Restoration of Polotsk's St. Sophia Cathedral to begin in summer. Its appearance may also change

Current appearance of St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk. Photo: Nasha Niva

The National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve, which owns St. Sophia Cathedral, placed an application for the development of pre-project documentation on the public procurement website, as noted by the Telegram channel "Spadchyna" (Heritage).

According to the state program "Cultural Space" for 2026-2030, 2.4 million rubles have been allocated for repair and restoration work in St. Sophia Cathedral, which is an object of the highest 0-category value and theoretically претендует на включение in the UNESCO list.

Four months are allotted for the pre-project stage, from June to September 2026. During this time, designers must conduct comprehensive scientific research, including archival, architectural-archaeological, and physico-chemical studies of building materials.

Based on these, an architectural and planning concept will be created, which includes solutions for facade restoration, reinforcement of historical structures, creation of new lighting for the adjacent territory, and modernization of engineering networks. The latter point is especially important given the specific climate required to hold concerts and exhibitions in the cathedral.

Given that the work includes physico-chemical studies of the facades, it cannot be excluded that the St. Sophia Cathedral may have its historical Baroque coloration restored during the renovation, as was already done at the Church of Corpus Christi in Nesvizh and the former St. Joseph's Church in Minsk.

As is known today, Baroque churches in Belarus were not monochrome and snow-white – they acquired such an appearance in later centuries due to economic convenience of maintaining churches in historical conditions not always favorable to them.

Another historical opportunity could be a wider exposure of the ancient masonry with a hidden row, which has been preserved under layers of later plaster. Today, on the eastern facade, where the original apses of the ancient Russian church are preserved, the masonry is shown only in small sondages, which does not give an accurate idea of the scale of the preserved 11th-century walls within the volume of the Baroque church.

Павялічыць

Fragments of pillars under the floor of the modern church, laid in the technique of masonry with a hidden row — this technique was a unique hallmark of the Polotsk school of architecture, which was adhered to until the cessation of monumental construction, even when other Russian lands had long abandoned it. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Polotsk Sophia represents a complex architectural symbiosis. For a long time, it was believed that the original 11th-century church was completely destroyed by an explosion in 1710, when a gunpowder depot of the Russian army exploded in the church's cellars.

But recent historical discussions cast doubt on the scale of the destruction: it seems that the ancient Russian walls were preserved in a much larger volume than traditionally believed, and the new Baroque church was erected in the 18th century according to the design of the famous architect Jan Glaubitz not in place of the former, but was integrated into its earlier volume, maximally preserving the authentic walls.

Павялічыць

11th-century masonry on the eastern facade of St. Sophia Cathedral, discovered during the study of the church by specialists from the Special Scientific and Production Workshops. Photo: BDANTD, f. 91

Павялічыць

11th-century masonry on the eastern facade of St. Sophia Cathedral, discovered during the study of the church by specialists from the Special Scientific and Production Workshops. Photo: BDANTD, f. 91

The first large-scale restoration of the monument began in 1969. At that time, specialists from the scientific and restoration workshops of the BSSR faced the conceptual task of simultaneously showcasing two different eras. Under the guidance of architect Valeriy Slyunchanka, a special viewing platform was created under the 18th-century cathedral floor, from which the remains of 11th-century supporting pillars and walls can still be seen. In 1983, a concert hall with 304 seats was opened in the building, and two years later, a Czech organ by the company "Rieger Kloss" was installed.

Field studies of the church, conducted during that restoration, showed that the 11th-century masonry on the eastern facade was preserved to the full height of the outer walls up to the cornices, and at the location of the tower — above them.

Exposing the 11th-century walls would allow showing a rare example of ancient Russian architecture in Belarusian lands. Large sondages on the historical apses were once also made in Kyiv's Sophia, which today also has a Baroque appearance.

Павялічыць

Sondages on the eastern apses of St. Sophia Cathedral, which reveal small fragments of authentic 11th-century masonry, are today, according to experts, in terrible condition. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

However, exposing ancient masonry also has a downside — open to atmospheric influences, it deteriorates. Russian specialists, who were involved in the restoration of another unique monument of the ancient Russian period in the city, the Savior Church in the Euphrosyne Monastery, noted that the sondages on St. Sophia Cathedral are in terrible condition. On the Savior Church itself, during the last restoration, large exposures on the facades, where polychrome paintings and architectural decor were discovered, were covered with glass screens.

The last large-scale work on the facades of St. Sophia was carried out in 2017, on the eve of the 500th anniversary of Belarusian book printing. At that time, builders restored almost 6,500 square meters of external walls, reaching the upper tiers of the towers at a height of 51 meters using special aerial work platforms.

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