St. George's Church, Staraya Ladoga

St. George's Church
View from the wall of the fortress
Coordinates: 59°59′50.60″N 32°17′54.40″E / 59.9973889°N 32.2984444°E / 59.9973889; 32.2984444
Location	Staraya Ladoga
Country	Russia
Denomination	Russian Orthodox
History
Dedication	Saint George
Architecture
Style	Russian
Completed	Between 1180 and 1200

St. George's Church (Russian: Геóргиевская цéрковь, цéрковь Святóго Геóргия) in the selo of Staraya Ladoga, Volkhovsky District, Leningrad Oblast, Russia is one of the oldest churches of Russia, dating from the second half of the 12th century. It is one of the few surviving pre-Mongol buildings in Russia. It contains the frescoes of the 12th century, extremely rare in Russia. The church is located within the Staraya Ladoga Fortress, on the left bank of the Volkhov River. The building was designated an architectural monument of federal significance (#4710025007).

Staraya Ladoga was the first seat of Rurik in 862, and, after Rurik moved the seat to Novgorod, remained in the Novgorod Lands. It controlled one of the most important waterways at the time, the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, of which the Volkhov River was a part. The stone construction in Staraya Ladoga started either in 1114 or 1116, and in the second half of the 12th century seven or eight stone churches were built, of which only two have survived to our days. The exact year of construction of St. George's Church is unknown, but the details of architecture and painting show that it was built between 1180 and 1200. It was first mentioned only in 1445. The church was rebuilt in the end of the 16th century, but only the exterior was slightly altered. By the end of the 17th century, the interior of the church badly needed to be renovated, and the renovation was made in 1683-1684. During this renovation, new windows were made, and many of the frescoes from the walls were lost. The restorations were also carried out in 1902, 1925-1928, 1952-1962, and in the 1970s - 1990s.

The architecture of the church is typical for Novgorod. The church is based on four pillars and has one dome and three apses. The church is small (the area of the floor is 72 square metres (780 sq ft) and slightly asymmetric with respect to the north-south direction). This is explained by the fact that the church was built inside an existing fortress, and the space was quite limited.