It has withstood the Earth’s elements for more than 150 years and yet this spectacular church remains the tallest wooden structure in the world.
The magnificent building is made entirely of wood, from the frame to the rivets and the stunning exterior, and shows just how resilient this construction material is.
Standing at 123 feet tall (37.5m), it is believed to still be the world’s tallest entirely wooden building – a record it has kept its entire existence.
The Russian Orthodox Church buildings, called Kizhi Pogost, are 150-miles east of the Russian border with Finland. After pleas from churchgoers, the wooden buildings have undergone some renovation, but still without using any other materials.
The churches were built in the 18th century and the complex was finally finished without hammering a single nail or other metal fastener in 1862 when the bell-tower was completed.
Topped with 22 domes called cupolas and an internal vault shaped like a pyramid there are 102 religious icons from the 17th and 18th centuries displayed inside the structure.
The bell tower was created by visionary carpenter Sysoj Osipov and the larger northern Church of Transfiguration was a mecca for pilgrims of the eastern Orthodox Christian Church.
The tallest wooden structure in the world is said to be the 600-foot-tall ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission Aircraft Simulator) near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. However this Cold War structure uses metal parts to hold together its huge wooden frame.
Kizhi Pogost is such a rare example of religious architecture that the site it was listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1990.
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