The Karachay-Cherkess Republic is the former territory of the Alanian state, which existed from the first millennium to the 15th century, where the main religion was Christianity, which came from Byzantium in the 7th century. However, religion did not take root immediately, and only after three centuries began to build churches and temples here. Some of them have survived to the present day, and everyone can see them with their own eyes.
Shoanin Temple
Today, three main temples have survived on the territory, which have such names as Northern, Southern and Middle, and there are several other monasteries that date back to this time of construction and are part of the Alansky guppa.
The article will focus on the Shoanin temple, which received its name because of its location - on Mount Shoan. It is at a dizzying height, and from afar it seems that it just soars in the air. Someone even compares it with the "Swallow's Nest", located in the Crimea.
The structure belongs to the group of Alan temples, which in ancient times were built on the modern territory of the republic. Places where you can turn to God, confess - all this was important for local residents in those days when religion firmly "settled" among the population.
History
The ancient Shoanin temple was built in the 10th century, its age exceeds one thousand years. Historians believe that near the temple on the mountain was located the residence of the bishop. This is also evidenced by the repository of books found in the 18th century, which subsequently disappeared and were never found.
At the bottom of the mountain trade routes passed, so the territory was densely populated. To protect it, the locals built a fortress, part of which has survived to this day.
The Shoanin Temple first attracted attention in 1829, when the architect Bernadazzi became interested in it. He was amazed at how well the temple was built, how correctly the traditions of architecture of this direction were observed.
A man’s monastery was opened here in the 19th century. You can still see partially preserved cells and the refectory today. However, the monastery lasted only about 20 years and was closed in 1917.
At the end of the 19th century, attempts were made to excavate inside the temple, but they were unsuccessful: only one stone crypt was found.
Description
The Shoanin Temple (Karachay-Cherkessia) looks like a classic building of Byzantine architecture. It has 4 load-bearing columns, a cross-shaped dome, a protruding cornice and narrow windows. On the walls, if you look closely, you can see ancient frescoes that were not found immediately and completely by accident.
The length of the building is almost 13 meters, the height is equal to the length, and the width, if measured on the western facade, is 9 meters.
Shoanin Temple: how to get there
On the south-eastern spur of the mountain is a temple on the left bank of the Kuban, in the vicinity of the village named after Costa Khetagurova. If you get to the monastery from Karachaevsk, then you have to overcome 7 km.
Once, in order to get to the temple, it was necessary to overcome several kilometers on foot, climbing uphill. Today it’s easy to see the temple. You can do this even with your car, since the road is laid almost to the temple.
Interesting facts and current status
The Shoanin temple contains many secrets and mysteries that have not been solved to this day. For example, scientists and architects are trying to understand why the door was made, for which there is only a cliff, perhaps there was once a hanging gallery.
One of the researchers found that the Shoaninsky and Northern churches (or Zelenchuksky) are “relatives” among themselves, most likely due to the fact that they were built by masters of the same school.
When in 1867 the nobleman Naryshkin came to the temple, he could not see the faces of the saints, about which so much was told. The frescoes were not visible due to the thick layer of plaster that the monks had painted on the walls not so long ago.
The Karachay-Cherkess Republic does not have large funds for the restoration of historical monuments. Among the attractions, those that belong to the era of the Alanian state are especially valuable.
One day in 2007, without notice to the administration of the museum-reserve, local residents decided to make cosmetic repairs in the temple. The stucco was roughly knocked down, due to which the coating under it was damaged in some places. Part of the wall in the temple opened, and there were found murals, inscriptions in Russian, Georgian, Greek and Armenian. But these found artifacts were not recorded in any way and in the near future may be lost if you do not take any action.
Also in the temple were found several old books that did not interest art historians and other historians, and most of them were lost over time. One traveler during his stay in Russia, the German physician Jacob Reineggs, managed to find and get into his possession two books: a church servant and theological debate in Greek.