Dikanka Village: Nikolaev Church

In Dikanka - in this amazing place, sung by the classics of Russian literature, is the Nikolaev Church. According to legend, in the forests of Dikanka, local residents discovered the icon of St. Nicholas the Pleasant and brought it to the active temple. But miraculously, the icon returned to the forest every time, for a small stump. The fame of this miraculous icon spread throughout the district and decided to build a temple on the site of discovery.

In the 70s of the XVII century built and consecrated the wooden Nikolaev Church, and on the memorial stump installed oak cross. The relic itself was located in the altar part, and the forest itself was called Nikolaevsky. In 1794, a stone church was built according to the architect’s project.

N.A. Lvov.

The stunning beautiful temple is made in the style of classicism using a double dome system. The church is very harmoniously blended into the surrounding landscape and seems to “float” in the air. A feature of the church was the fact that inside there were “air furnaces” placed between the floors. They served as modern air conditioners.

Unfortunately, during the Soviet era, the temple was closed several times and even an atheist museum was built. Only in 1985 the Nikolaev Church reopened its doors, becoming a department of the local history museum. In 1998, the church was returned to the faithful.