconstruct it. Restorers from Vladimir have proposed rebuilding the church free of charge,” she said.
Yesterday’s lightning strikes also disrupted electricity supplies to the museum and damaged its video surveillance system, Melnikova said.
However, the museum remains open to the public, she said.
The Church of the Transfiguration, which was built in the village of Kozlyatyevo in the Kolchugino District in 1756, is the tallest of the three wooden churches exhibited on the premises of the Suzdal museum.
