Zakomara (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and ; ) is a semicircular or keeled completion of a wall (curtain wall) in early

Russian church architecture Russian churches often have various recurrent elements in their architecture. The onion dome is for example a recurrent and important element in the architecture of Russian churches. Often Russian churches have also multi-colored filigree ornament ...

. It first appeared in

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

, reproducing the adjacent to the inner cylindrical (convex, crossed) vault. Early examples can also be found in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. After the 12th century, the zakomara, initially influenced by

Byzantine architecture Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the Fall of Cons ...

, was adapted into a more uniquely Russian style and it became a distinctive feature of Russian churches before the emergence of Russian Baroque. False zakomara, which is not repeating the inner shapes of the vault, is called the

kokoshnik The kokoshnik ( rus, коко́шник, p=kɐˈkoʂnʲɪk) is a traditional Russian headdress worn by women and girls to accompany the sarafan. The kokoshnik tradition has existed since the 10th century in the city of Veliky Novgorod. It sprea ...

. Kokoshniks were only made as exterior decorative elements. They were placed on the walls, vaults, as well as the shrinking tiers at the base of the tents and reels of chapters in church buildings.

History

Similar features have existed in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and early examples of zakomaras are considered to have been borrowed under Byzantine influence. However, some researchers consider zakomaras to be a unique development of architecture in Kievan Rus' and one of the first deviations from the traditional

Byzantine style Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the ...

in the region, with the Boris and Gleb Cathedral, now in

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

, Ukraine, being among the first such examples. The transition to a more uniquely Russian aesthetic began in the 12th century as seen in the

Church of the Intercession on the Nerl Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

. From the 12th to the 17th centuries, zakomaras were a typical detail in Russian Orthodox church architecture. Quite often, a combination of zakomaras and

s was used in the construction of many churches. The Cathedral of the Savior in the

Andronikov Monastery Andronikov Monastery of the Saviour (, , or ) is a former monastery on the left bank of the Yauza River in Moscow, consecrated to the Holy Image of Saviour Not Made by Hands and containing the oldest extant (i.e. outside the Kremlin) building in ...

(1425–1427), part of the

Moscow school The Moscow school () is the name applied to a Russian architectural and painting school in the 14th to 16th centuries. It developed during the strengthening of the Moscow principality. The buildings of Vladimir provided the basis of the Moscow arc ...

, follows the Russian adaptation of this style. The roof in the zakomara covering was arranged directly on the vaults. Depending on the number of vaults, the facade of the church had the same amount of zakomaras. By the seventeenth century, a significant number of Russian churches had the zakomara covering. But sophisticated curvilinear rooftop was not very practical—the snow and rain accumulated on it, causing leaks. By the end of the seventeenth century, the Baroque era came to the Russian architecture, making the zakomaras and zakomara coverings a thing of the past. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, zakomara coverings were replaced with four-pitched roofs in many churches. Because of the spread of the retrospective trends in the Russian Empire’s architecture, zakomaras reappeared in the church buildings. At the end of the 20th century, the revival of the zakomara covering has occurred. It was due to the appearance of construction technology, which created rain and snow resistant zakomara coverings. Therefore, the new Uspensky Cathedral in

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

has the zakomara covering.

Examples

File:Vladimir Nerl3.JPG, Zakomaras of the

File:Pereslavl SpasoPreobrazhenskyCathedral .JPG, Facades of Transfiguration Cathedral in

Pereslavl-Zalessky Pereslavl-Zalessky (, ), formerly known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, or simply Pereyaslavl, is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the main Moscow–Yaroslavl road and on the southeastern shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo at the mouth of the ...

, with zakomaras File:Cathedral of the Holy Mandylion (Andronikov Monastery) 27.jpg, Saviour Cathedral of the

, combination of zakomaras and kokoshniks typical for Moscow style File:M-danilov-sobor-5423.jpg, Trinity Cathedral of the Trinity Danilov Monastery in Pereslavl-Zalessky with a roof rebuilt as hipped one File:Борисоглібський собор.Літній ранок.jpg, Boris and Gleb Cathedral in Chernihiv with zakomaras File:Volodymyr-Volynskyi Volynska-Cathedral of the Dormition of the Theotokos-south view.jpg, Dormition Cathedral in

Volodymyr Volodymyr (, ; ) is a Ukrainian given name of Old East Slavic origin. The related Ancient Slavic, such as Czech, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, etc. form of the name is Володимѣръ ''Volodiměr'', which in other Slavic languages became Vladimi ...

with zakomaras File:VITEBSK. Annunciation (Дабравешчанская) church (XII century). (cropped).jpg, Anunciation Cathedral in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

with zakomaras

References

{{Reflist Architecture in Russia Church architecture Architectural elements Architecture in Ukraine Architecture in Belarus