Byngi: Church Art and Ural History

Byngi is a destination for travelers who want to combine architecture and Old Believer history with views of ponds and waterways. An excursion includes a visit to Byngi, an Old Believer settlement, and to the Church of St. Nicholas, built in 1797 and one of the oldest stone churches in the Urals. The two churches offer contrasting architectural features; the waterways provide another way to experience the local landscape.

Church Art and History

The Church of St. Nicholas in Byngi is an architectural monument of federal significance and displays transitional forms from Baroque to Classicism. Nineteenth-century paintings adorn its columns and vaults. It also houses icons from the 18th and 19th centuries attributed to the Nevyansk school of icon painting. The bell tower has a clock with a chime.

Two dates are important for putting the church in context: its foundation stone was laid in 1789, and it was built in 1797. No services were held from 1939 due to a shortage of priests; they resumed in 1944. The building’s history thus spans the period of its construction and a clearly dated interruption in the 20th century.

The Kazan Church offers an architectural contrast: it combines late Classicist features with elements of the Russian-Byzantine style. Located at 36 Lenin Street, it is listed as an architectural monument of Sverdlovsk Oblast. It is also one of three Edinoverie churches in Sverdlovsk Oblast. The two churches therefore offer different points of interest, from the transitional forms between Baroque and Classicism to the combination of late Classicist and Russian-Byzantine elements.

If you are looking for a vacation rental, it helps to set a clear priority: do you want architecture to be the main focus, or would you also like to include the waterways and nearby places? This question gives your search a specific reason for traveling and helps organize the different themes of your stay.

Ponds and Nearby Places

The Dalne-Byngovsky Pond lies beyond the northern edge of Byngi. The Blizhne-Byngovsky Pond is 300 meters from the Church of St. Nicholas. A dam impounds the Dalnyaya Bynga; two outlets flow from the pond. The southeastern outlet runs over rocks and a ledge, forming a waterfall.

Nearby, Klady lies between Byngi and Verkhniye Tavolgi, on the Svetly Klyuch stream. The site was once home to an Old Believer hermitage; it has a spring considered holy and revered graves. This adds another historical link to the Old Believer tradition alongside the churches in Byngi, this time at the site of a former hermitage.

At Byn’gi airfield, the Nizhny Tagil Aviation and Sports Club organizes flights and parachute jumps. If you would like to include this activity, check dates and availability in advance.

In Sverdlovsk Oblast, the Museum Complex for Civil and Military Equipment in Verkhnyaya Pyshma offers another cultural attraction. Its extensive collection includes military, civil, railway, and mining equipment.

Discover more destinations: Perepryazhka, Kirovgrad, Talitsa, Kushva, Verkhnyaya Sysert', Revda, Malysheva, Sovkhoznyy.

For the broader travel overview: Sverdlovsk Oblast.