Ostashkovo: Church Building and Crafts

Ostashkovo offers culturally minded travelers two historical perspectives: the Church of the Nativity of Christ, with its construction and furnishings history, and the history of local workshops producing painted and lacquered iron trays. If you would like to plan your stay around a specific theme, the church chronology spans the 17th to the 19th century; the workshops add a perspective on the town through crafts and decorative painting. This cultural overview therefore extends beyond sacred architecture to the design of everyday objects.

Construction Phases from the 17th to the 19th Century

A building charter issued by Patriarch Filaret to I. B. Cherkassky on October 17, 1621, mentions a wooden Church of the Nativity of Christ with a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. The charter authorized the construction of a new church in the village of Ostashkovo to replace a church that had burned down. A later construction date is given for the stone Church of the Nativity of Christ: it was built around the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries at the expense of Prince M. Ya. Cherkassky. The early mention of the wooden building and the later-dated stone church thus represent distinct stages in the town’s history. From 1743, Ostashkovo and its villages belonged to the Sheremetev counts.

The three-story bell tower of the Church of the Nativity of Christ was built in 1815 in the Empire style, to a design by K. S. Ordenov. This date is considerably later than the construction of the stone church. A chapel dedicated to the Prophet Elijah was added to the church in 1830. The tower and chapel mark two more precisely dated construction phases of the 19th century. The construction history can therefore be organized by its distinct stages, rather than assigning all parts to a single year of construction.

Architecture, Painting, and Furnishings

The Church of the Nativity of Christ combines features of different architectural styles with icon painting, murals, and decorative furnishings. Numerous icons from the 18th and 19th centuries have been preserved. Some were commissioned specifically for the church, while others were donated by parishioners. Alongside the artistic styles, this brings into view the different origins of the works: commissions alongside donations from the congregation.

Two more dates belong to the church’s more recent history: the Church of the Nativity of Christ was not closed during the Soviet era, and it has been protected by the state as an architectural monument since 1980. These details complement the construction and art history with aspects of the 20th century.

The History of Tray Painting

Another cultural and historical thread leads to craftsmanship. In 1810, workshops producing papier-mâché items were established in Ostashkovo; the first workshops for painted and lacquered iron trays were also founded there. The tray painting later became known as Zhostovo decorative painting. Here, the focus is on production and design, not construction phases: this part of the town’s history differs from the church chronology. For those interested in culture, two distinct themes are presented side by side: sacred architecture and the design of decorative everyday objects.

Discover more destinations: Mikhaylovskoye, Spass, Myshetskoye, Golikovo, Pushkino, Spas-Kamenka, Butakovo, Ryzhevo.