The church of Dmitry Solunsky

The church is situated next to the church of St. George in the yard of Old Ladoga fortress. As compact as St. George cathedral the church of Dmitry Solunsky is erected according to the wooden architecture style and is an example of the most ancient wooden constructions. The basic design principles used for this construction are the same as the design techniques implemented for the erection of simple izba (an old Russian peasant house).

Dmitry Solunsky was always venerated as a patron of military people, the princes primarily. That’s why the appearance of the wooden temple, an eponym of the holy patron of warriors inside the stone kremlin is fully obligate. There’s an opinion that this church was built in the first half of the XVII century. In the transcribed books of the year1646 the church of Dmitry Solunsky is mentioned as “prince’s erection”. It is possible that the church is dated to the period after 1612-1613, to time Lodoga was being reconstructed after the devastation the Troublous Time. By the year 1713 the wooden church had been in disrepair and after that was restored. The wooden construction was taken apart to the logs; the well-preserved applicable logs were used for the erection of a new temple, the inapplicable were burnt to ash that was reverently collected, wrapped into canvas and set adrift to the water. The following restoration in the same way took place in 1901; only the new foundation was made from stone.

The church of Dmitry Solunsky is functionally linked to the church of St. George. The church office moved from the stone temple in summer to the wooden church in winter.

The most valuable icons from this architectural monument are kept in the precious collections of the Russian museum.