Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2019 number

The choice of a place for religious buildings is a multifaceted problem, the solution of which takes a symbolic aspect. It is established that there were regularities in placing iconic religious buildings as Orthodox churches in the Tobolsk diocese based on materials of the late XIX - early XX centuries using a case-study techniques and architectural analysis. A chapel was built in small villages, a church, or a church and a chapel- in big villages. Their place was chosen in the settlement center or its outskirts facing the natural landscape. When located at the crossroads, the churches did not close the perspective, but were slightly out of the way allowing to view the natural environment. In some cases, there was a cemetery near the church. A church and a clergy’s houses near it often formed a building complex, administrative and educational buildings occupied places away from it, but on the same street, central one as a rule. It is impossible to determine the ratio of the height of churches and other buildings, because horizontals were not indicated on plans, however, the location of the church is noted mainly on high river banks. All temple buildings were within walking distance from any part of the settlement (up to 1.5 km or 20 min walk), which was important for the possibilities of worship. Every plan preserved churches’ location, although the existing structure of residential buildings could be broken in favor of a two-way street type. Moreover, the importance of the temple was enhanced by architectural means: newly planned streets led to it, church buildings rose above the one-story buildings fixing a planning structure of a settlement by placing them at the end or crossroads of streets, solid stone buildings stood out among the predominantly wooden buildings.