The electronic catalogue of the churches in Rostov region.

R.F. Alitova
State Museum-reserve “Rostov Kremlin”
Phone: (08536) 36200
E-mail: cicr@mail.ru

Since 1999 the architectural department of the State museum – reserve "Rostov Kremlin" is spending the systematic inspection of the churches, that were in the borders of the former Rostov region. The measurements, the photo-fixing of the churches and their interiors are carrying out, the plans and descriptions of architectural appearance of the buildings are making, the circuits of an arrangement of murals are sketching. The similar researches were spent in the territory of the Yaroslavl area in 1968 by the employees of the Committee on protection of the monuments at the Department of culture and tourism of the Yaroslavl area administration. Now the condition of the safety of church buildings has changed essentially. Some monuments irrevocably are lost, the majority of churches gradually collapses, the separate temples are transferred to church and are restored, the new churches are built.

In the beginning of the XX-th century in the Rostov district there were about 160 village temples. In 1931 in villages of the Rostov district there were 79 working churches, in 1963 there were only eight, in 1987 their quantity was reduced up to six. During several decades the church buildings were used as the clubs, schools, warehouses. The basic part of churches was closed in 1920-30s. By the end XX century the common picture of church building in XVII-XX is restored hardly. For reconstruction of the architectural appearance of the lost buildings there are used materials of inspections, and also archival documents (inventory of property, architectural projects).

The results of researches are located on electronic carriers, since 1999 in the architectural department the electronic catalogue of the monuments of the church architecture of the Rostov region is created.

The similar information systems are known. It is the all-union automated information system about historical and culture monuments. The information graphic system "The monument-2", developed by the main information centre of the Ministry of culture of Russian Federation, is created, first of all, for the account of monuments and their monitoring. In contradistinction to this global database, covering all categories of monuments, the described electronic catalogue includes only monuments of church architecture within the limits of small region.

For a basis of the catalogue is taken the scheme offered in "The methodical instructions on preparation the summary materials of the historical and cultural monuments of the USSR" (Ě., 1986) Founders are guided also by principles of compiling of the pre-revolutionary reference books, last of which is issued in 1908 ("The brief information about churches and monasteries of the Yaroslavl region"), where the information about churches is placed in priest districts. The reference book has the alphabetic index. Other, more detailed reference-statistical edition is a monography by the Rostov researcher A.A. Titov "The Rostov district of the Yaroslavl area. Historical and statistical description with figures and card of the district " (Ě., 1885). In the book the introduction with a general characteristic of district is placed, the material is divided on districts, also there is the alphabetic index.

In our electronic catalogue the monuments are systematised in alphabetic order. The catalogue is anticipated by introduction and card of the Rostov district with the indication of the occupied items, site of monuments, condition of roads and conditional designations. Synthesising experience of the previous editions it is supposed to distribute monuments by the principle of territorial division and to supply the catalogue with the appropriate indexes (nominal, geographical, chronological, systematic).

The classification of monuments is carried out on the following parameters:

1. Chronologically (XVI-XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX centuries).

2. Typological (architectural forms).

3. Stylistic (ancient architecture, baroque, classicism,

eclectic).

4. On the condition of safety (working churches, kept and lost monuments).

The information about the concrete monument includes the basic items:

1. The site.

2. The historical information (the date of building and time of construction, the

architect, the builders, the contractors, reorganisations and repairs, date of the

destruction).

3. The stylistic analysis (structure, composition, decoration of facades, characteristic of

an interior, belonging to style).

4. The description of safety.

5. The photo of a general view, drawing or approximate reconstruction for the lost

monuments.

6. The plan of the basic floor.

7. The bibliography.

8. The indication of archival sources.

The catalogue is developed on the basis of language HTML, with orientation to its subsequent accommodation in the network Internet. Placed as Web-site, the catalogue will present doubtless interest for the researchers engaged in a history of architecture, and for the tourists. In process of accumulation of new materials the catalogue will be improved and supplemented.

Alitova Rashida Faridovna - the scientific worker of the architectural department of the State museum – reserve "Rostov Kremlin". The art historian. Graduated from St. Petersburg institute of painting, sculpture and architecture of I.E. Repin.