Starozhivotinnoye: Churches of Wood and Brick

• The second wooden Predtechenskaya Church was built between 1696 and 1709.
• It was consecrated on September 11, the Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist.
• The third brick Predtechenskaya Church was built in 1789 at the expense of landowner Nikanor Mikhailovich Olenin.
• The brick building is classified as Late Baroque and early Neoclassical.

The buildings should also be distinguished by their ordinal numbers: one Predtechenskaya Church is identified as the second wooden church, while the other is identified as the third brick church. The wooden building is dated to the period from 1696 to 1709; the brick building is dated to 1789. This allows their materials and dates to be considered side by side without conflating the construction details.

The wooden church’s history also includes its consecration day: September 11, the Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist. For the later brick building, the construction year, the funding by landowner Nikanor Mikhailovich Olenin, and its classification as Late Baroque and early Neoclassical are also noteworthy. This gives visitors interested in culture several specific points of comparison: construction method, date, consecration day, and architectural classification.

In the wider travel destination of Voronezh Oblast, the Khoper Nature Reserve extends across the Novokhopersky, Povorinsky, and Gribanovsky administrative districts. Two tours in the reserve can be compared by distance and duration: the “Legendy Khopra” hiking excursion is 5 kilometers long and takes three hours. It is closed during the spring flood. The “Tur de Khopyor” cycling tour covers 26 kilometers and takes four hours. The hike and the cycling tour therefore have different time requirements; the seasonal closure notice applies to the hiking excursion.

The nature museum in the Khoper Reserve presents its exhibits in two halls. Check visitor arrangements before your trip. The exhibition topics range from the reserve’s wildlife and habitats to a large relief map, offering a distinct perspective on the region’s natural environment.

In the Divnogorye Museum-Reserve, chalk landscapes, striking chalk cliffs on steep slopes, and large, ridge-like chalk ravines shape the scenery. Divnogorskiy Canyon is about one kilometer long and up to 200 meters wide. The reserve’s cultural heritage includes Stone Age settlements, the ruins of the medieval Mayatskaya Fortress, and ritual cave complexes.

Six such caves and cave complexes are carved into the chalk massif on the right bank of the Tikhaya Sosna and Don rivers; their total extent is about 8.5 kilometers. Another focus in Voronezh Oblast is the Kostenki Museum-Reserve: its Archaeological Museum completely covers a Stone Age settlement site. The reserve also includes 25 protected zones with about 60 Upper Paleolithic sites. Thus, landscapes and archaeological evidence stand side by side as distinct themes within the region.

Discover more destinations: Kordon Plotovskiy, Ramon.

When was the wooden church consecrated?

It was consecrated on September 11, the Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist.

What distance and duration details are available for the Khoper tours?

“Legendy Khopra” is a 5-kilometer hiking excursion that takes three hours. “Tur de Khopyor” is a 26-kilometer cycling tour that takes four hours. The hiking excursion is closed during the spring flood.

What does the nature museum in the Khoper Reserve exhibit?

In two halls, it covers the reserve’s wildlife and its habitats. Exhibition topics include beavers, Russian desmans, water-dwelling and predatory birds, wild boar, elk, fallow deer, and red deer; there is also a large relief map of the reserve. Check visitor arrangements before your visit.

For the wider travel overview: Ramonskiy rayon.