Civil and Ecclesiastical Architecture on the Territory of the Necropolis of the Slobodskoy Town, Kirov Region
Alexey O. Kaysin, Head of the Archaeological Research Laboratory, Senior Researcher
Vyatka State University, Kirov, Russia; Institute of History and Archeology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia, akai_slob@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6188-0043
Margarita K. Glazyrina, Laboratory Assistant of the Archaeological Research Laboratory, Postgraduate Student
Vyatka State University, Kirov, Russia; Institute of History and Archeology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia, rita_glazyrina1999@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0256-5836
Abstract
The article, based on cartographic and archival sources, as well as on architects’ reports, presents information on the architectural structures of the Slobodskoy necropolis in the Kirov region. The church architecture is represented by a cemetery church — the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity, a bell tower, cemetery gates, and the wooden Chapel of St. John the Baptist, which first was not part of the necropolis and was later replaced by a stone chapel later incorporated into it. This group also includes a small architectural form — the wooden chapel of St. John the Baptist over a spring well, built in the 21st century. Civil structures include a stone guardhouse, a burial tent, and a stone and metal fence around the necropolis with a corner tower. Information is provided on modifications, expansions, and replacements of these structures. It is concluded that the Slobodskoy necropolis is a typical urban cemetery, created after Ekaterina II’s decree to move burials outside the city. The cemetery was originally located outside the city limits and was incorporated into its territory only in the second half of the 19th century. It is inactive, which is unusual for the Kirov region. Typically, urban necropolises in Vyatka continued to exist, expanding into undeveloped areas. The Slobodskoy necropolis is an interesting case, where dense building development led to the cemetery’s closure in the mid-20th century, but not to its subsequent destruction.
Keywords
Kirov region, Slobodskoy necropolis, Trinity Church of Slobodskoy town, St. John the Baptist Chapel, cemetery gates.
For citation:
Kaysin A. O., Glazyrina M. K. Civil and Ecclesiastical Architecture on the Territory of the Necropolis of the Slobodskoy Town, Kirov Region. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2026, no. 1 (57), pp. 140—159. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2026.57.10.
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