The Great Lavra Bell tower (1731) of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra - Kiev Monastery of the Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Kiev, Ukraine
The Great Lavra Belltower or the Great Belfry is the main belltower of the ancient cave monastery of Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is one of the most notable buildings of the Kiev skyline. The belltower was the highest free-standing belltower at the time of its construction in 1731–1745. It was designed by the architect Johann Gottfried Schadel. Its total height, with the Christian cross, is meters (316 feet). The Great Lavra Belltower is a Classical style construction with a total of four tiers, surmounted by a gilded dome. The diameter of the tower's lowest tier at its base is meters (94 feet), and the thickness of the first tier walls is 8 meters (26 feet). The tower's foundation exceedes 7 meters (22 feet). The tower is decorated with many architectural columns: the second tier is decorated with 32 Dorian columns, the third tier is decorated with 16 Ionic columns, and the fourth with 8 Corinthian columns. On the third tier, there were some hanging bells, but they were later removed. To this day, only three small 18th-century bells have been preserved: the Balyk, Voznesenskyi, and Bezymiannyi bells. The former main bell of the Great Lavra Belltower, the Uspenskyi, had a total weight of one ton and was cast in 1732 by Ivan Motorin, who was also responsible for the Moscow Kremlin Tsar Bell. There is also a viewing platform atop the third tier, which provides visitors with a bird's-eye view of the region around Kiev. On the fourth tier there is a chiming clock, manufactured in 1903, which has a total weight of tons. The current belltower's clock, designed by the Moscow master A. Enodin and based on the Kremlin clock, replaced the older 18th-century clock of the master A. Levynskyi. The clock has stopped only once during its existence: it happened in September 1941 when the Dormition Cathedral of the Pechersk Lavra was blown up by army forces, during the Second World War.
Size: 3744px × 5616px
Location: Great Lavra Belltower, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Kiev, Kiev Oblast, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, Europe
Photo credit: © DE ROCKER / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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