In the untouched landscape of Karelia in Russia is the island of Kizhi on Lake Onega. In 1951 an open air museum of Old Russian wooden architecture was built here. Since then many visitors have travelled to the island by boat between May and September as the other months are freezing with the winter cold.

The main attraction looks like something out of a fairy-tale. Two huge wooden churches, one for summer, one for winter. The Transfiguration Of Our Lord Church is the larger one, built for the summer. The Maria Protection Church is the smaller, with heating and well equipped for winter.

The gem of this space is the Iconastasis preserved in all of its colourful splendour and with the typical motifs of the Russian Orthodox church.

The national chapel of Archangel Michael was brought here in 1961 from the village of Lelikozero. It looks like a rectangular log cabin and above the entrance is a small belfry with a pyramid-shaped hut and, at the rear, a double-tiered roof.

There are many timber buildings within the world famous ensemble of Kizhi, that contains the largest wooden churches in Russia.